Number 10 Upholstery » Mid Century Modern

Putting the Retro in Retrospective

Kay Wright — Mon, 18 Jan 2016 20:57:31 +0000

Welcome 2016! It’s a new year and as we are faced with a very cold workshop with nothing but chia seeds inside us to keep us warm, we’ve been thinking retrospectively. During 2015 we fell in love with everything mid century modern; the prints, the fabrics, the styles and the colours. We particularly took a liking to “Ben Chairs”, especially the carver ones with their Art Deco style lines.

What was amazing though as we stripped and ripped out these chairs, was how young they actually were. Ours have a date stamp of 1990’s – not exactly mid century!

We believe the chairs were probably used in an office but decided to recover using a vibrant orange vinyl on the armchairs but a grey vinyl on the others. Pictures of the re-upholstery process can be found in the gallery section of the website.

These chairs are incredibly popular but we would like to give potential buyers a few points to look out for:

The bottom of the seat should have a hole in it with elasticated webbing. If there in a piece of ply board covering the hole, they wont be particularly comfortable.
Likewise if the elasticated webbing is fraying, the chair seat will need to be completely ripped back.
Date stamps can be deceiving, make sure that 1969 isn’t actually 1989.
The way the backs are put together mean it can be tricky to put them back together, check there are no wobbles.
If the chairs have been covered in vinyl which has rips or tears, it is more cost effective to replace the vinyl rather than patch it up.

Chairs for Restoration

Kay Wright — Sun, 27 Sep 2015 18:35:15 +0000

Scattered over the four corners of the world; or rather between the workshop, our home garages and Kay’s sisters outbuildings, we have acquired a rather large amount of chairs and stools. These range from Victorian, Edwardian and right up to mid century modern and beyond. If you happen to be looking for something specific and want to put your own choice of fabric on then look no further. There are some real gems in our collection so take a look and give us a shout. We also have accounts with many fabric manufacturers so can also often supply material at a lower cost than the recommended retail price (RRP).

George II Carver Drop in Chair

Victorian Long Stool

Victorian Rocking Chair

Edwardian Wingback

Small Buttoned Victorian Nursing Chair

Victorian Iron back Armchair

Victorian Library Chair stamped by C.V.S

Edwardian buttoned Tub Chair

1960s Mid century Modern Armchair

Edwardian Armchair

Victorian Wingback Library Chair

Victorian delicate Armchair

Substantial Victorian Armchair

Adjustable Victorian Piano Stool

Victorian Library Chair

Victorian Style Armchair

Unusual Regency style Wooden Chair

Fluted Victorian Iron Back Armchair

Modern Small Buttoned Nursing Chair

1960s Bedroom Chair

Victorian Style Button Back Armchair

Howard and Son Style Victorian Armchair

Victorian Large Sofa

1960s Cocktail Chair

1960s Bedroom Chair

Modern Victorian Style Sofa

Rare Ercol 236 Armchair

Victorian Style Armchair

Unusual Edwardian Shaped Armchair

Rare Cornwell Norton Parker Knoll