1938 Herman Miller Dresser

One of the biggest rewards that upholstery offers is the experience of collaborating with other crafts people and creative types.  This 1938 Herman Miller Dresser was scavenged from the streets of New York by a very savvy urban gleaner by the name of Peter Dupre and refinished by Jed VanDale at Back Alley Woodworks in Wakefield, RI.  The project was one of the final additions to Dupre's exquisite home built from designs by the early modernist architect, Richard Neutra.  The dresser is one of the early examples of modern furniture and includes the integration of vinyl drawers.  It was great to be able to add to Peter and Jed's creation with the upholstered square drawer front appliques.

Peter and Jed also came up with these really cool end tables to match, replacing peeled veneer with matching vinyl upholstery.  The drawer pulls that they used really brought it all together.

A Few Before and After Photos

Even though I've been working on chairs for over 2o years, it's only been a year or so since I took over my Mom's business and people aren't really aware of the quality of work I'm putting out there, so I figured I'd post a few before and after photos to let you see a sampling of the projects I worked on in 2012.

This was a fun club chair that I did to match a really nice Arts and Crafts Morris chair that I had done previously in the same fabric

another happy customer!!!

This is a REALLY cool custom sofa designed in NYC in the late 50's.  The father of the customer was a designer and had this built for the family home. 

The curved front, oversized square arms and low back really give this couch a cool style

Sometimes it's hard to imagine what things will look like...

A really fun paisley gave this little parlor chair a playful feel, finished with natural nail heads

The best part about upholstery is preserving the life and stories that are attached to furniture

This split sofa set was where my customers courted as teens 50 years ago, and now with some TLC, they can spend their golden years lounging in luxury!!!

A really cool piece