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

19th Century British Plantation Chair Re-Caned

Plantation Chair
After

Plantation Chair
Before

Large, one of a kind and very labor intensive, this is a 19th Century British Plantation chair which was in dire need of new caning due to the broken seat area. This was definitely the largest caning chair I had ever done and possibly the largest chair I had ever worked on. I had never seen anything like it, so after some research, I discovered its origin. Used by plantation owners, chairs such as this were preferred for veranda seating due to the caning, which allowed easy air flow to cool its occupant. 

This chair had a feature that I had never seen, dual caning. The front of the chair had strand (woven) caning and the rear had press-in caning. I knew I had a great deal of work ahead of me when I took on this project and I was absolutely right. Because of the sheer size of the chair, it was difficult to reach the farthest points in the curved portion of the chair. There was a lot of stretching and reaching to achieve the results required to make this chair work.

I had to be creative with following the curve of the seat by using a cardboard sleeve to keep the caned strands somewhat even while weaving the strands from the top to the bottom edges of the chair. Since the strands had to follow the lines of the chair and stay loose, it was hard to determine just how loose they needed to be. This was quite difficult. Once I accomplished that, it was time to begin the actual horizontal weave. The farther down I got, the more difficult it became. I had to twist and turn my body to reach these distant areas. (See photo below). Eventually I finished the entire front and tackled the back. This was difficult because the front caning came through the part where the back push-in spline had to go. Suffice it to say it was quite challenging. I was extremely happy to be finished with this chair that took about six weeks of labor intensive work to complete.

Rene's weaving of
the plantation chair

Antique Chair Refinished w/New Cane Seat

Antique Chair
Before

Antique Chair
After

This antique chair had seen better days. It belonged to our customer's great-great grandfather, likely dating back to the early 20th century. Commonly seen with a set around a dining room table, this chair had many spindles and a fair share of darkened stain that needed to be refreshed.

The back had oxidized and had a lot of alligatoring, which is a rough texture formed by years of exposure to either sun or the elements. It had lovely carving which was practically invisible due to the alligatoring. 

The seat had been caned and was broken, so once Jim had finished his magic I tackled it by installing new press-in caning. Once the refinishing had been done and the newly caned seat was installed, the chair one again looked great and would serve for many years to come and may last another 100 years or longer. By stripping off the old stain, the beautiful oak was again exposed, transforming the chair to a younger version of itself.

Antique Dresser Converted Into Wine Cabinet

Dresser After
as Wine Cabinet

Dresser Before

This was originally an antique dresser, likely dating back to the early 1900's as it had been sitting for quite a long time. It had a musty smell, the drawers could not be opened (without a hammer) and the top was warped. Needless to say, this dresser was going to be quite a challenge. 

Our customer had wanted something different, unique for this old lady. She needed to be repurposed into something else. After discussion and brainstorming ideas, it was decided that this old lady would be better suited as a wine cabinet, so Jim got to work on the overall design and started to make it happen. 

In order for this to happen, it required open space, so the top and second drawer were removed completely and a brand new interior structure had to be designed and built. Jim sketched out ideas and came up with the center being open for wine glass storage and the left and right sections, as well as beneath the opening would hold wine bottles. Once he had designed and built the divided sections, he primed and painted it black with chalk paint. We lined the back opening with wallpaper selected by our customer. 

Brass drawer pulls were used for the drawers which matched the brass lock covers perfectly.  Jim even located a skeleton key for the drawers at a local antique store, so they can be locked if needed. The two drawers could be used for utensils or linens, depending on the person's preference. The drawers were also lined with the same wallpaper as the back of the wine area which made it a functional, cohesive design. This was a major overhaul of a once neglected, musty old dresser. The newly painted wine cabinet was fresh, modern and a multi-functional item of furniture, well-suited for entertaining and storage.

Antique Cedar Chest Restoration

Cedar Chest After

Cedar Chest Before

This cedar chest had seen better days as it had been in storage in a garage for several decades. The exterior had become rough, with a sand-like debris covering the front bottom decorative edge. 

The overall condition of this cedar chest was very good, except for the back leg which needed to be tightened because it was loose. The interior was in mint condition, lined with newspapers that dated back to 1954.

