Matching antique chairs
A pair of antique chairs gets revitalized with a little time and new materials
Upholstery Journal | April 2009
by Kelly Frush
Making an antique furniture piece look beautiful again certainly has its rewards, and John “Babe” Fritz of Babe’s Upholstery in Fern Glen, Pa., can attest to that sentiment as well.
Fritz received a call one day from the owners of the chairs. They lived down the street from him, and wanted to see what he could do with the chairs.
“The chairs belonged to one of their tenants,” Fritz says of his customers, who own rental property. “He was 80 years old, and he left everything to them when he passed.”
Fritz had a pretty clean slate to work on when the chairs came into his shop, save for the aged fabric. “They were in great shape considering their age,” Fritz says. Time and new materials were all it took for Fritz to get the matching pair back in order.
Fritz started by stripping down the chairs and cleaning up the frames using steel wool and Old English furniture polish. He made new patterns and added new springs, webbing and burlap, following up with foam, cotton, muslin and Irvin Allen tapestry.
“The customer didn’t want the original straw, so I changed all that to foam and cotton,” Fritz says. “I used two-inch foam and one-inch soft foam, and then a layer of cotton batting. They wanted the chairs kind of firm.” Fritz gave his customers what they wanted and in return, they were thrilled with the outcome.
“They were ecstatic,” Fritz says. “They say the chairs are the highlight of the house. Everyone comments.”
Do you have a project you'd like us to feature in Save My Seat? Send details of your project, along with before-and-after pictures in the form of print photos or electronic images (tif, eps or jpeg of 300 dpi or greater) to Kelly Frush, Associate Editor, Upholstery Journal, 1801 County Road B West, Roseville, MN 55113, or e-mail them to krfrush@ifai.com. All images become the property of Upholstery Journal and cannot be returned.
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Fritz has a passion for restoring antique furniture pieces. Fritz has been known to spark his creativity by rescuing damaged, unwanted pieces from the curb, although these particular antiques were gifted to his clients. -
Fritz's clients wanted the seats a little on the firm side, so Fritz used two-inch foam to provide the structure and cotton batting for softness. -
John “Babe” Fritz, Babe’s Upholstery, Fern Glen, Pa., and his wife parent foster children. With his familial responsibilities these chairs took two weeks to complete. The clients were elated with the results and the chairs are the highlight of the h
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