Restored Pollock Executive Armchair

Is it possible to feel sorry for a piece of furniture? We sort of felt sorry for this well-loved Pollock Executive Armchair when it arrived at our workshop! On the one hand, it's wonderful to see pieces used so often they shred! On the other hand...please let us fix this poor boy up! And we did!

The original chair was covered in fabric, which as you can see, wears harder than leather. We completely restored and reupholstered this piece, with beautiful white leather, and cleaned up the metal until it gleamed again.

This chair is still in production and can be purchased through Knoll. It's one of the most comfortable chairs, due to the design, which cradles your body. 

Incidentally, if you're interested in more information about Pollock pieces, check out this post of ours from July 2015, with a great video on the man himself, Charles Pollock. 

Restored & Reupholstered Saarinen Executive Armchairs

The Executive Armchair by Eero Saarinen is such a classic chair. And while it tends toward the industrial and utilitarian, it is just as lovely in a private residential setting as it is in the office.

This set had certainly seen better days; you can click on the photos to see them larger, but the fabric was very faded and very worn, even torn in some areas. We stripped all the chairs down to their fiberglass shell, and started all over.

The photo above is actually a great look at the 'bones' of the chair! And, if you look carefully (feel free to click on the image to enlarge it!) you can even see the date stamp of 11-12-62!

We completely restored & reupholstered each of the chairs. The photo below shows one of our upholstery professionals, Francisco, closing the chair by hand, as we always do for these classic pieces.

The new fabric, as you can see, is a gorgeous, deep blue. With the polished metal bases, they are standout, focal pieces.

We have more restored & reupholstered Saarinen Executive Chairs here and here - take a look!

Completely Restored Charles Pfister for Knoll dining table

Sometimes, pieces come into our workshop in such sad shape. And when they are rare pieces, such as this Charles Pfister dining table for Knoll, your heart almost breaks at the sight of the extent of the damage.

This Pfister table was badly damaged by a fire, and initially, we weren't even sure if we could save it. The top was badly burned, with deep marks, and the chrome metal inlay (on the tabletop side) was bent and scratched. We didn't want to replace the inlay because we wanted to preserve the integrity of the piece and its' history.

It's very difficult to find a Charles Pfister dining table; our research only uncovered a smaller card table - nothing of this size. The top is lacquered wood and besides the beautiful chrome inlay, it also has chrome legs.

We completely restored this piece in our workshop, no new parts were used! Here is how it turned out, what do you think?

Quite a labor of love on this one! It was worth every minute!

Happy Birthday Eero Saarinen

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Today would have been Eero Saarinen's 105 birthday! Born in Finland on August 20, 1910, he immigrated to the US, with his family, at the age of 13. His father, influential architect Eliel Saarien, taught at Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan, where Eero took courses and became friends with fellow students, Charles & Ray Eames, and became good friends with Florence Knoll (it's like the mid-century brat pack, right?).

His accomplishments were many, and his talent was diverse. We are lucky to have so many of his wonderful and amazing designs in our lives. And, we at Classic Design, are so honored to have a part in restoring his legacy back to their original splendor.

Happy Birthday Mr. Saarinen!

Before & After: Vintage Florence Knoll sofa

We recently finished restoring a rare, early production Florence Knoll sofa for a client. This is a before photo:

It's a little different from the later models in that the arms are set outside of the metal base frame. Here's what we did:

It's always such a pleasure to breathe new life into an older piece, especially one as classic as this! 

Video: Finding Charles Pollock

As a design junkie, I spend quite a bit of personal time online reading blogs, following links, and getting inspiration. Clicking around on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, I came across this fascinating (short) video about Charles Pollock (by Robert Chrisco), who designed the classic Pollock Executive chair, which is still in production with Knoll.

Finding Charles Pollock from Robert Chrisco on Vimeo.

Almost all our office chairs here at Classic Design are Pollock Executive chairs, and they are probably one of the most comfortable I've ever experienced. 

