2013 // A Year In Review

2013 was a wonderful year of growth for us.  It was our first full year of vending in retail shops.  This last year we really focused our eye on reupholstering and refinishing fine pieces of mid century furniture.  We seem to finally have hit our stride and are very excited about all of the risks, challenges, and rewards to be found in 2014.  Here is a recap of a couple of our favorite pieces from each month of 2013.

January

 We are both big fans of the Broyhill Brasilia line.  Hopefully we will find a similar piece for our home in the future.

This was one of the first sofas that we ever reupholstered.  The legs on this sofa are especially unique.

February

 Kroehler Avant sectional.  Sold on Ebay and sent down to Los Angeles.

Reupholstered Milo Baughman recliner.

March

Reupholstered pair of lounge chairs by Ib Kofod Larsen.

Pair of Borge Mogensen dressers.

April

 Gondola sofa by Flexsteel.

Rewired dental tripod spotlight.

May

 Danish teak secretary desk.

Reupholstered mid century daybed.

June

This was my favorite dining set of the year.  Danish teak table with 6 Johannes Andersen chairs.

It's always fun to see where our pieces wind up.  Here are our Z sofa and chair after I delivered them.

July

 Adrian Pearsall lounge chair before and after.

Reupholster Paoli loveseat.

August

 Reupholstered Plycraft Mr. Chair.  The was our first tufted upholstery piece.

 Mid century living room set refinished and reupholstered.

Borge Mogensen secretary desk.

September

 Milo Baughman recliner reupholstered in chartreuse fabric.

 Paoli rocking chair reupholstered in Pendleton wool.

Danish teak table with a set of 6 Kai Kristiansen dining chairs.

October

 Eames style lounge chair and ottoman reupholstered in Pendleton wool.

 Adrian Pearsall chaise before & after.

November

 Sofa by Folke Ohlsson for Dux before and after.

Danske Mobler recliner before and after.

December

 Reupholstered mid century sofa.

Eames style lounge chair and ottoman reupholstered in Pendleton wool.

New Arrivals: Hawthorne Vintage

Lately I have been on the hunt for storage and casegoods as our spaces are overwhelmed with seating. Recently I have found a couple great pieces and they are both now available at Hawthorne Vintage.

 This bar cart is a wonderful piece of mid century furniture.  It opens to reveal hidden storage.  Unfortunately it was previously stored in a damp barn.  As a result some of the wood is swollen.  SOLD.

 This teak secretary desk also provides lots of storage.  There are many drawers both above and below the writing surface.  SOLD.

Upholstered // Road Side Plycraft

Recently I found an Eames stye lounge chair & ottoman on the side of the road.  Although it was a lucky find the chair looked like it had been through both a flood and a fire.  The wood needed refinishing, foam replaced, and leather reupholstered.

Restoration process photo.  Here the ottoman shell is refinished and the headrest is in its original condition.  

It was a lot of work but we finally restored it and put it in Hawthorne Vintage.  SOLD

Reupholstered // Mid Century Sofa

A few weeks ago we picked up a very curious sofa.  It look very similar to an Overman sofa but had teak legs instead of metal legs.  When we got it stripped down it seemed apparent that it was American but I could not learn any other information.  Heather picked out a royal blue fabric that she liked and I repaired the legs.  It was a lot of work but now it is finally finished.  SOLD
Dimensions: 77''L  x 29''D x 26''T

Reupholstered // Milo Baughman Recliner

Milo Baughman is one of our favorite American designers so we are always excited to find one of his pieces. His recliner is a very iconic piece of Mid Century furniture.  We have had a few in the past but this one was by far in the worst condition of them all.  The frame needed to be refinished, the springs & foam replaced, and upholstery redone.  It was a lot of work but the result was a beautiful chair that will be a wonderful addition to someone's home.  It has been sold at available at Hawthorne Vintage.

Before & After // Plycraft Mulhauser Chair

A few weeks ago, Chris and I picked up this Plycraft chair from a gal who had every intention of fixing it up but never made it happen. It needed lots of work. Even when I saw it I was questioning our ability to set this chair right again.

At first glance, it only looks like the seat is missing. I really like the mustard vinyl however sourcing that same material has proved to be impossible! The worst part about this chair was the smell. The vinyl and foam underneath were incredibly stinky. As I removed the staples they were gummy with filth. Always the worst part of the job! 

I am often asked how did I learn how to upholster. Really most of it comes from dissecting the original piece and learning from how it was put together. In this case, the frame of the back was made by 1/4" thick plywood, that had been cut out to form the curved shape. It was a four separate pieces that were stapled together. Chris and I had never seen this before. But it made so much sense, the frame needs to be bendable to conform to the curved shape of the chair. The 1/4" wood allows for this to happen. Using the back as a guide, Chris made a new frame for the seat. 

After all the fabric was stripped, Chris cut the foam. He has become good at cutting foam and drilled holes into the foam for the tufting. It was the first time we had done this technique, but found it worked out perfectly! 

I stapled muslin to the back of the frame, then began inserting the buttons one by one. We used pronged buttons as this was the type of buttons we found on the original chair. Chris helped make sure the buttons we pronged open far enough. 

After both cushions were complete, Chris screwed them onto the chair frame. I'm really happy with how this chair turned out. I'm excited to do more tufted projects in the future.

I hope you enjoyed this peek into our process!
-Heather
(It was sold at Hawthorne Vintage on 8/13)