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Having antique furniture re-upholstered is a different skill to re-upholstering modern furniture, and it is essential that it is carried out professionally.
Antique – or antique style – furniture was made using different techniques of construction and padding. For example, instead of modern zigzag or mesh springs, antique furniture has hourglass style springs. These give excellent comfort and need to be fitted carefully and tied-in so that they stay in position correctly.
Similarly, the padding needs to utilize horse hair and cotton felt; modern foam does not look or feel right, and simply destroys the integrity of the item. It is a specialist skill, and most upholsterers are equipped to deal with antique style furniture in a sympathetic way. Unfortunately there are some upholsterers who are clearly out of their depth and can often ruin antique furniture by re-adding, for example, stuffing the seats with rags!!
Antique upholstery is time consuming, and a rushed job quickly becomes apparent, when the seat area becomes bumpy or sinks…
The only exception to the traditional treatment of antiques, in the usage of staples rather than tacks to hold the cover down. Traditional tacks make a bigger hole in the wood frame than staples, and with antique wood drying out with age and modern heating systems, tacks are more likely to cause the wood to split. Good upholsterers should therefore offer you the choice of tacks, or staples for your antique furniture, with traditional studs where visible.
There are antique re-upholstery specialists throughout the country, who will sympathetically restore your antique furniture so that they will become your heirlooms of the future.
Whilst the cost of such work is inevitably higher than for modern furniture, with the right upholsterer and with attention to detail, the finished product will be an investment for years to come.
Chris Stovold, Interior Designer and Plumbs consultant for London West and City of London
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