The front of this cedar chest had a lovely carving which was hidden by the many years' it had been sitting in storage. It had darkened with age, therefore the lovely detail wasn't as clearly visible as it should have been. It was screaming "make me pretty again!"

The legs were quite decorative with their ball shape, lending a strong, sturdy appearance. The top was quite scratched, with a deep gouge in one area. Jim had his work cut out for him by stripping, sanding and staining this piece and attending to the loose back leg. The front decorative carving was removable, which made it more accessible to refinish, as this was done separately. He used cherry stain which lightened the entire cedar chest, therefore making the front detailed carving more visible, with a striking new appeal. Like many other cedar chests we have done, this one was unique and lovely again.

If you would like to see other cedar chests we have done, please click on the links below.
https://finalefurniture.blogspot.com/2019/11/solid-cedar-chest.html
https://finalefurniture.blogspot.com/2016/08/1948-lane-cedar-chest_22.html
https://finalefurniture.blogspot.com/2015/04/elegant-cedar-chest-revival.html
https://finalefurniture.blogspot.com/2013/12/1945-lane-waterfall-cedar-chest.html
https://finalefurniture.blogspot.com/2012/06/my-waterfall-cedar-chest.html

Dining Room Chairs Upgrade

Dining Chair
After

Dining Chair
Before

This is one of four dining room chairs which needed an upgrade with new upholstery. The old fabric was still in remarkably good condition, however my customer had wanted to match curtains with the chairs so she chose a silvery-gray fabric which gave the chairs a classy and elegant look.

Unlike most of the other chairs I have worked on, these had a unique approach in how the fabric was attached to the cushion. After inspecting the bottom, I realized there were no screws holding in the seats. Everything was done from bottom up. Beneath the fabric was the Dacron; beneath the Dacron was the foam and underneath everything was the webbing. 

The material had been attached by staples at the base of the seat's top, covered up with double welt cording. In most dining room chairs the seat is removed by unscrewing it from the base, so each seat can be worked on independently of the chair. The advantage is that you have access to the entire seat and can work on a tabletop. For this particular chair, that was not the case. Everything had to be removed and reassembled right on the chair. This leaves little to no room for error (not that that ever happens...lol). Once I established how these seats were put together, I proceeded to yank off the old welt cording, then removed staples, lots and lots of staples at the base of the seat, surrounding the entire chair.

Because these chairs needed new cushions, I removed the old Dacron and cushions and replaced them with new high density foam. I also reinforced the old webbing by adding some new webbing strips to give the bottom extra firmness and support. The old webbing was likely original, narrow and a little sloppy. I used three inch jute webbing, which provides a stronger, more stable seat. For the cushions, I used the old cushions for size and shape, then cut the new ones and aligned them on the webbing, then secured them with staples on the bottom edge. 

New Dacron covered the foam and then the chairs were ready for new new fabric. Slow is pro, so I took my time and made sure the material covered the chair enough to allow for the staples without covering the lip of the seat. The final step was gluing the double welt cording to the bottom edge which covers the staples while providing an elegant finishing touch to the seats. Two of the chairs required a replacement of the chambray dust cover, so once those were done, my project was complete.

Dining Chair
Before/After

 

Antique Dresser Beautfication

Dresser After

Dresser Before

A lovely piece of furniture that had seen better days, this antique mahogany dresser was a great piece to make beautiful again. The beautification process for this little gem started by removing the old knobs, repairing the drawers which included replacing one of the drawer bottoms and proceed with stripping, sanding and applying new stain. 

We selected red mahogany stain with satin finish for this piece which was appropriate for the vintage and wood style.

The original knobs were made of wood, which were switched out with brushed brass knobs. This really made this little dresser into a lovely finished piece of furniture and a great addition to any household.
 

Dry Seak Freshen Up

Dry Sink After

Dry Sink Before

This little cabinet is commonly referred to as a dry sink. Before they had indoor plumbing, people would keep a large wash basin on the top of such a cabinet with towels and toiletries beneath for a quick freshen up. 

It didn't need an entire refinishing, just a little bit of refresh. This included replacing the top drawer bottom which was damaged and wouldn't close easily. Jim replaced the broken piece with new wood and strengthened it in the process.

