Sunday, March 17, 2013

Some love and rehab for some Thonet chairs (very Eames DCW inspired) and the finished product on the Pearsall chair and ottoman!

Just a quick update on the Adrian Pearsall chair and ottoman that's now available in the store. Yup, it turned out pretty swell even in the somewhat neutral oatmeal fabric I chose!
 



 
I had someone approach me about a set of 4 Thonet chairs and a table that they had already spent a bunch of time attempting to rehab. The laminate top table was manufactured here locally and although the top was a laminate was high quality and in pretty great shape.
The Thonet chairs originally had a padded back and seat and I think the sellers intention was to just refinish the bent plywood and try to redo sans the upholstery. Here is how this "project" came to me!
 




 
I loved the DCW lines of the chairs and the quality of the constuction even though they weren't Eames. We agreed on a price for the set and I was determined to take these all the way down to the "bones". Total rehab was in order. The seller had already spent a bunch of time with some citrus stripper to get the old finish off as well as who knows how much time sanding and they still needed lots of attention!
 



 
Here's the table and chairs before stain. Table has not been prepped as yet but chairs are ready for stain. And here we are ready for a nice satin lacquer as soon as they dry down.
 


 
Now that the frames are pretty much ready to go it's time to fugure out how to replicate the padded backs. I've seen some examples of how these should look on some of the auction sites. With the holes in the backs they definetely need the padded backs replaced.
More to come soon on my solution to this challenge!
 
 


4 comments:

  1. The Pearsall chair and ottoman look amazing!!! They're so impeccably done. Bravo! I can't wait to see what you do with the Thonets. It looks like a huge project, but I bet they'll be fantastic when you're done.

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  2. Thanks Dana, The Thonets are proving to be a challenge. Especially trying to replicate the bent plywood pieces needed for the reupholstery on the face of the back cushions. The 7/32" plywood is not very receptive to being molded despite a good soaking and clamping.

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  3. Hi, i've seen your posts in the past about painting mid-century furiture and wanted to share this tragic listing on e-bay with you. I don't know much about these chairs but do you think they were high-end chairs?

    http://www.ebay.com/itm/Set-of-6-midcentury-modern-dining-chairs-danish-hollywood-regency-madmen-MOD-/330893559271

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    1. They have some nice lines but being painted I likely would walk by. Way too much trouble to rehab considering the labor and I don't have a tank system for stripping!

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