As you can imagine with our lack of posts, we’ve been busy. Take a look at what we have been working on for the past few months!
Armchair Before
Armchair almost complete!
Before
After
Before
In process
After
Two barrel back chairs after completion
Zebra chair after completion
Another one of the zebra chair
Hello everyone! I would like to announce that I am officially the first employee of Seabolt’s Upholstery and as my initial assignment, I will be taking over the blog so Tommy doesn’t have to worry about it. In addition to that, he is teaching me how to tear down the furniture and cut fabric, I will be handling the office portion of the business and running his errands for him. I hope to be able to relieve some of the stress that comes with owning your own business and make things smoother for him so he can concentrate on recovering the furniture.
I look forward to keeping everyone up to date on the projects we have going on and posting the amazing before and after pictures of the pieces that come through here.
~Emily
This settee was in very good shape. The only thing that needed to be changed was the seat cushion. The old foam had really broken down and was too soft and maybe a little dry rotted. This settee was going to be sitting in front of a window…….so what kind of fabric did the customer want put on it? You guessed it Sunbrella!! I love that stuff. Anyways, as well as upholstering this settee the customer also wanted three throw pillows made. This job went really smoothly and the client was happy and thats all I can really ask for!!
Before
After
I am aware that I have not made any new blog posts lately. I just returned from my vacation this past Saturday and I’m just now getting settled back into my routine. I have put in a couple of bids on jobs, now Im just playing the waiting game. However, while on vacation I did notice that all of the furniture in the house we stayed in was covered in outdoor fabric. I thought to myself, this makes perfect since. Outdoor fabrics are made for extreme weather, lots of wear and tare, and easy to clean. I recently saw in an upholstery magazine that I subscribe to with the headlines that read “Bring the Outdoors Indoors”. In a nut shell it was talking about how outdoor fabrics have come such a long way as far as comfort. No longer is outdoor fabric some stiff, rough canvas fabric, but it is softer and more comfortable, while providing the same strength and durability. I do know that a good outdoor fabric such as Sunbrella is a little pricey, but you get what you pay for!! Anyone that has kids or has furniture that gets lots of use would benefit from using such fabric. I’m done…..till next time.
Well its the end of a another weekend and the beginning of another busy work week. Hopefully this week I will not be running around as much and I can stay around the shop and get some stuff done! I had to make an unplanned trip to High Point on Friday to have my sewing machines worked on….pain in the butt and wallet as well.
I have two projects for this week and hopefully more to come once I get these done. One of the jobs is a Arts & Crafts style recliner. It is being covered in a orange-ish red vinyl. I have already finished the seat and Im really happy with the way it turned out! I do not have a before picture of it, but I will post a picture when I have it completed. After I finish with that, I have another settee to do. These past two weeks I’ve gotten 3 settees in. Maybe June is the month of the settee on the Chinese calendar. Who knows?
Since I started this blog I have been using it as a tool to get my work out to the public. One of my favorite things about it is that I can post pictures and without that feature it would be useless for me to even have set this blog up.
My main reasons for blogging are:
I would like to continue to meet these criteria, but from here on out I will update more often and give you a glimpse into what it is like to start a business from the ground up including the day-to-day activities of a young entrepreneur. So check back frequently to see what’s happening!
These two settees had the original fabric still on them from 20-30 years ago. The finished wood was in great shape on both pieces. The webbing had started to sag just a little causing the springs to start falling. (see love seat post for more info on springs and webbing). I really enjoyed working on these two pieces. I love the choice of fabric to go with the dark wood. I added some batting “daecron” to the seat cushion to add some comfort and shape to it. Double welt was used to trim out the pieces on the inside back and on the outside back as well.
Click on picture for larger image
These were seriously two of the most comfortable recliners I have sat in. A lot of recliners are big and bulky, too big for me….but these were perfect. One of the hardest things about this project was putting the recliners back together. They both tore down to three seperate pieces, and the hardest thing was to line the screw holes back up. The fabric was very nice to work with and easy on the eyes as well. The welting was done out of a beige ultra suede. It was a nice touch and added a little something to the piece. I wish I could take credit for it, but it was all the customers idea.
For a larger image, click on the picture.
This is a colonial style sofa. They were produced between 1700-1780. I doubt this piece is that old, but it was made to resemble the colonial period. This piece came to me in very good shape. There were no loose joints, broken legs, etc. The wood was in good shape and all that needed to be replaced was the fabric. Sorry no before pictures were taken, you’ll just have to take my word for it. The outside back and arms are finished wood so no upholstery was needed. As for the cushion, a 6” piece of foam rubber was used that sets down into the frame. To cap off the job, the sofa was rubbed down with some Old English lemon oil to hydrate the wood and give it that fresh lemon smell.
Inside arm
the gimp hides staples and the raw edge of the fabric
This is going to be a fun project. The customer is wanting this piece to be covered in one fabric while using a contrast fabric for the welt/cording (some call it piping). The back cushions are attached on this piece, which means a lot of sewing. It will be getting a skirt as well.
After
After
After
before
before
This is a very nicely built piece of furniture. It has coil springs, which is a sign of quality. The reason being is that the frame has to be made stronger to support all the weight that is distributed through out the springs. This type of spring is very durable. Any piece of furniture that has coil springs is DEFINITELY worth getting reupholstered. The worst case scenario is that the springs need to be retied or the bottom needs new webbing. Once those problems are addressed, you will get plenty of mileage out of that piece.
coil springs
webbing that holds the springs up
