Giving mid-century modern treatment to a 1970s Steelcase bench
A piece stuck in the ’70s moves on with a modern treatment
Upholstery Journal | June 2009
by Kelly Frush
The decision to put a mid-century modern spin on a 1970s Steelcase piece didn’t come easily to Joshua Pfenning of Proper Furniture and Upholstery of Los Angeles, Calif.
Keeping things simple and tasteful or making an artistic statement is his classic dilemma. “I wish I had 10 of these things, because I have a dozen different ideas for which way I want to go with it,” Pfenning says.
Ultimately, two seats became one and the tired, salmon-colored textile was replaced with full-grain, high-gloss black leather. “I wanted to go with a single seat and a single back,” Pfenning says. “That was the biggest change.” He nixed the original metal frame and went with wood to support the seats, which he upholstered separately and then dropped into place.
With this project, Pfenning decided to try a new technique—one he describes as “conservative tufting.”
“I just took the flat leather piece for the seat, ran a stitch from end to end and top to bottom. On the underside where the stitches met, I looped a piece of twine through to later be pulled through the foam and give that tufting look,” he says. “I wasn’t sure how it would hold up, but I used strong Poly thread and had no problems.”
Perhaps the best part of this whole project is the fact that the chair is an estate-auction score—Pfenning only spent $5 on the piece. He loves finding well-made frames and turning them around. “The idea that these things can be found anywhere: this is the truly fun part of having upholstery as your trade,” he says. That’s a decision that’s easy to make.
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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Joshua Pfenning of Proper Furniture and Upholstery of Los Angeles, Calif., found this Steelcase two-seater at an estate sale. He chose it for its clean, simple frame and great condition. “Estate auctions are great sources for old pieces,” Pfenning say -
Pfenning enjoys the freedom of expression that comes with the upholstery trade. “This was something that wasn’t done for a client. I was just putting it together to sell afterward.” -
Pfenning combined the seats and reupholstered it using black leather. “I thought it was tasteful, and I wanted to do something vaguely reminiscent of mid-century pieces,” Pfenning says. “So to bring that out, I went with leather.”
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