European Arm Chair Restoration

This chair has a European written all over. What a grand chair built and designed to last many hundred years.
It still has the original upholstery on it after 70 years or more.

The original burlap webbing has deteriorated throughout the piece. Below shows the strip lower base being re-strapped.

 Now it's time to set the bottom of the springs and hand tie the top of the springs.

 Natural burlap of course.

 Horse hair is amazing stuff. After 70 years is just as clean and worthy as it was then.

 Lots of handsewing to save the original stuffings.

 I redesigned the base a bit.

Lots of springs in the inside back section.

 Every spring was hand tied in three places at the back to hold them in place.

 And hand tied the top of the springs as well.

 And a code of natural burlap next.

(sorry about the sideways picture)

 Natural stuffings retained.

Restored the inside arms.

 More hand sewing the inside arm stuffings in place.

It took just under 5 yards to complete this chair.

 Ready to serve.

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Upholstery Is An Art

This pair of chairs stopped in to get refreshed after a 20 year run.

The last upholsterer sure pounded lots of long staples into this hardwood frame.
With lots of patients I got all the lines clean.

Freshened up all the legs.

The owner found this fabric at a local furniture store.

Sure does have a large pattern to match up. And a nice heavy weigh thick hand.

Lots of table work for the complex cuts to be able to get these pieces done with 18 yards of fabric.
There was 44 inches left, or just over 1 yard extra. 

The owners mentioned that the way the chair is is so comfortable and not to change the character of the seating.

These chairs are going to set to the left and the right of a large picture window with a beautiful view of the Monadnock region here in southern New Hampshire.

Of course the outsides are backed and lined with a thin coat of cotton.

Of course a woven dustcover with black painted Staples to top off these frames.

A clean shop makes for clean work.

Lots of fine tailoring to these arm fronts.

Match tailoring, a view from the top of the top inside back as it ties in together.

Mirror tailoring at the intersections of the inside back and inside wings.

A view of both chairs from the top, back to back.

Outside wings.

All the piping is mirrored also throughout.

It was quite a challenge matching all the piping with this large repeat with only 9 yards of fabric to work with, but I got it done.

The inside arms and outside arms matched up.

Mirror cut & surged arm covers.

Sure was a challenge working with this type of patterned fabric.

These pieces are ready to serve for many decades.

Arm covers tend to double the life between a upholstery jobs.

Practical upholstery

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For small town North American upholster shops.

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