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