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Upholstered Occasional Chairs + Benches

This page features our upholstered side or occasional chairs. Chairs which are part of sets are shown on the page with their sofa or loveseats, below.

 

American Southern Tulip Poplar
Hoop-back Armchairs Ca. 1850

Our client owns a local farm outside Portland, and wanted her family Hoop-back Armchairs conserved to pass on to her family. The pair was a his-and-hers set of upholstered Captain's armchair and lady's bustle chair. A ribbon-stripe silk taffeta show cover was chosen, similar to the historic cloth found within the piece. We found evidence (which we will show when we show the mini treatment report) that the inside back originally contained springs and to were also tufted backs; MPFC returned them to their original design. the frames were broken around joinery and tacking strips were severely degraded due to multiple inappropriate upholsterings. Each chair was disassembled, joinery repaired, tacking strips replaced, holes repaired, the reglued and reassembled using warm hide glue. Vintage tulip poplar was used as necessary. The seats and backs were rebuilt using the original stuffings, cleaned and augmented with additional horsehair and algerian fiber, and covered with linen muslin.
RESUME COMING SOON!


Ladies Bustle Chair after treatment, above,
and Gentleman's or Captains' Chair below

 

J. G. Stickley Chair Ca. 1900

The family heirloom was in poor condition, having been used for many generations without maintenance. The frame was cleaned, joinery reglued, and splintering substrata was repaired. The label was preserved, and the finish was waxed. The original stuffings were missing but the original spring unit was intact and usable. Springs were tied and period appropriate hair and algerian seat pod was created and hand stitched. The back pillow was engineered in channels and filled with goose down. Loops were fashioned for the corners to suspend the pillow from the upper back finial. The seat pod and back pillow were covered in muslin and a historically accurate show cover tailored. J. G. STICKLEY CHAIR RESUME

Before, above, and after treatment, below.

NPS Crater Lake National Park CCC Bench

This bench, one of four, had been in storage for several years. All four benches were made for Crater Lake National Park at the time of the original construction of these buildings, by a member or members of the CCC crews. It had a secondary vinyl upholstery, and severe damage to the corner posts. Some material is missing from one of the posts tops, and one outer edge has sheered a piece approximately 5-inches long.
NPS CCC BENCH RESUME (Coming Soon)

Before, above, and after treatment, below.

Before, left, and after treatment, right, in the images, below.

 

Smokey Maple Upholstered Mason Monterey Wingback Chair

Finish was in good condition; however, the original upholstery and innards were long gone. There is an upholstered wingback with original upholstery and damaged finish which will be included in the Museum Collection.
RESUME FOR THE MASON MONTEREY WINGBACK

 

Mason Monterey Paddle-arm Chair + Ottoman

Finish was in poor condition due to water damage. What was left of the original finish was a thin coating of asphaltum pigment in the wood grain, or lightly pigmented finish color. The finish was restored in the manner that Mason originally used, which involves several layers of glaze, shown right. The cushions needed to be replaced for use in the Chateau, though some of the original material was able to be reused. The Paddle-arm and Ottoman will normally be displayed with the red leather as shown above right; however, the underside fabric is quite beautiful and can be shown also, right.
RESUME FOR THE MASON MONTEREY CHAIR + OTTOMAN

 

Italian Fauteuil Ca. 1920

This family heirloom fauteuil frame was badly fractured and splintered inside the apron and left-facing arm, and two feet
were split. The second generation upholstery show cover was to be left on for sentimental reasons. MPFC lifted the show cover, found the damage was more extensive than originally assessed, repaired
the damage, repaired the seat buildup (it was interconnected with some of the damaged frame), and replaced the show cover.

 

American Victorian Eastlake Ratchet-Back Chair Ca. 1875

The Eastlake chair had been robbed of its seat hair, fiber pods and springs by previous poor upholsterers: even if in good condition, the seat did not sit correctly for the piece. However, the back retained its hair pod and stuffings. The original varnish was nicely patinated, but there were several issues in the joinery .The joinery was repaired and the finish was cleaned and waxed. The seat was rebuilt to original standards using historically accurate materials and methods, and a dense cotton velvet show cover applied with historically accurate gimp tape.

Before, above, and after treatment, below.

 

American Empire Seignouret Chair Ca. 1830

Family heirlooms, this American Empire Seignouret Chair from New York had a soiled needlepoint seat, a seat that was dropping through, and the frame needed treatment and preservation. The chair was disassembled, and a seat pattern taken prior to the needlepoint show cover cleaning. The frame was cleaned and polished, shown below.

The seat was reupholstered after the show cover was cleaned; innards were cleaned and reused, and new hair and cotton was added to augment the existing, shown below.

 

Colby & Sons Greek Revival Chair Ca. 1880

This chair was built in Chicago in 1880 by Colby & Sons. Our client had us conserve the interior cushions and build-up, and a new show cover topped the conserved frame and cushion.

 

Two French Deco Chairs Ca. 1945

Family heirlooms brought from Europe, these two chairs were modestly reupholstered deco chairs in vinyl and cotton velvet. The innards, however, were intact. The pieces were excavated, frames repaired, innards cleaned and re-utilized, and reupholstery in a matelassé which is a more appropriate material and style for their time. Legs were added, as the legs they had were unfinished wooden stumps hidden under the fringe, which was removed.
TWO FRENCH DECO CHAIRS RESUME Before, above, and after treatment, below.

 

Godwin Barrel-Back Chair Ca. 1870

This is a family heirloom passed down from a great-grandfather ca. 1870.
We believe it is a Godwin barrel-back chair. It was badly broken, and had been repaired with crude metal brackets. We repaired the breaks properly, repaired the finish, allowed the anomalies to stand as is, and returned the piece to leather upholstery. GODWIN BARREL-BACK CHAIR

Before, above, and after treatment, below.

 

Fauteuil Ca. 1950

A good reproduction with gilt trim and properly built internal, this piece was cleaned, the finish preserved, the innards cleaned and reused, and then reupholstered in appropriate materials.

 

 

Additional pages offer information on specific upholstered objects;
to view, go back to Upholstered objects.