The English Armchair Abroad

Dining Chairs finished

I spent yesterday and today in the workroom with a friend finishing her dining chairs.  These are the last four (of eight) which she took home with her this afternoon.  

This was a straightforward recovering job and the fabric was wonderful to work with.  The stripes helped to keep everything straight, it didn't fray and the corners folded beautifully.  You can see on the photo below that she did a great job getting the stripes positioned the same on each chair.  What is interesting to me is that the braid is very visible to the naked eye but in the photo you can't see it at all!

It was very companionable to have someone else in the workroom.  It was also very satisfying to see how much she had learned between the first chair and the eighth!  I look forward to seeing the chairs in situ.

In the meantime I have a new client who has asked me to work on a series of six Louis style chair seats.  I have the first two stripped down and hope to get them back from the carpenter shortly.

Dining chairs

Last year a friend's cat was caught in a combine harvester and its leg was ripped off.  The cat was saved by the vet but before it was found it had sat on most of the eight dining room chairs and left a trail of blood.  

I suggested that she bought the chairs over and worked on them in my workroom where I have the tools to make things easier and could give her a hand at the same time.

These are the first two which we completed this week.  It was a straightforward "remove the old and replace with the new" job.  She ordered the fabric from England and the richness of the colours really sets off the wood.  Gorgeous. 

Chair with tapestry seat

I was asked if it would be possible to reupholster the seat and replace the tapestry cover.  The obvious problem was the memory of the fabric.  It had been on the chair for a long time and where it is folded over the seat there would be a "memory" which would be difficult to pull out.

The eaten would was also a potential problem and replacing the decorative nails took a lot of perseverance!

In the end, I decided to gently stretch the tapestry.  Worried that the colour (especially the red) would run, I only sprayed it damp and then pinned it to my workroom table where it stayed for about three days.  (The red wasn't colourfast and my table has interesting marks to prove it!)  The stretching took out the worst of the fold lines and I had something I could work with.

Once it was back in place it looked lovely.  The new upholstery was firmer and more compact so it was a new game getting the cover to fit round the corners - remember, it was already cut - but I managed to hide the one really problematical bit with a small piece of fabric underneath and the decorative nail did the rest.

Chair delivered, happy customer.

Zebra Chair

Well, it needed a name. 

We are having a party in a week's time and once again I have to empty the workroom to make way for laughter and merriment as we celebrate Robert Burn's birthday - and, indeed my own.  I have been busily trying to get all the upholstery projects finished so that we can deliver them before the party.  This was the last one.

 

It had been hacked to bits and sadly the marks still show where they shouldn't, but it has certainly taken on a new lease of life!

Louis Style chairs

These were delivered this afternoon. They are the last of five chairs that I did for a client.  As is so often the case the wood on the back was in a very fragile state and it was quite difficult attaching the fabric.  I had to use less tacks than usual.  But the result is lovely and a happy client.

No close ups as the battery on my camera died at the crucial moment!

Chair Caning Course

 

I am giving  a five day course on Chair Caning from 19 March 2012.  The course will cover removing the old canework from the chair, choosing which cane to use, repair to the frame (where possible) and the technique of 6-way caning.

Students can bring their own chair seat (I will explain how to remove the seat if necessary) or they can work on one provided by me.

If  you are interested in taking this course please contact me by email and I will then send you further information.  Accommodation can be provided if required. 

 jeanht@gmail.com

Beautiful or what

I have a client who has a wonderful feel for fabric.  She asked me to do this screen for her back in 2010 but it was delivered when I was away so I only managed to take a photograph today.  It is still as lovely today as it was then.

The fabric is silk and I was terrified of ripping it.  It was also quite a game lining up the panels.  

I wish the camera did justice to the mix of flowers - take it from me they are gorgeous.

Old Oak Carver

This chair was left in the cellar of the house we bought when we were first married.  It was in a dodgy state (probably why they left it) and we never used it.  In fact we left it in the cellar.

When we sold the house we were already living elsewhere and everything was loaded up in our absence - chair included.  Then it had a new lease of life when the African Grey Parrot used it as a perch;  and it was he who destroyed the straw seat.  It was totally unusable and we put it into the barn - a halfway house for the dump.

About a year ago I took it out and washed off the mess the swallows had made of it and decided it needed a second chance.  My course with Denis Guerin spurred me on and this is the very pleasing result.

I am particularly pleased because the oak frame is in excellent condition and the chair is very solid (and heavy!).  The herbe de mer will gradually change to a less green hue and I think will show off the natural wood beautifully.

Empire style chairs - delivered

These two chairs arrived some time ago.  The house they were in was closed up for two years and they were both covered in moth and, of course, woodworm.   The owner likes them and they were certainly worthy of restoration.

 

 

This first chair was fairly straightforward.  It needed reglueing but was otherwise in good condition.  

 

The second one, the armchair, was in a dreadful state.  The moth was so bad I stripped it down outside and left it in an outer store room until it went to the carpenter.  He immediately treated it for woodworm and then changed three of the main struts which were well and truly eaten through.  The fourth strut - the one at the front - could not be replaced as it incorporates the show wood.  Instead he reinforced it so that I could fix the webbing in place.

The client chose a grosgrain ribbon which blends beautifully with the fabric, adding finish but not detracting from the main body of the chair.

I have two more chairs, Louis style, from this client and will post photos once they are delivered.

Chair delivered, blood bath avoided

Lest you think I have been idle I have a photo for you of a chair I delivered a few weeks back.  It is for a client who asked me to recover this one and reupholster four others.  I did this one first while the others were being reglued.  

Of the other four, one is finished (photos another time), one is awaiting a cushion and two Louis style chairs are awaiting braid.

The cushion would, normally, have been done by now but unfortunately a week ago I cut my finger in the kitchen quite dramatically and although it wasn't a serious cut the amount of blood was spectacular.  The following day it was still weepy so I didn't dare go near any fabric.  Then on Monday (three days later), with the finger still well covered, I snagged it on a tack.  Thanks goodness I was working on a new project and was putting on jute.  Blood was once again everywhere.  If it had been top fabric it would not have been amusing.  Anyway, I decided I would not even look at the cushion until my finger was well and truly healed.