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| Antique Loveseat After |
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| Antique Loveseat Before |
Everyone has heard the term “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” This is one example of it. Our customer had told us his wife had found this bench on the side of the road. Evidently someone had tossed it out, with the trash. Luckily she saw the beauty hidden beneath a century of grime, dirt and stains. It had been in his workshop for a while so he decided to surprise her for Christmas and get it refinished.
This loveseat had a strong structure. Nothing was broken, just old and stained out fabric. This was going to be a challenge both of us would welcome. Little did we know just how gorgeous the wood beneath would become and present us with a showpiece.
After Jim removed the old fabric and springs, he began the tedious task of stripping the old finish. He discovered that this bench had never been re-upholstered, all was original, hence the stains and saggy seat. The underside of the bench had a vertical support board in the center on which a spring was mounted that was much higher than the other springs. This caused it to lift up past the rest of the springs. More likely the case was that the spring that was installed was a bit too large for that area and a smaller spring should have been used since it would have a different tension than the springs which were attached to the webbing. This wouldn’t be a problem because my plan was to use webbing with foam and cotton batting instead of springs.
Jim was rather unsure of how the wood would accept the stain once he had the old finish completely stripped and sanded. He discovered the wood was quite “splotchy” and he thought it would maintain that look after it was stained. I realized that I’d seen this before, this type of reddish splotchy look in a couple of chairs I’d done before. They were made of bloodwood, which has this type of appearance. Bloodwood can be found in southern Africa. It is very unique because once the tree is cut, it “bleeds” with a reddish sap. This tree has medicinal qualities that can be used for healing. If you’d like to read more about bloodwood, check out this link: https://www.amusingplanet.com/2014/05/the-bloodwood-tree.html
We mixed two stains to create the perfect mix for this bench and wow! The color was perfect for the look we’d envisioned! The splotchy appearance was no longer visible. The stain flowed and covered the wood beautifully and we were very happy with the results. After Jim worked his magic with the stain and polyurethane, I could work mine. We chose the perfect fabric, a lovely gold threaded diamond pattern on a burgundy background. This is traditional fabric which we both agreed would be perfect for our customer’s décor. I used time and true upholstery techniques and lined the bottom with new webbing. (My pneumatic stapler is my favorite new tool!)
Once the webbing was in place, I secured burlap over the top to strengthen the seat and maintain the tension. I had a 2” section of high density foam which was cut to size and placed on top of the burlap. Followed by Dacron, which was securely stapled around the perimeter. This added thickness and a firm seat. This was followed up with layered poly batting, creating a “crown” so the center of the bench curved with nice, rounded lines. Once everything was secured, I was able to install the beautiful fabric. We we right, it worked great. The last and final step was stapling the dust cover to the bottom to cover the webbing and finish off the bench.
This was truly a gorgeous piece of furniture. And to think, someone tossed it out with the trash. Now it’ll become someones treasure for another century. Long after I’m gone, this bench will be gracing the home of future generations. I’m thrilled to be a part of it! This was definitely one of our favorites, a showpiece.
To see the other bloodwood furniture, check out this link: http://finalefurniture.blogspot.com/search?q=bloodwood+chair
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