We've also done our share of Pollock restorations, and not just the Executive Office chair (which was introduced in 1965). Another popular chair is the Sling Chair - also known as the Pollock Arm Chair, or 657 Sling Chair. This piece was the first he created for Knoll in the late 1950's. 

Interestingly, Charles Pollock worked with George Nelson in the early 1950's. During this time, he developed the Swag Leg Chair, which Nelson went on to produce with Herman Miller - also still in production. 

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We have an early barstool - a very rare piece - here in the studio. 

In 2012, 47 years after the release and success of the Executive Office chair, Charles Pollock released his final creation - the CP.1 Chair.  Another beautiful execution of design and style.

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It's amazing to see the succession of design through the years. Charles Pollock died in 2013 at the age of 83. I hope you'll take the time (5 minutes!) to watch the video above, and let us know what you think. 

Classic Design on Chairish!

Have you heard of Chairish yet? It's a great marketplace for buying & selling home decor. As you may know, we periodically buy classic pieces, which are restored here, and oftentimes they stay indefinitely because the logistics of selling are difficult. Chairish makes it easier - you list, upload and they handle the transportation! We've listed some of the pieces we have on hand - click on over and browse a bit. Better yet, click on over and buy, buy, buy!

Before & After: Knoll Womb Chair

I hope everyone enjoys a good before & after shot as much as I do! I love seeing these pieces come in, worn and tattered, because it reveals just how much they are used and enjoyed. And, of course, they have passed the test of time, which is something you don't see much of in an industry that is rampant with low price/low quality goods. The lesson is: spend extra for quality and you'll enjoy it for a lifetime.

A lot of our referrals are directly from the manufacturers (Knoll, Herman Miller, etc.) and while we love and appreciate every single one of them, it's always nice when an actual Knoll employee brings their own piece to us for a complete restoration. Here is a before shot;

And after a complete restoration, including reupholstery, new foam and metal work:

The metal actually needed quite a bit of work, here is a closeup:

More of our restorations can be found here!

Jens Risom Lounge Chair: before & after

Jens Risom is a Danish American designer, born in Copenhagen, and one of the first designers to introduce Scandinavian design to the United States. He studied at the Copenhagen School of Industrial Arts & Design, where he was classmates with Hans Wegner (designer of the Papa Bear Chair, among others).

After teaming with Knoll in 1941, they launched the Hans Knoll Furniture Company with 15 pieces of the '600' line, designed by Risom. These pieces included armchairs, stools and lounge chairs made from cedar and surplus webbing, and which have become design classics in the years since.

After the war, he started his own design firm, Jens Risom Design, and his reputation continued to grow.  Luckily for us all, these pieces are still available and sold through Knoll. 

This is the armless lounge chair (it can also be purchased with arms), and the frame is maple with a clear finish. All the joints are mortise & tenon constructed. Here is the before photo:

And after we refreshed the frame & replaced the webbing:

Beautiful, comfortable & practical ~ exactly what modern classics should be!

Before & After: Barcelona Stool restoration

We just finished up the restoration of two Barcelona stools. These are such beautiful pieces, and we were so happy to be able to breathe new life into them. Here are a few before pictures...

We replaced the straps on the frame, fabricated new cushions and reupholstered the cushions exactly as they had originally been made (repairing a previous upholstery job that made the covers incorrectly), and we cleaned & polished the frames. The result are two stools that look brand new again.

Before & After: Florence Knoll Sofa & Lounge Chair

Florence Knoll designed her eponymous sofa & lounge chair collection in 1954, and it quickly became a classic. These pieces are highly collectible and we love the opportunity to bring them back to their spectacular original condition. This particular set was well taken care of and in pretty good condition, albeit rather worn and slightly threadbare. 

We reupholstered the sofa and lounge chair in Knoll fabric in a beautiful shade of gray.

The Florence Knoll collection is still in production through Knoll and available in fabric or leather. The sofa is available as a 2-seat or 3-seat option, and there is a bench as well, to round out the collection nicely.