Before & After: Bridgewater Chair

This is the after-shot of a Bridgewater chair we just reupholstered. By the way, you might not realize there is a difference between 'reupholstery' and 'recovering'. When a piece is recovered, it's just that - all the innards (foam, down, feathers, springs, etc.) are saved, and the interior of the piece is not really touched. When a piece is reupholstered, everything is removed, down to the frame, and essentially rebuilt. That is what was done here, and that is what is done 99% of the time in our workshop.

Here is a shot of the piece as delivered:

As you can see, we gave it some much needed TLC and new life. If the piece is well made with a solid hardwood frame, it will last for decades. Little design tweaks can be made, like changing the ruffle skirt to a more contemporary flat skirt, like we did here, update the look tremendously.

Friday in the workshop...

a little staining...

a little sanding...

a little sewing...

Have a wonderful weekend!

Custom Chesterfield Sofas

We just finished a set of two Chesterfield sofas for a client in New York. Due to the space restrictions in the installation of these pieces in a typical New York apartment (i.e. stairwell & elevator limitations), we had to be very conscious of the dimensions, as well as making the legs removal if necessary.

Comfort was also tantamount here, and the single seat and tufted back do not have the usual hardness that is generally typical of the Chesterfield style. The wool fabric used (Wool Flannel by Holland & Sherry) also helped a great deal.

Chesterfield sofas are a complicated style, with all the folds and tufting. Take a look at a corner, and I think you'll agree! It gets tight working in those quarters! We hope the client is thrilled and enjoys the sofas for years to come.

Custom Full Size Bed

We recently finished this full size upholstered headboard & bed base.

The floral pattern is matched seamlessly from the ramp of the headboard border to the body; a detail that really looks beautiful.

Edible Mid Century Modern Chairs!

How amazing are these cookies?! We had a special birthday and I thought these would be such a fun surprise for Julien, our resident Eames & chair restoration specialist! They are made by Kelley Hart, who as you can see, is an amazing artist. Here are the images she worked off of, and really, it's hard to tell the difference:

She's located in San Pedro, California, but ships nationwide. Let's see, I wonder what other challenges I can dream up for her....

Completely restored: Pierre Paulin Tulip Chairs

We just finished a complete restoration (and reupholstery) of these two Pierre Paulin Tulip Chairs. I wish I had been able to snap a photo before the work started, but they were quite eager in the workroom! I did, however, get a shot of one of the chairs completely stripped down:

These chairs were in pretty bad shape, so we removed everything and replaced it, all the while staying true to the original technical specifications. Pierre Paulin designed this chair in 1965, like a flower, with the petals opening around the sitter. It's quite comfortable, and quite complicated to reupholster (but we like that!).

Custom Sofa

We just finished this custom sofa for a project. The fabric the client chose has a distinct bohemian vibe, but it really resonates well with the design of the sofa. The details on this piece are beautiful, and you'll notice that the fabric is aligned perfectly on the seat to the base so the pattern appears almost seamless. Here are a few fun workshop photos of it in production:

The exposed tapered legs are fitted with antique brass casters in the front, and yes, it is as comfortable as it looks!