Bedroom Ironback

Original chair - loose cover, no buttons.

This delightful chair with its very floppy back, held, as for so many projects, a host of surprises.

The chair had a loose cover, using an identical fabric to the fixed cover below – but with buttons.

Iron backs were very popular in Victorian times but while this chair was old, it was still much newer.

To restore the chair, the back and seat had to be separated, then rejoined. That’s unusual!

The end result, covered in a heavy, robust fabric, was quite a sight.

If you are curious as to how this chair was restored, click this LINK or any of the pictures.

JBerryUpholstery has many examples of furniture Recovering and Restoration and also Soft Furnishings to add to or complement the finished items. You can see pictures of these in the Galleries – Recovering Gallery, Restoration Gallery, Soft Furnishings Gallery and Transformations.

If you have some upholstery that is in need of a bit of TLC or you are interested in Soft Furnishings then please contact us.

Iron Back

Iron Back chairs were popular in Victorian times. The back was made from bent iron bars – cheaper than wood at the time – making upholstering a challenge.

This lovely example needed a new seat and back castors as well as a new cover.

Read the full story of its restoration HERE or click on any of the images.

If you have some upholstery that is in need of a bit of TLC or you are interested in Soft Furnishings then please contact us.

Online Projects

There are now well over 100 projects on the JBerryUpholstery website! A wide ranging selection and it continues to grow!

Projects included are only those I find enjoyable, have great results or include interesting and informative details.

Projects range from reasonably straightforward – stools and cushions – to the very complicated – winged armchairs!

There are well known makes – Multiyork, Parker Knoll, Lloyd Loom, G-Plan, Ercol, Finn Juhl, Cintique, Gordon Russell of Broadway.

Then particular types – Art Deco, Prie Dieu, Slipper, Marquetry, Ironback, Reclining, Rattan, Chesterfield.

Also different periods – Regency, Georgian, Victorian, Edwardian, 20C – even 21st!

And some don’t fit such groups – Canapé, Rocking Horses, Ottoman.

Could be confusing! Posts like this give an introduction with pictures and links to the full story. While the posts are removed a few weeks later, the pages remain.

Click any image here to see their story. Once on the website, use the search box at the bottom of every page to look for items you are interested in – or send me an email asking for help!

And while you’re at it, please, please, do the decent thing and ‘like’ or ‘comment’ on these posts. I hope you enjoy reading them. After all, they come with pictures!

If you have some upholstery that is in need of a bit of TLC or you are interested in Soft Furnishings then please contact us.

Regency Sofa

I felt very privileged when I was entrusted to restore this splendid Regency Sofa.

The beautiful 200 year old frame was revealed once the old fabric, stuffings and fixings were removed.

You can see the full story of restoring the upholstery by clicking HERE.

If you have some upholstery that is in need of a bit of TLC or you are interested in Soft Furnishings then please contact us.

Library Chair

Here is a post about a Library Chair whose appearance changed little but there was unexpected trauma en route!

One helpful change, but nothing to do with the chair, was the addition of a seat cushion to raise the seat height.

Finished chair including new cushion from front corner

Full details of the recovering work – plus repairing the seat stuffings – can be found HERE or please click on any of the images.

If you have some upholstery that is in need of a bit of TLC or you are interested in Soft Furnishings then please contact us.

Winged Chair – A Restoration Project

This attractively shaped winged chair probably dating from around the middle of the last century when Parker Knoll, G-Plan and others started using the tension springs that support the seat of this chair.

While the chair and seat cushions needed new covers, the seat front was falling off, other joints needed repairing, springs needed reseating and the polish work was dulled – definitely a restoration project.

Finished chair with new cushion cover in place

But what a difference! Click HERE or on any image to see more details.

If you have some upholstery that is in need of a bit of TLC or you are interested in Soft Furnishings then please contact us.

Nautical Mattress Topper

Previous posts have commented on the ‘simple’ nature of stools and dining chairs – fabric to top and bottom with stuffings between.

The same comment applies to cushions of course – and these toppers were basically cushions.

However these mattress toppers were needed for a boat bed. They had to fit together and be precisely shaped with sloping sides to match the curving sloped sides of the cabin.

Not so simple!

Check out the details by clicking this LINK or on the image.

If you have some upholstery that is in need of a bit of TLC or you are interested in Soft Furnishings then please contact us.

Prie Dieu

These chairs became very popular in the 19th century – derived from the earlier ‘prayer chairs’ they lost the shelf for the bible at the back and became more chair like rather than something to kneel on.

However, they still retained the top piece for resting elbows on while praying.

This example had a sound frame but the shaping was far more rounded than it should have been. The story of its restoration includes the details of the reshaping – those details can be read here or by clicking on an image.

If you have some upholstery that is in need of a bit of TLC or you are interested in Soft Furnishings then please contact us.

Winged Chair

This is the first Winged Chair where the wings came off! Deliberately by the way, not by accident.

The grubby calico cover had to go, the sagging webbing replaced – and actually the entire seat – so lots to do.

The end result was worth it.

To see the full story, click this LINK or any of the pictures.

If you have some upholstery that is in need of a bit of TLC or you are interested in Soft Furnishings then please contact us.

Victorian Buttoned Chair

This ornate Victorian chair was obviously in a horrible state – but worse lay beneath those covers!

Clearly the filthy cover needed to be replaced – a quick glance tells you that. And yes, on closer inspection, the front carvings are dull, so a good clean and polish will be needed.

But what cannot be seen are the malodorous feathers all around the springs. They were discovered only when work started!

Such are the joys of an upholsterer!

Rather a lot of hours later, the chair with new seat, polished woodwork and a bright new cover could be returned to the owners.

If you are curious to know more details, please click HERE or any of the images.

If you have some upholstery that is in need of a bit of TLC or you are interested in Soft Furnishings then please contact us.