Restored 1980’s Benchair Carver Dining Chair in Bute Wool

How refreshing is it to see a bold, bright pop of colour on this Benchair carver chair? This super little retro chair has been restored specially for Quirk Lighting to use in their product photo shoots. Quirk design and hand make a range of seriously cool lampshades, and this chair – with its two colours, echoes their ‘pick & mix’ lampshade range perfectly. It has been recovered using Bute Fabric’s Pentland wool in a dark grey to the back of the chair, and a bright turquoise blue to the front.

Pick & Mix Lampshades available from Quirk Lighting

 

The chair was originally covered in an old and dirty yellow vinyl. The chair is stamped underneath with the date 7th May 1989. I have now also added the Florrie+Bill stamp to say the chair was restored in 2014, along with a small swatch of the original vinyl. I’m certainly looking forward to seeing this chair grace the pages of Quirk’s lighting website alongside their range of bespoke lighting products. I will be getting more of these chairs in stock soon. Please contact me if you are interested in creating your own pick & mix retro Benchair!

Teal Retro Danish Armchair: From Drab to Dreamy

This week saw the completion of a retro chair transformation using a striking colourful teal fabric! This gorgeous little chair is an original 1950’s Danish armchair, with a beautiful show wood detail frame, angular arms and classic tapered legs. It boasts an unusual upholstery inlay detail to the side of the chair, which adds definition to the angles.

The original fabric was a faded burgundy weave, which did little to enhance the stunning frame.  I choose a bright colour for this chair as this chair deserves to be noticed! The wood work was professionally french polished as it wasn’t in great condition, so I needed to use a fabric which complemented the new wood tone and made it pop! After much deliberation I opted for Designers Guild‘s Allia in Teal. I’m so glad I did – its such a great colour and has really given a personality to this once forgotten chair.

It’s so comfortable (and I’m not just saying that), the seat is fully sprung and feels like you are sitting on a mattress!

What do you think about the colour of this chair? Would you be brave enough to use teal in your own home? Please comment below!

This chair is currently for sale, priced at £625.00 GBP on the Florrie+Bill website.

Restored Retro Danish Armchair

Earlier this month we restored this fabulous retro Danish armchair. I fell in love with the simple, clean design of this chair, and the slightly curved arms are so stylish. This chair was covered in a bespoke choice of fabric by the client, and will be going into a home design studio.

It was fully stripped and the wood frame removed from the seat and back. The woodwork had a lovely patina, and was requested to be left looking ‘vintage’ – so we just brightened it up a little using Danish oil. New webbing and foam was added to provide superior comfort as the original webbing and foams had disintegrated. A lovely new dome shape was created on the seat. The chair was newly upholstered in Villa Nova’s Geneva Vintage cotton-linen in the Caraway colour. Its laid back, washed effect texture suits the simple style of this armchair.

Such a transformation – here is a picture of the chair before our restoration. As you can see the original fabric, although quite lovely, was unfortunately dirty and worn.

Now its fully restored its looking perfect… And it makes such a great chair to use for taking photographs of cushions!

Cushions shown are from a selection of Flock fabrics cushions coming soon at Florrie+Bill.

18 Vintage Esavian Stacking Chairs Restored for a Cafe

Earlier this year, a client in Aberdeen contacted me about the 18 vintage Esavian stacking chairs I had available for bespoke recover. The client was opening a new cafe and wanted something with a vintage feel to them.

These chairs were originally designed for Esavian (the Educational Supply Association) by British designer James W Leonard, and they were produced around 1949. ESA produced low cost, quality furniture for schools. These particular chairs have a cast aluminium frame, with upholstered chair seats and back rests. These chairs are adult size, and were still covered in the original tatty yellow and orange vinyl when I purchased them.

The client wanted the chairs to be covered in a leather similar to the original yellow vinyl. I sourced the yellow leather, and posted out the swatches to the client. I then got asked to source and send a couple of other complementary colours too. So I sent a blue and a green colour which was available in the same leather range. The client decided that in fact he loved all three colours I had sent, so he choose to have each colour on six chairs!

This project was a lengthy one! As there were 18 chairs in total, it seemed to take forever to get them finished! But it was a project I immensely enjoyed as the transformation was beautiful. The chairs had originally come from another cafe, and were very dirty and greasy. After removing each seat and backrest, every aluminium chair frame was thoroughly and gently cleaned with a detergent degreaser, and buffed back up. Each seat pad and back rest was stripped of the old vinyl (rusty staples galore!!!) and finally recovered in the new leather, with the addition of new foam.

The original protector feet, which were inserted into the leg frames were certainly showing signs of wear – as you’d expect from something nearly 65 years old! The original feet appeared to be made from a nylon type material, so I contacted a local plastics moulding company, Markfield Plastics in Bagworth, Leicestershire about getting some replacements made. The manager, Gary, was a star and painstakingly hand-machined all 18 sets of feet – and the end results were excellent. We were then able to add the new feet to ensure there were no wobbles or nasty scrapes to the floor when used in the cafe.

