Old and tatty arm chairs are not just old and tatty arm chairs. There are many people out there who collect them, fix them up and then sell them on. Maybe you can be the next in line to make some money from apparently useless old furniture.
Antique arm chairs are in high demand from collectors. They come in all shapes and sizes and an infinite different number of finishes and material patterns. These collectors will tend to buy with the intention of refinishing them to their original condition and selling them on. The collectors either take on the task themselves or contract it out to a third party, an experienced re-finisher, to do the job for them.
When you take on the job of antique leather armchair restoration you need to know who you can contact to get the items needed to complete the job. Or know someone who can make what you need. For example, the fabrics used on the original items are no doubt going to be long out of print, so someone who collects old fabrics or has the ability to reproduce the fabrics is going to be your new best friend. Also, there are many accessories that may not be available on todays market, like beads, rivets, staples and other details.
If you need you replace wood that’s either broken or there are parts missing, then you are going to have to employ a joiner to complete the job. Unless of course you happen to be an experienced joiner yourself. Clearly you have to use the correct woods, using a different patterned grain or colour is going to have a negative effect on the finished item. Then there are stains, if the original items wood has been stained then you are going to have to seek out the right colour of stain, which could take some time, there are hundreds of possibilities to choose from. You don’t want to be trying out stains on the chair itself, so some sample pieces of wood are in order.
After staining you need to leave the wood to dry completely before you go any further. This could take a day or two. Once its ready to go, you can assemble the frame and and refinish the padding with the fabric that you have hopefully found previously. Once that’s done you can move onto the details, the studs and staples and any other finishing touches that need applying.
Clearly this isn’t a guide on how to restore antique furniture, its just a little something to give you some insight as to what is in front of you. There is plenty of information out there on the world wide web and plenty of good books for you to get some great information from.
Once you have your arm chair refinished, I would recommend that you keep your new love out of harms way. In rooms that aren’t used too often and certainly not somewhere that children frequently play. Where it can be enjoyed for years to come.
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