Browse current and past upholstery projects.

17-11 Chittenden & Eastman Dining Chairs

Four Chittenden & Eastman dining chairs in need of rehab.

Three Out of Four Ain't Bad

Details: Published: Monday, 01 January 2018 23:38

While satisfying to wrap up a project, it's somewhat disappointing to write this article. You see, we made the decision to scrap one of the four Chittenden & Eastman chairs due to one of the rear legs being fractured in such a manner that there was no practical way to fix it. However, our mission was to learn to recover slip seats and these chairs challenged us with their oddly shaped beveled corners at the front - these seats were tough! I suppose a seasoned upholsterer might examine the work and declare the corners looks a bit amateurish but the non-professionals who have wandered through have all thought they look great. I suspect they were talking more about the wood restoration than the seat covering but I wasn't about to ask.

Once again, Alan restored the woodwork - see previous article - and as expected, he did another outstanding job - thanks for making us look good Alan! At this point, once we regroup from the holiday season I suspect these chairs will end up in a local thrift shop and I'll go back to sitting on my empty drywall mud buckets instead of a lovely chair!

New life

Details: Published: Thursday, 07 December 2017 15:51

As one of our many training projects this one is coming to a close. First the chairs came in a little ruff. We thought we could fix all four but after spending a considerable amount of time I had to relinquish the fact that one of them was just not fixable. Sometimes glue and screws cannot fix every thing. As a woodworker it is sometime hard to know when to cut your losses.

So here is what it looks like before I started. A little dirty and some loose joints. After some glue and a few screws and a little restoring stain it is ready for the new seat.

I am not sure where these will go after they are done.

We probably will donate them to a good cause.

It's Just Magic!!!

Details: Published: Thursday, 23 November 2017 01:55

Once upon a time many years ago by wife found a Monarch chrysalis that was about to hatch and brought it to my place of work to watch its transformation into a butterfly. I still remember that magical moment as everyone in the room broke into a cheer - such warm fuzzy thoughts... OK, what I'm about to share isn't nearly that cool, but I am impressed with the transformation of these chairs! As I mentioned previously, the seats are mostly trashed and the frames need attention as seen in this picture.

Fifth Seat

Details: Published: Wednesday, 22 November 2017 03:43

I suspect the Chittenden & Eastman chairs we're working on were originally a set of six because we picked up a set of four, and a fifth seat. While the four chairs are safely tucked away in storage, i.e., our garage between my wife's car and mine, I decided to have a test drive with the spare seat. I learned several lessons tonight including upholstery work isn't as easy as people on YouTube make it seem and, based on my performance I won't have to worry about reaching the $15K social security allowance one can make in retirement. There simply aren't enough working hours per year... but that's a story for another day.

Disassembly of the seat started with removal of tiny little tacks that still have very sharp little points even after a hundred years. To keep track of the pesky little things I found a small magnetic metal bowl and lined it with a piece of fabric - for once I feel confident I've come up with a tip worth passing along.

Ask and Ye Shall Receive

Details: Published: Tuesday, 21 November 2017 15:33

Funny story here, Alan and I were out for a walk last night, ask us about the health benefits of walking sometime, and as part of the conversation the topic turned to the looming question of what's next for us. We imagined a range of things but soon let the subject drop until, my phone went off!

Jo Ann, who works at a local thrift store texted saying four Chittenden & Eastman leather covered oak dining chairs had just come in and were up for grabs. In other words, free! And as you might expect, anything "free" appeals to my sense of interests!