Antique Bench Refinished w/needlepoint

Bench After

 

Bench Before

Although sturdy and strong enough to seat an adult, this antique bench was in dire need of refinishing. The front veneer had peeled off entirely while other areas that had veneer were loose. 

Since this was a natural hardwood, I removed the veneer completely since it looked better without it. The rest of the bench had no veneer and the wood was in great condition, but a bit scratched, mostly on the feet. The legs were a Queen Anne style, commonly used for this style of bench.

Prior to refinishing the bench, I first removed and found it had the original straw and batting, which was commonly used for making cushions one hundred years ago. I replaced that old straw with a 2” foam cushion and a layer of quilt batting for extra seating comfort. 

The bench required stripping, sanding and staining. I chose a mid-tone chestnut stain, which brought out the natural beauty of the wood. Satin polyurethane finished off the freshly stained wood so it remains protected for many years to come. My customer had her own needlepoint seat cover that she had wanted to use to replace the stained, worn old topper. The transformation was incredible, a nice piece of furniture anyone would be proud to own.

Metal Bar Stool Makeover

Bar Stool w/caning replaced

 

Bar Stool w/broken cane

Bar stools were popular in the mid-sixties and many are still around with some wear, a testament to their use. This one was unusual because it was made with wood and metal with a caned seat as well as a caned back. 

The back was in great shape, but the seat was broken and the wood had seen quite a bit of wear and fingerprint oils left on the top back. This is not uncommon because that’s the spot that gets the most initial touching when you pull the barstool out to sit in it. 

And boy! These stools were heavy! Made of solid iron, they were weighty and still had many years of use. However, with the broken seats they weren’t safe to sit in, so in addition to Jim’s touching up the wood on back and seat, I needed to replace the caning on two of these four barstools. 

These seats were made with “press in” caning, which means that the caning is purchased as one large section and pressed into the seat in a grove area and is then held in with spline that is pushed into the groove, following a line of glue. The caning must first be soaked for up to two hours along with the spine before it can be installed. You must measure the opening of the spine as well as the space between each cane opening to get the right size for each project. This differs from strand caning, a different process in which the caning is woven through the item with holes surrounding the edge following seven steps from start to finish. That type of caning is much  more time consuming and costly because it’s much more involved. Both types of caning are initially much lighter than the old caning because the old cane was either naturally aged or stained by the manufacturer. I don’t recommend staining because it dries out the caning with is a natural product, therefore letting it age and darken over time is preferable.

Bar Stool New Cushion

Bar Stool Old Cushion

In addition to replacing the broken cane I also made four new cushions which were used for comfort and to protect the caning. I initially took apart one of the cushions and created templates from it so that the new cushions would fit the chairs perfectly. I added cording to the top and bottom edges and finished each cushion with a zipper. 

Each projects brings with it new challenges that present opportunities to put to use the skills we’ve honed over the years as well as learn new skills as they need to be learned. There’s simply no better teacher than experience and giving it the old “college” try. Even better than college, just doing it, as the saying goes. With a completed project comes a certain sense of accomplishment and another skill honed or learned to add to our arsenal of mad skills. 😁