Here is a wonderful and unusual 1940s or 1950s chrome, and “faux bois” painted Sofa set, which has a roll-out hide-a-bed, and 2 matching chairs. This was quite an unusual and interesting set. The set had a few issues with it. First, the upholstery was quite faded and worn in places, then there was a lot of scratching inside the circular side “pans” with the faux bois (wood grained) finish, and there were also a LOT of missing buttons that the owner wanted to have put back. The arm tops were also badly flaking, and we stripped those and refinished them in the same 2-tone effect.

The owner chose a green “emu” pattern vinyl for the sofa, and a matching light brown for the two chairs.

Before:

I believe there were only 2 or 3 buttons left out of 28.

The back bracket was also repainted silver, since it was scratched, and has a few rust spots showing.

This shows some of the scratching on one of the 6 pans.

One of the chairs:

 This may look like old dirt, but it’s simply padding that’s been set against the webbing to keep the springs quiet.

This shows the underside of one of the chair frames before taking it apart. Note the cotton, which is between the springs and the webbing.

Old stuffing removed, showing the old base layers in need of new burlap.

The original stuffing (which goes on top of the base in the previous photo, is simply straw and cotton (very common – and it lasts nearly forever).

New webbing, spring “cage” reinstalled, with new burlap.

Existing edge roll reinstalled with new burlap (hand stitched).

Arms before refinishing:

And here’s the completed set. Refinished arm tops, repainted pan interiors (dark brown), and new vinyl upholstery. We also polished all the chrome.

As a small side project to go with these, there were also two small ottomans.

Before:

After:

Here is a very unusual child’s Morris style chair. The frame on it is birch, and it has an adjustable back rest just like on larger Morris chairs.

The owner wanted the chair refinished in a slightly darker shade (the chair had been stripped and refinished sometime in the past), and a new cover in a lather-look beige vinyl. We also repainted the adjusting back rod in flat black.

Before:

After:

Here is another nice settee set found at auction, and in desperate need of repairs. The new owner (same as the previous 4 chairs) wanted the old upholstery removed, with new foam installed, and to have the frames stripped down, repaired, and have the fragile veneer patched and repaired as best we could. The set is likely from around the 1890s or early 1900s.

Here are the before photos:

The upholstery that was on these chairs was a complete mess.

A complete mix of disintegrated old original stuffing, plus newer foam tossed over the older stuffing.

The 3 pieces were completely dismantled for repairs and refinishing.

A lot of time was spent doing the repairs to the veneer, and regluing loose veneer that was lifting around the edges.

New webbing, followed by new foam (the owner did not want the springs reinstalled).

Here are the three pieces completely repaired, refinished, and upholstered in a lovely dark red/burgundy.

The chair was the piece that needed the most severe veneer repairs, but I think they came out really well, and the client was very happy with them.

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.

These are two exceptionally well made chairs by CFM (Canada Furniture Manufacturers) probably from around the 1920s or 30s. One of the chairs was in good shape, but with one bad repair, and the other had a very worn finish, so the owner chose to have both chairs stripped and redone. The original needlepoint covers were removed (and saved) and the client wanted to have them cleaned and reinstalled, but she was told by the dry cleaners that they couldn’t clean them for her, so she picked another red fabric for the chairs.

Before:

Deteriorated shellac finish.

The original upholstery stuffing was reused, but with new burlap, new spring ties, and a new rough cover in white muslin.

The completed chairs:

Here is a very nice simple sofa that was in need of new upholstery, as well as new foam. Almost all the foam in this sofa was very soft, or falling apart. The owner chose to have the piece redone in white cotton. The legs on the sofa were also much too short, and we replaced them.

Before:

The sofa was originally specially made (or ordered) for a client in Ottawa. As an interesting side note, most of the frame on this sofa was solid cherry, which is a wood rarely used for upholstery frames.

An in-between photo, showing the deck being installed.

Finished sofa.

Here are 4 antique chairs done for a client. There are two matching dining room chairs, a large arm chair, and a rocker. All these pieces were bought at auction, and they were in various states of disrepair. The new owner wanted all the old upholstery removed, and replaced with new foam, and all the frames repaired, stripped, and refinished.

Here are the before photos:

The fabric on this chair was actually originally a brilliant peacock blue and gold, and has faded to a pale mint colour.

There was a large (deep) crack through the back board.

Upholstery removed:

Here is the rocker:

The arms of the rocker with top fabric removed:

And here are the completed chairs. All the frames were completely knocked apart, stripped, reglued, and refinished. The client chose to have all the chairs finished in a dark chocolate brown, which looks very good with the rich red and blue fabrics. The original casters for the chairs were reattached later (we had not cleaned them yet when I took the photos).

Here is the rocker, which also needed several repairs to the frame.

And finally, the arm chair.

Here is a simple arm chair. It was still in perfect shape, with a nice fabric, but the owner wanted a change.

Before: (note, the ferns are purple velvet, but the camera didn’t pick it up too well)

Chair completely stripped down.

After:

Here are a pair of Brentwood Furniture wing chairs. These are 2 of 4 chairs done in the same fabric for the same client.

Before:

After:

We often make arm covers, but I rarely photograph them. Here are a pair:

Here are a pair of Brunetti Furniture wing chairs. These are 2 of 4 chairs done in the same fabric for the same client.

Before:

After: