Dear Apartment Therapy, I have been handed down a set of to-die-for chairs. (Well, at least they would have been in their prime!) I love the shape and the fabric, and I would like to know a little bit about them, if you have any information on the style. Are they wing backs? They sort of look like the lines of Borge Morgensen, but I feel I really don't know enough about mid-century furniture to even make this claim! I have tried to find pics of chairs that would be close to the style of these, but have come up empty handed. They were my friend's grandmother's, and this is the only information I have on them...
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That's a very late 60's look....very Southern California
We had 2 nearly identical chairs like that in our seldom sat in "Living Room" when I was growing up. With a 10 ft long royal blue sofa, a large round green tufted ottoman, a thick glass coffee table on a gold metal scroll base.......and a huge oil painting of a matador in yellow, gold, orange and black oil paint that never fully cured.
We has that look through the entire 70's....we went got rid of it whenever The Reflex was at the top of the charts.
I wish my mom had kept that set, It would be so cute today....I sometimes see similar chairs all re-done in windows of fancy shops.....you never see those at a thrift store anymore.
That stuff was so well made....so sturdy and comfy
That's what the woman in that re-upholstery commercial on TV is talking about when she says
"Wait....the furniture your sitting on is better than what you can buy today"
Great find...those chairs are cute....I'm jealous!
view marcspice's profile
I used to have a couch with what looked like the exact same upholstery and styling. I'd researched it and mine was from Castro Convertibles. Mine was in perfect condition, but still I had tried like hell to find some of the fabric for sale somewhere to maybe reupholster something else to match, but I never could. I really, really, really loved that couch. It was the first "nice" piece of furniture I'd ever bought-- no particleboard, solid, actually vintage as opposed to just handed down or cheap at a thrift store.
Unfortunately I'm an idiot and in an act of unparalleled stupidity I decided that I couldn't wait to take the cushion covers to be professionally cleaned and just popped them into the wash. Cold water, gentle cycle, air dry. Once I tried to put them back on the cushions all I had were misshapen messes. I sold it for next to nothing on Craig's List to somebody who loved it as much as I did and had a seamstress aunt who believed she could fix it.
Here's a picture of the couch in its glory days.
view philipbloomenthal's profile
There is nothing particularly special about these chairs - except for the shape and what they mean you you.
I would recommend having them reupholstered in an elegant fabric and enjoying them for as long as you can for they are a truly beautiful style.
view bepsf's profile
I have 2 chairs by Milo Baughman for Thayer Coggins which are nearly identical to yours except for the fabric. Mine were originally covered in gold mohair. The frame is solid wood unlike today's furniture which has particle wood. The upholstery shop that I took them to thinks that they were manufactured in the 60s. To reupholster them, I got two estimates in the San Francisco Bay Area which were comparable at around $600 each plus 10 yards of fabrics at ~$50-70 /yd. So you're looking at around $1700 to get both of them professionally reupholstered, on the low end, for a complete rebuild including springs and foam, etc.
view timonel98's profile
I don't know about "to die for", but they're definitely dead. LOL.
If you love them then go ahead and spend the money to reupholster them. Just know that they have no intrinsic value other than your sentiment.
view LBhirise's profile
Thanks for the comments! In all honesty, the pics don't really do the chairs justice!
Also, I have no interest in the chairs' value; I am keeping them forever, no matter. I just wanted to know a little bit about them, and to get recs for ($/where) redoing them.
And LBhirise, you definitely made me laugh. My mom feels the same way as you, about my living room loves, and I know she'd prefer me to recover them with the lid of a casket. But I see their potential and love them regardless! I am thinking of recovering in a thick black and white damask print, but we'll see. My main house colors are black and white, olivey green, teal, and red. I'll repost pics when they're all good to go...I am hoping by the end of summer!
Wish me luck!
view beckyjo's profile
I think they're awesome! Can't wait to seem them all redone.
view vanessacatvet's profile
They're not wingbacks. You can go down to the garment district in LA and get fabric (Michael Levine's, etc.) for much less than $50 a yard. Find an upholsterer on CL (or over in Boyle Heights) and get them redone. You can get them done for about $300 each or less if you're a good bargainer.
view FantasticMrFaux's profile