I went on a month long antique hunt, scouring prop houses in LA, flea markets, antique shows, side of the road barns and garage sales. I wanted to find pieces that would help me decorate the shop as I do my own house and to bring in some character. First up: I needed a cool couch. I found this amazing early 19th century Mission Revival couch moldering in a warehouse. It’s cane was mostly broken, it’s finish worn, it’s seat musty and threadbare. Perfect. I brought it home, watched you tube videos on replacing cane panels and was sure I had an easy project ahead. But they never are. The cane needed to be carefully steamed out and the spline had to be carefully coaxed back into place to hold the new panels in. It took me several weeks. I had a custom cushion made for it and after I spiffed up all the parts of the couch, it was ready to be unveiled at the shop. I chose black velvet as the base because black is classic, easy to keep clean, and will be a base for any other personality that it’s new owner could want to put on top. Splash of color, plenty of neutrals, a sophisticated pattern - anything will fly.
I found several old spindle chairs as well that once had cane seats. I stripped them down, repaired their frames, wove them with webbing, filled them with cushioning and covered them in beautiful fabric hand loomed in India. These are wonderfully unique and would be beautiful grouped at a mis-matched batch of chairs around an antique table or as a stand alone side chair.
Finally, after weeks of sanding and sewing and feeling tired of restoring furniture, I happened upon this pair of midcentury modern arm chairs. I had to have them. They got sanded down, repaired and sealed. I added a nubbly boucle cream fabric to finish them off. See some of the process below!
Now the shop feels full, unique and and special. Come in for a visit.
