Antiques & Heirloom Furniture

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Great greatgrandma's needlepointed rocker and footstool recreated with Spanish Old World fabrics

Great grandfather's chair - also done with Spanish Old World fabrics

Great grandmother's platform rocker with a built-in footstool

Is it a wingback chair? Is it a channel back chair? It's a combination of both.

Replaced velvet on statue pedestal

Granddad made the chair, now it's gently refinished and redecked with new leather cushions

Sleeping Beauty comes out of decades in a dusty barn for a complete makeover

And the companion chair to Sleeping Beauty above. Don't throw away old chairs. They can become beautiful again.

Victorian sofa reupholstered for the Lord and Lady

Courting sleigh seat reupholstered in Mr.'s memory with his family tartan

Another heirloom created through the use of a family tartan

Grandmother's red velvet chair refinished, restuffed, and reupholstered in sculpted microfiber

When your childhood chair gets ready to meet your grandchildren (in durable stain resistant fabric)

A set of 1974 purchases get royal treatment in woven-to-order wool mohair and wood refinishing

Rock me Momma like a wagon wheel! Momma's nursing rocker refinished and reupholstered for the grandbabies to come

Authentic Pullman Channelback Chair with cat damage and three wood species to stain match

Dearest Mrs. Beedy tells a story from her mother's re-seated chair

Antique Morris rocker and springbase cushions for its companion chair

Morris chair's missing seat is recreated

Corner chair restoration to honor the memory of her dad

A classic channel back chair

Repairs to a blown-out spring base and damaged claw foot carvings

Duncan Phyfe Sofa & ottoman for the family of Linda L. Bean of L.L. Bean (step-by-step explanation)

19th century sofa “before” restoration. Unhappy insides are ready for rehab

The ornate carvings are breathtaking!

Layers of traditional cotton, horsehair, netting, coconut husk, burlap…

Continuing to dismantle, inspect, and vacuum

Hand-tied fresh springs, and more of them! No more sinking and kissing your knees

New horsehair stuffing is sewn in and teased together to create a traditional cushion base

Left arm after cleaning and oiling, right arm “before”

Ever see fur carved into a clawfoot? Stunning!

Aptly named by another contractor as “an OCD nightmare” — in order to accomplish these curves, the material had to be cut between every line in the corded velvet and fastened to the backside

Note every cord is level and lined up with the trim cording

Matching gimp is meticulously applied around all exposed unsewn edges

The finished beauty

Antique Ribbon Dining Chair Drop-in Seats for Linda Bean of "Linda Bean's Maine Wyeth Art Gallery"

Unfortunately, the original frames are not strong enough to reuse. Wood borer beetles, temporary repairs, and tack damage took a toll.

New maple frames handcrafted with through tenons & pegs. Smoothed with a spoke shave and rasp so as not to abrade the jute when seating guests.

Stretching fresh high-tension jute webbing onto the new frames

Webbing & burlap ready for bridles & horsehair

Horsehair everywhere! The original hair stuffing is handwashed & ready for retying

Covering the horsehair with muslin and cotton ticking

Next step: a delightfully thick layer of dreamy soft natural cotton batting under the final fabric

Luxurious seats to welcome guests for a fine Maine lobster dinner

Victorian Chair for Mrs. Daphne Sanders (step-by-step explanation)

“Before” restoration. Silk jacquard is going floral! Fabulously ornate carvings on this Victorian beauty.

Layers of traditional cotton, horsehair, and burlap

Collapsed webbing and sagging springs, why is that?

Ohh, that’s why. We can fix that!

Wood hardener & epoxy filler create a strong base to endure the tension of new webbing and hand-tied springs

Burlap handsewn onto the springs. Very comfy already!

Wow! The horsehair really has some loft after the handwashing and teasing out

The final product! Daphne’s choice of fabric will brighten any room and stand up to exploration by kitties and the husky (did we mention we love huskies?)

Roadside Rescue Sofa Repair and Reupholster (step-by-step explanation)

Triage: Back is loose, springs showing through, sagging upholstery. A durable hardwood frame makes this gem worth restoring.

The entire frame needed to be gently taken apart and re-glued. Fresh hardwood pegs and epoxy judiciously applied.

Here it is — just as strong as when it was new. No more jumping and wrestling, kids!

Call in the engineer — this is a mess! Prior repair attempts and unusual frame spacing just aren’t working here…

A rebuilt frame with new springs, properly spaced and hand tied. What a difference!

Here we go with the reconstruction process. Bring on that new spring decking!

The owner chose to replace the horsehair and cotton with modern foam, a substantial savings in labor and materials

Back home in a gorgeous historic house among fantastic family heirloom furnishings