I recently got a Hans Wegner knock-off daybed as a birthday/graduation present from my parents. It's obviously modeled after the Hans Wegner daybed where the back of the sofa rotates up to turn the sofa into a bed. I know that it isn't a true Hans Wegner piece because there are some differences in the hinge mechanisms and the legs. It's not marked so I have no idea who actually made the sofa. My parents know nothing about Danish modern furniture. They just happened to see the daybed in their local antique store and thought I would like it...which I do. It's actually a pretty decent Hans Wegner knock-off, IMHO. It's in pretty decent shape too.
My only problem with the daybed is the material that it is covered in. It's obviously not the original fabric. I can tell that it has been re-upholstered at least once. Anyhoo, the fabric these people re-upholstered it in is absolutely hideous and it's a little stained too. I'd like to re-upholster the daybed again. Does anyone have any suggestions for a good fabric? What type of fabric would be appropriate for such a daybed? I don't really know alot about fabrics so any help would be appreciated.
Maharam
lovely choices of upholstery fabric and they send free big swatches online. They web site design is wonky but if you select Maharam Virtual Library on the right you get a "bookshelf" of catalogs, the first three left to right are upholstery. Click one and flip through the samples.
http://maharam.com/maharam.html
I didn't buy it...
My parents bought it as a birthday/graduation gift. I know they didn't spend anywhere near $1200 for it. I'm assuming they spent $250-$300, but I'm not going to ask since it was a gift. It's a nice daybed even if it is a knock-off. I would love to have an original but it's not in my budget at the moment. I'm still paying off my car and my school loans. Most of my mid-century furniture came from my grandmother with the exception of some Cado cabinets that I happened to find just recently at a thrift shop ($25 bucks each), a really cool sculpture I picked up at the shop, and some paintings that are recent but in mid-century style that my parents got me for Christmas.
Yeah, I love the Cado wall systems...
they just look so nice. They don't make things like that anymore...that look both cool AND really nice. The current piece that I've really been salivating over is the spindle clock designed by Nelson. I've loved that clock ever since I saw one as a kid. That's what I'm saving up for currently.
A lesson in "things"
A knock-off sofa bought by your parents is infinitely more rewarding than a "real" Wegner daybed. If it is a nice sofa bestowed upon you by a nice gesture I would definitely be more inspired by its sentimental value. It's extremely cool your parents care about you enough to put forth the effort to buy a meaningful present. Plus it sounds like a rather nice daybed. Never replace it with a real one. Fix this one up to your liking and keep it forever. My parents bought me the Howard Miller reproduction clock (which is very different from a "real" Vitra, even though they are the original manufacturers). I would never part with it.
Not that I can give anyone a real life lesson ... I just feel that we collectors can get so caught up with "things" that we can lose sight of what is really important.
Cover that son of a bitch in some Kvadrat (I've used it on two sofas). You'll love it.
Whitespike
you said that real nice, any thing that your parents give you, you should appreciate and cherish once they are gone it becomes a lasting memorial.
That is what i tell every body that ask me about saving things that belong to their parents or replacing it,
I love to tell everyone that I would rather redo something that has sentimental value than purchase new ,(not in to Queen Ann ) thank g-d my parents were not either , or i would have to alter my ways
It always amazes me how many middle aged people will call me and ask about Eames Aluminum group chair owned by their dad from 1956 and how he remembered it as a little kid , should he redo it or sell it on ebay . first i say
if you like it that adds 50 points
and if it is your parents another 50 points,
They always want to preserve it for there kids , people are funny like that,
My parents both passed away at the same time and had some wonderful treasures, that my twin brother and i split up,
It was real hard to part with some of the traditional furniture especially the breakfront from Baker that my mom loved to display her Prize collection Lalique, stuban, and bachrach in, cause it would not go in my modern dwelling but that is o.k
I was able to keep all the original Paul Lazlo,Edward Wormley, Paul Evans City scape table and Finn Juhl for Baker furniture and one other thing
that was great. the stock portfolio, now that was a great treasure to bad we had to sell some of that....
what site is that david ? ...
what site is that david ? suit fabric on chairs does sound rather cool, Maharam is doing fabrics with Paul Smith and they have some cool stuff.
I have seen some of the suit fabrics on chairs at Ralph Lauren in the NYC store on some Winsor Chairs looked cool
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