The old nylon feet above

The new nylon feet above

I was so pleased to see all the chairs finally come together before they were packaged up ready for transport. What a beautiful set of bespoke cafe chairs! They look so proud, and its hard to believe these are the same dirty, worn out chairs I first started with! I can’t wait to see a picture of them in situ when the cafe opens.

Origami Garland from Origami-Est

If you are interested in vintage or retro chairs for your cafe, bar or restaurant – please contact me and I will be happy to help source and restore chairs to your own requirements.

Bespoke Vintage G Plan 6250 Swivel Chair in Full Leather

A couple of months ago, a gentleman contacted me about purchasing a vintage G Plan 6250 swivel chair in a bespoke cover. He was a friend of the new owners of the grey G Plan chair I restored a while ago. He told me that he thought the chair was so comfortable and beautiful, that he too wanted to purchase ‘the’ chair – also as a surprise for his wife’s 40th birthday. What a lucky lady!

I already had the chair in stock awaiting to be recovered, so that worked out as perfect timing!

As this chair was for a present, I made up a gift card with a picture of the chair on, so that husband could present it to his wife on her birthday. I was also sent a picture of the room where the chair was going, along with a photo of their curtains. I picked out the neutral tones, and made some leather swatches up reflecting those colours so that they could choose the leather.

 

As you can imagine the present went down really well with the wife! After some thought it was decided that the chair was to be covered in full leather, in a parchment colour, which picked out the colour in the curtain design. They wanted to keep it plain so it would sit well with any future redecoration projects.

As ever, after transformation this chair looked stunning. The leather colour looked great on this style of chair, and seemed to enhance the curves of the wings and buttoning beautifully.

The new owners were really happy with their new chair and it looked lovely in its new home.

If you would like to own a vintage G Plan 6250 swivel chair and choose your own fabric or leather, then please get in touch. We can source a chair for you and help with the design of your bespoke chair. We now also SHIP WORLDWIDE!

Bespoke Reupholstery Project for a set of Retro Benchair Dining Chairs

I was recently lucky enough to be asked to restore 6 original retro 1980’s Benchair dining chairs for a local client. These particular Benchair dining chairs were originally made in Frome, Somerset, UK in 1989.

They were originally covered in a dark orange vinyl, with the teak coloured legs in a great used condition. I especially love the design of the legs on these Benchairs, and with a rather roomy seat and backrest, they offer superb comfort.

Each chair was fully stripped of the old vinyl, foam, and hessian. The frame was polished, but not touched up as the original patina was to be kept. Each chair was then re-webbed with the addition of new foam on the seats.

The chairs were then reupholstered in a hardwearing sand beige coloured leather, and teamed with a complimentary Andrew Martin ‘Concourse’ fabric to the back of each chair. ‘Concourse’ is a cotton print depicting American subway signs.

These chairs looked completely different when the project was completed. They are individual, and a real statement set. The new owner was so happy with their new chairs, and they looked really stunning in their new home –  a newly converted factory with exposed brickwork and huge windows. The mix of the leather and fabric worked well with the industrial vibe of the new house.

Each chair was stamped with the Florrie+Bill logo and the ‘restored in 2014’ mark. The Benchair dining chairs in their new home.

I currently have 4 more of these Benchairs in stock available for bespoke recover.

Vintage Danish Cocktail Chairs now in Stock

Last week I received my delivery of vintage Danish cocktail chairs. I was really excited to finally get them as I’d been coveting these for a while! I have imported an initial selection of chairs from Europe, and I haven’t been disappointed.

These 1950’s cocktail chairs have long tapered legs, and curved, low backs which make them really comfortable – it almost feels like they are giving your back a hug! They are smaller chairs, but big on appeal – and would make a real statement piece covered in either a brightly coloured plain fabric or a pattern.

I will be fully restoring and reupholstering a small selection to sell online, and there will also be a ‘Limited Edition’ collection launched in collaboration with a fabulous UK Textile Designer (more about that soon!).

I am also offering these chairs on a bespoke basis – so a client can choose the chair and select their own fabric to go on it. What better way to add a personalised vintage accent chair into your interior. Take a look at my Pinterest board for ideas on how to style a vintage cocktail chair.

These vintage cocktail chairs would also be the perfect addition to hotel rooms, bar areas or cafes. They can be covered in a bespoke contract grade fabric, and larger volumes can be sourced. They would look equally as good in small groups as they would on their own in a hotel room.

I am also selling some of these chairs as they are for reupholstery purposes by other individuals – so they are ideal for upholstery students to use as projects on upholstery courses in the UK.

I really hope you enjoy looking at Danish cocktail chairs just as much I do! It would be great to hear what you think about them by leaving a comment below! Further information can also be found over on the website.

