Dining Room Chairs Upgrade

Dining Chair After

Dining Chair Before

This is one of two chairs that looked pretty good initially, but at closer inspection, they both needed spring work (broken zig-zag springs) as well as new fabric and foam. The original fabric color was tan, neutral enough, but my customer had wanted a color change so she chose a lovely linen style weave gray fabric, which looked terrific.

These chairs were a bit tricky to strip down and reupholster. Luckily the seats were removable, so I was able to work on them without them being attached to the chair itself. Jim did his magic on tightening the chairs as they were both a bit loose and wobbly. Once I removed the cushioned seat, he tightened them up. The seat portion was actually made up of two sections, the top cushion itself and the side fabric, which wrapped around the entire cushion. 

Beneath the entire seat was a zig-zag spring structure with three springs. One spring on each chair had broken away from its metal clasp, so we needed to reattach the springs before I could do any upholstery work. Zig-zag springs are attached by a small metal clasp that staples into the frame. This usually requires two people to do this because the spring is very, well, springy, so it has to be held by one person and securely attached by the other person via two screws. Once that was done it was all systems go.

I replaced the old foam with new foam and softened it up with dacron before I could staple in place the new gray fabric. Once the seats were done, I attached the seats' side fabric by attaching it from the topside and turning it under against the previously used cardboard, then stapled it to the bottom edge of the seat. I added chambray (dust cover) to finish the seats. The back of the chair was quite a bit more difficult as the front and back were separate sections of material and had to be treated as two sections. The front had to be removed as well as attached first, then the back, along with welting to finish it off for a touch of elegance. After this work was complete, both chairs had acquired a brand new look, ready for an updated kitchen.

Antique Chair Reupholstered

Antique Chair Before

This was a second chair I had done for the same customer. Made in the late

Antique Chair After

nineteenth century, this chair had seen better days. The interior sides were pretty chipped away, so I did a bit of repair work to beef up the boards prior to stapling. Otherwise, it was structurally sound. 

The old material was not in poor condition, but my customer had wanted to use the same material as I had used on the previous chair since she had plenty of it left over. That's why it's a good idea to purchase more than you think you will need in the event you want additional upholstery projects done or perhaps pillows to match.

I replaced all the foam and padding in this chair to give it a softer and more supportive seat as well as the back portion. In the original upholstery they had used tacks that bordered the edge, but I opted for double welt cording, a more updated version of the old tacks used. Also, once tacks are used on a project, it's difficult to reapply them because they will want to default to the old holes, which are likely bent and uneven. For a chair such as this one which had probably been upholstered a few times in its life, those tacks damage the wood, making it brittle and difficult to work with so using welt cord is a better solution.

Once completed, the chair looked pretty good and was quite comfortable and well suited for any room. Antiques are great to work on because they are generally made very well and can be used for many more years to come when reupholstered.

Before and After Photo

Tavern Chair Redo Revisited

Tavern Chair After

Tavern Chair Before

This was a set of three chairs that were identical to four chairs I had done last year. It turned out that the woman who we did these chairs for sold the guy four chairs which he had us refinish for a table and chairs set. The woman had three more chairs she had wanted to get refinished, but chose a cowhide material instead of the gray that we had used previously. They actually turned out pretty nice. 

Like the previous tavern chairs, these had a lovely medallion on the back panel which came to life and was visible after Jim had refinished them. This medallion was barely visible before.

Made of solid oak, these rustic style chairs made a great addition to the customer's dining room and were sturdy enough for many generations to come. My guess was that these chairs were likely built in the early 20th century, perhaps mid-century, or even earlier. It's anyone's guess since it is seldom that furniture has a date to mark its inception.  Heavy and solid, these chairs were another unique project for us.

Check out the link below to view the first set of tavern chairs we had done last year:
https://finalefurniture.blogspot.com/search?q=tavern+chairs