Victorian Side Chair - Cream and Yellow Diamond Print

A very typical and beautifully carved Walnut chair. The seat had collapsed, and the fabric was changed.

Before:



After:

Victorian Parlor Chair - Tartan

Sadly I have no before photos of this chair, and Pierre got it done very quickly. The chair was in pretty good shape, and the owner wanted a new fabric for it, and she chose a family tartan (plaid). For those who aren't aware, the Cornwall area is home to a lot of families with Scottish heritage, and Maxville (not far) hosts the annual Highland Games, which draws crowds from around the globe.

Here is the completed chair:







The crest of this chair had particularly deep carvings.

Eastlake / Victorian Platform Rocker - Floral Striped Fabric

This was a beautiful antique walnut rocking chair, done in the Eastlake style, but with some Victorian details. I especially like the fine reeded rails.

The fabric on the chair was worn, and the seat was starting to come apart, but the client wanted to keep the chair looking as close as possible to the same as what she had. I think we were able to find a very good match to her old fabric, and the finished chair looks great.

Before: (note that the platform had already been removed at this point)













While taking the chair apart, we found this:



The general style and quality seemed to say "Made in Europe" but the above photo confirmed this quite clearly.

The seat had been "repaired" or reinforced with an additional layer of later burlap.



Under this was the original edge roll, and the original (wonderfully striped) burlap.



Springs and the very tired/stretched webbing.



New:



And the finished chair. The fabric isn't the same as the original, but it's the same colours, with similar florals.

Antique Living Room Set (1 of 4) - Victorian Rocker - Complete Rehab, Purple Stripe

The next 4 posts are all from the same client, and include a rocker, as well as a 3 piece living room set.

This rocker had seen better days. The finish on it was mis-matched (light and dark areas), the back rails were horribly damaged, and the seat was long overdue for reworking. The frame was also wobbly.

Before:



The seat was actually sitting on top of a groove, which it is supposed to sit into (and which hides the edge of the fabric). Note the difference in the final photos.





The arrow points to the damaged areas of the frame. The fabric is NOT supposed to be attached here. The fabric should sit right inside the edge. We called our client about this, to find out if she wanted us to patch/stain/repair this, and reupholster it properly (at an extra charge), or leave it as-is. She chose for us to repair it, and at the same time refinish the entire frame, which turned out beautifully.



Here's the seat pad with the material and first layer of stuffing removed. We should see an edge roll here, and hand stitching.



Second layer removed (straw), revealing a foundation in very poor condition.





The spring twines were all very loose and/or incorrectly tied (not enough tension, and incorrect knots):



Everything was taken off, cleaned, and re-tied.



Burlap and stitched springs.



First layer of stuffing (straw from above), this time with edge roll, and side edges (to get a nice crisp shape). Also note bridle ties (long stitches in the centre) to help keep the straw in place.



Second layer of stuffing, cotton, and rough cover.



While I worked on the seat, Pierre refinished the frame, which was reglued, touched-up, sanded, re-stained a more appropriate walnut/mahogany colour, and lacquered.

Not shown is the work on the back. The back was fairly simple, but still tricky because of the striped fabric.

After:

Antique Birch Occasional Chair - Light Grey Satin Print

Here is a lovely antique chair that was in need of repairs. The frame had some loose joints, and the front of the seat had collapsed.

Here are the before photos:





You can't see too well, but the entire front upholstery was loose and floppy/collapsed.





The old webbing and springs had bowed and stretched out the bottom quite a bit (which happens over time).



When Pierre opened the front of the seat, he found a bunch of wadding stuffed into the cavity in a poor attempt to repair the seat.



With the padding removed, we could see that the old burlap was all torn at the front (again, this is normal wear and tear over time).



The old springs showed signs of previous repairs (newer non-matching ties):



Original seat stuffing:



The chair before being reassembled:





New webbing:



Springs re-tied and burlap installed (sorry no photos). Front edge roll rebuilt and installed:



The original stuffing was re-installed, with a new rough cover, followed by the finish fabric.



Rough cover on the back rest.



And here's the finished chair. We were very lucky to find a nearly perfect match for the gimp (decorative trim):