Reupholstered Victorian loveseat
At the recent DIY Divas Interior Decorating workshop we discussed the fact that, strip a piece of upholstered furniture down to bare bones and you will see nothing but scraps of wood that hold everything together.
While this is not the case of every piece of furniture, this is one example that clearly shown what lies beneath all the padding. In this project we show how a worn and shabby Victorian loveseat is stripped down to the frame [below] and then padded and reupholstered into a beautifully restored piece.
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When buying antique or vintage furniture for restoration, it is always necessary to inspect the amount of damage and whether or not it is worthwhile repairing or restoring. This Victorian loveseat still has a beautiful mahogany frame, and once the old fabric and foam has been removed, it is only pieces of frame that need to be added for reinforcing, with new padding and upholstery to be added.
Although it is best to find antique pieces that have little or no visible damage, there are no so many products on the market that you can use to make affordable repairs. In cases where the wood has cracked or split [left], a dose of wood glue and clamping together will solve the problem, and Alcolin QuikWood can then be used to fill any gaps, before finishing off with wood filler and a good sanding.
As you start to work on restoration projects, you will find that it becomes fairly simple to tear down and rebuild. In most instances the fabric is either glued or stapled to the framework and this needs to be removed so that you can get to the basic structure. Depending on the age of the piece you may get away with simply recovering the existing foam padding, but in this particular case the foam has started to deteriorate and it is far better to replace.
With the frame reinforced with additional timber, thick foam blocks are added to the frame to give structure, and this is then topped off with layers of batting to provide a better shape and finish for the fabric. Tufting (adding buttons) is the final touch to add a traditional Victorian finish to the loveseat.
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