Hi I just received some danish slipper chairs I purchased off Chairish and was told they were Edward Wormley for the Precedent line. There's no tags so I'm not sure if they are real. One or two of the chairs seems to have had minor work done to them on the bottom (different screws, an extra nail, a drill hole).
Can someone tell me if these would have had a label somewhere if they were real or if these look real or just designed inspired to you? I was told they came from an estate sale and the cushions (still in the plastic) were original.
Lastly, I want to get the refurbished. Would you recommend just cleaning them and the webbing or is the value of such furniture going to go down substantially if I sand and restain and re web everything to make them sturdier?
Thanks!!
<img class="wpforoimg" src=" http://d1t1u890k7d3ys.cloudfront.net/cdn/farfuture/P8vnhzqZrirCLt7TUmUVsUv
They look legit to me.
If the webbing sags or looks like it's worn to the point of breaking soon, go ahead and replace it. These aren't museum pieces. You're going to sit in them and they should be comfortable! Webbing is like upholstery fabric. Eventually it wears out and gets replaced.
As for the finish on the wood, I'm not so sure. I would definitely be sorely tempted to remove it and do either a clear finish or an ebonized finish, but only because I can't stand that blond pigmenty 50s finish. It always looks dull to me; dull in color, but also just uninteresting. On the other hand, it looks like there's some pretty significant wear in places though I can't be sure because of the angle and lighting of the photos.
I would be very leery of staining the wood. I'm guessing these are maple because this blond tinted finish was often used on maple. Maple doesn't take conventional stain very evenly and you're likely to end up with blotchy chairs and regrets. Maybe they're something else, though--I don't know.
Thanks! I was just skeptical because there was no tags but some 1stdib seller of this chair also just references a brochure which I'll attach and says they are Edward Wormley.
The chairs have some sort of stain or finish over the wood and is peeling off in spots and that's how I could tell that it isn't just the natural wood color. The chairs need some TLC: screws need to be tightened and maybe some wood reglued.
Do I need to be picky about who does this refurbishing work or are most furniture refurbishers well versed in handling this type of furniture and wood? I didn't even know about the wood staining and maple wood until you mentioned it. That's how new I am to all of this.
And yes the dark color you mention (ebonize...just googled it) looks great! I was going to try to restain it to the chair in the photo with some brownish orange reupholstered cushions.
Definitely be careful about who does the work! Someone in another thread here just posted photos the other day of some chairs redone by a pro---they were very blotchy and unattractive and will need to be redone. There are total hacks and there are refinishers who are qualified to work on museum pieces--and everyone in between. It's buyer beware.
Going that dark on the stain will be tricky. Either do a lot of research and practice, or have a good professional do it.
If you need any help, please contact us at – info@designaddict.com