HOME > GALLERY > UNUSUAL FURNITURE ITEMS

All text and graphics Copyright 2001 - 2011 Craftsman Furniture Service

CONTACTING AND FINDING US

This was probably a late nineteenth century baby hamper (as in a birthdate of December 4, 1899!). We've never seen anything else like it and the owners didn't know what its original use was. If you have a better idea what this might have been used for, let us know, we will offer your idea here.

Our contributions to its continued life were to remove the old paint and to replace sections of wood that were missing. It is pretty easy to see the new white looking poplar sections we added in the detail picture, but we also turned a replacement finial that sits atop the front post on the right. It is also pretty easy to see some of the old blue paint way back inside the vertical dividers at the bottom. This should prove that soaking a piece in stripper does not remove the paint by itself, someone still has to scrub or scrape off the softened paint. The paint is still way back in there because it could not be reached.

This not-so-friendly looking face is attached to a piece of furniture we worked on. Around 1900 it was very popular to incorporate leonine design elements into furniture items. Lion's heads were often found at the front of the arms of a gentleman's chair, this one on a rocker. Imagine what it must have felt like for a man to rest his weary arms on the backs of a pair of lions while stroking their heads with his hands. It sounds somewhat regal, the king of his castle and so on. You analysts can have fun with this one.

Whatever the reasons for this antique fascination, I think we can agree that part of our modern fascination with things antique is the actual or imagined stories behind these exotic pieces.

Now that you have seen what we have done for others, what can we do for you? CONTACTING AND FINDING US

This is our story about this piece. When it came in, besides having a worn out finish, the back was broken off at each elbow and the two center back supports were entirely missing.

With no risk of being proven false, we can confidently say that unless you have seen this unique chair, you have never seen a chair like it. Someone had an idea for a way to make one thing into another and this is the result. As can be seen in the photo below left, the two back posts originally had connecting rails attached to them and lacked the decorative frame at the bottom present on each of the other sides. Additionally, neither of the legs in that picture have casters attached. The leg in what would be the back corner is even missing much of the wood at the bottom, instead showing a half-bondo leg, someone's effort to repair the loss.

It should seem obvious that these back supports should look like they do, but imagine not seeing these photos first and then trying to figure out how they should look! The wide slats are curved to match the curvature of the back of the seat. We designed and made the pediment too. Both we and our customer were quite happy with how all of it turned out.

Our task on this piece was to replace the bondo-ed section with a new wood turning, put matching casters and caster rings on the bottom of each foot, and to resurface the three sections that were formerly attached to rails. We did this by leveling those sections, attaching a piece of veneer to them and finishing the veneer to blend with the finish of the chair. Below you can see how it all turned out. (Please forgive our poor photographic skills, the color of the chair wasn't changed, it looks different because of different lighting and our inability to figure out how to use a camera.)

TOP OF PAGE

Now that you have seen what we have done for others, what can we do for you? CONTACTING AND FINDING US