Made of sturdy oak, this dry sink was in really great shape. After he cleaned and refreshed it, the natural beauty of the wood came through. Oddly enough, the cabinet door did not have a knob, so we're not sure how a person would have opened it without opening the top drawer and pushing on the door. It didn't even have a hole where a knob would have been. Luckily we had a glass knob in our repertoire of supplies which matched pretty well and looked great once it was installed. 

The customer took the "before" photo, so it looks much darker than the "after" photo due to the lighting. The "after" photo is more representative of how the actual dry sink looked, which was a much lighter shade of oak and looked terrific.

Grandpa's Rocking Chair Makeover

Rocking Chair After

Rocking Chair Before

Well used and worn out, this was once a grandfather's favorite chair. It had been reupholstered a long time ago prior to my getting it, so the material was quite faded, stretched out and dirty. The seat had broken springs, so the chair was literally sinking. Needless to say, the chair was not usable in its condition and needed a lot of TLC as well as new materials, inside and out.

Removing the old fabric is always time-consuming because there are plenty of staples. First I had to remove the upholstery tacks which had been used along with gimp as a trim on the front and back sides and bottom edge. Personally I don't care much for upholstery tacks, because as wood ages it becomes even harder and the tacks inevitably bend so much after you hammer them in, they shift and don't line up where you start. I prefer to use welt cording instead of tacks.

Once I had removed all the fabric, I tackled the seat area and removed the old burlap and worn out seat padding. The springs had come loose and were poking right through the chambray dust cover. Because they had come off the wood, they were quite tangled in the chambray and made the bottom fabric material challenging to remove. Finally, once everything was taken off I could access the springs to reattach them to the framework. Luckily they were in great condition as I like using the original springs when possible.

After the springs were reattached, I covered them with burlap, then laid one inch padding on top of the burlap. This was followed by two layers of dacron and a layer of raw cotton batting, which made for a cushy, crown-soft seat ready for fabric. My customer had selected a taupe/brown plush material with a pattern of alternating nap squares which created an attractive highlighted and low lighted effect. 

With the seat finished, I moved started on the top of the chair. The original design had a welt cord at the neck level with a "pillow" for a headrest, so I recreated that look by sewing two sections of fabric together, adding a welt cord between them to replicate the original. I liked the detail of the welt cord in that area. After I attached the front, I moved on to the back, attaching it at the top with an invisible seam by using cardboard strip and staples, then flipping the material down and attaching it to the bottom of the chair. This made for a streamlined look. To finish off the chair, I used double welt cording for trim on the sides and continued on the back. This chair was unique because it had wheels only in the front. After completion, the chair looked great and will greet many generations to come.

    Before & After

Twin Rocking Chairs Makeover

Rocking Chair After

Rocking Chair Before

This was a dual set of identical rocking chairs which ended up being painted instead of being refinished and stained. They came to us without cushions, just an old seat covering and broken springs. Jim worked his magic by first sanding and priming the chairs before painting them. Then it was my turn.

To modify and update these twin chairs, I used jute webbing instead of springs for the center opening on the seat area. This worked very well and will do the job of sustaining comfort and support. This is a commonly used method for this application. The customer chose a lovely dark blue/gray color and matching plaid fabric which looked great. 

I designed and sewed two sets of cushions for these chairs, one for the seat and one for the backrest. The seat cushion had a 2" foam for support and comfort while the back was filled with soft fiberfill used for chair stuffing. I liked this choice because it made for a very comfortable backrest with adequate support. 

For an added elegant touch, I chose satin buttons to decorate the back cushions, evenly spaced for an aesthetic appeal. For the skirting I used my ruffle foot on my sewing machine which created evenly space ruffles all the way around the 60" perimeter of the seat. This was the perfect finishing touch for the chairs.

Antique Rocking Chair Reupholstered

Rocking Chair
Before

This was an antique rocking chair which my customer had refinished prior to my

Rocking Chair
After

receiving it to be reupholstered. The customer had selected a light weave material which looked great with the dark stain on the mahogany wood. The springs were in pretty good condition, so they didn't require to be re-tied. I covered the springs with upholstery burlap, a normal procedure for this type of chair. (The customer supplied the "before" photo since they did the refinishing and I did the upholstery only).

The wood was in great shape and the chair was sturdy and well preserved. The material was a linen weave in a light cream color, well suited to the color of the stain selected by my customer. I finished off the chair with welt cording on the front and rear seat portion for a touch of elegance and style.