Custom Vintage G Plan 6250 Swivel Chair + Ottoman in Red Leather

Over the last few weeks I have been working on another vintage G Plan 6250 swivel chair and footstool. The enquiry came to me via my Etsy store. The customer had seen the black chair we did earlier in the year and requested the same chair in a deep red leather.

At the time I didn’t have a G Plan chair in stock, but luckily I was able to source one in good condition within a week. I prepared some red leather samples in varying shades and sent these out to the customer. Upon receiving the samples, the customer decided to use a mid-tone red leather, called Bordeaux.

When I received the G Plan chair into stock it was covered in the original brown dralon and also had the original G Plan label attached to the seat platform. The chair was in average condition for its age with the base in good condition, but the castors, although functional, were showing slight signs of wear.

Once the frame was stripped, it went off to the workshop to begin its transformation. When the chosen leather was delivered, there was a problem with the quality of one of the hides. There were a couple of holes in one of the pieces (which isn’t unusual as natural scars are cut out of the hides) but as we were cutting such large pieces, this hide was not suitable. I had to return this hide and a new one was promptly sent back out. This delayed the project a little but couldn’t be helped.

The chair frame required new webbing, wadding, and a new foam seat cushion. Once the chair was reupholstered in the soft red leather, it looked out of this world! The colour suited the style of the chair and complimented the dark show wood perfectly.

A few weeks into the initial order I had the opportunity to buy another of the matching 6251 footstools. I contacted my customer to see if she would also like to purchase this and have it covered in the same red leather. She decided she would love to have the matching stool, so this was secured and delivered to me.

When I took delivery of the footstool I realised that the wooden base was a lighter colour than the base of the chair. So, off it went to Neil my local french polisher to darken it down! Neil came to the conclusion that the base had originally been lightened in the past. When he took the chrome support off, there were remnants of old masking tape, and the original dark colour varnish was underneath!

I was really pleased with this project and my customer was a real pleasure to deal with from start to finish.

My customer was also delighted with the result once it was delivered and unpacked. She sent me this kind message:

”We are OVERJOYED with our beautiful new chair and footstool. It is absolutely wonderful to sit in something that is so very comfortable and it fits into its new home absolutely perfectly”. – C.W + family, Surrey

If you think this project is pretty cool and want your own G Plan swivel chair to relax in, then I’ve recently had another 6250 swivel chair and footstool come into stock which is now available to pre-order. Please contact me to discuss further!

Restored Vintage G Plan 6251 Footstool Ottoman

The lovely family who gave a home to the two black vintage G Plan 6250 swivel chairs last month, really wanted a matching vintage 6251 footstool / ottoman to compliment their chairs. After numerous phone calls and internet searches I managed to track one down. They appear to be quite hard to get hold of in good condition.

I was really excited about this project as this was the first time I had actually managed to (physically) get my hands on one. I wasn’t disappointed – they are every bit as beautiful as they are in the pictures.

The original foam foot cushion was covered in a beige dralon so this was removed and recovered in a matching black leather. These cushions are attached to the curved wooden base using press fasteners. One part is screwed into the wood, and the other is fixed into the fabric strap underneath the cushion. Slight panic set in when I realised I would have to replace the fastener on the straps, but, thankfully they are a standard size fit (15mm dia.) and the efficient ladies at J A Milton Upholstery Supplies were able to advise and supply the kit I needed! Phew!

There were some slight wear marks to the wood at the edges of the curved support. I decided to get these recoloured by Neil, my local french polisher and the finshed result looked fantastic.

The customer was really pleased with this footstool and sent me this lovely comment:

“The footstool is GORGEOUS – a HUGE thanks!” S.H & family, London

I’ve just managed to secure another two of these footstools. They will be custom covered to match some of the G Plan chairs we are currently working on. I’ll update you with the progress on those over the next few weeks.

If you already have a vintage G Plan 6250 swivel chair and would like a matching custom vintage footstool, please contact me to be put on the waiting list.

The Vintage 6251 Footstool Before Restoration

The Press Fastener Tools + Kit from J A Milton

Restored Parker Knoll PK 747 Chairs

These adorable vintage Parker Knoll chairs date back to the 1950’s and have been fully restored to bring them into the 21st Century. Originally two separate purchases, they now make a matching pair.

One chair was covered in the original Parker Knoll turquiose blue vinyl, and the other was covered in an olive green fabric which was scratched to bits – by the owners cat!

The original varnish on the legs was badly worn and not a very desirable colour. I sent them to my local french polisher who hand restored and polished them back to the natural beech wood.

They were then newly upholstered in Villa Nova’s Geneva Vintage in ‘Squirrel’ grey. This is a stonewash effect cotton-linen. I decided to add two bright yellow contrasting buttons to each chair, which adds a little fun. 

This dainty duo would look delightful in your bedroom, nursery, hallway or dressing room. I think they would look rather smart in a room for twins! They are available to purchase on the website here.

Mr. Frank Fox cushion + Little Remix blanket available from Ferm Living.