Antique Arm Chairs and Armchair Restoration
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.
Modern Leather Arm Chairs
When it comes to buying a new arm chair you have to be sure you are selecting the right chair for your purpose. You can't really have a modern design in an old fashioned house and visa versa. If you are sure that you want something new for the space you have then you are in the right place. There's a fair few things to consider before setting out to buy anything, arm chairs are no different.
Modern leather arm chairs come in at all price ranges. From reasonably cheap to very expensive. Depending on who you pick to design your chair, what style you go for, what materials you pick and the size of the seat will all effect the final price of your new chair. Clearly some of the top designers are going to charge much much more than the more mainstream designers.
A modern leather armchair can be used in a vast range of situations such as in living rooms, dens or even offices and work places. They are very comfortable for sitting in for extended amounts of time such as meetings at work or for entertaining guests in your home.
A leather chair does need to be looked after and maintained somewhat. They need to be kept clean and fed with the appropriate feed to keep the leather supple, the right colour and smelling great.
There are some precautions you need to take when you own any leather products. You really want to try and keep leather out of direct sunlight, for example next to a large open window for extended periods of time. The sun will fade and dry out the leather, reducing the life of you arm chair.
If you have children or animals running around you home you need to make sure that if they are climbing around on the furniture that their feet or shoes are clean or are kept off the chairs altogether. If they don't and the dirt gets all over the seat then it could potentially damage the leather. Although if you have the leather correctly treated then this will create a barrier against the dirt and could save you a fortune in repair bills. Just be sure to clean up any dirt as soon as possible to be sure that it doesn't cause any damage in the long run.
A modern leather arm chair doesn't have to be a brand new modern design, like the ones you see in those super modern penthouse flats or show houses. Modern chairs can also come in those classic designs that you love too. If you have a little old house in the country you aren't limited to old wrecked arm chairs from the charity shop. You can have modern build and classic looks.