Grete Jalk armchair pillows  

The seat cushion looks like it might have a coil spring unit inside. That slight ridge about one inch from the seam on the top front of the seat cushion makes me thinks so. It's about where the straight wire spring edge around the coil springs would lie. It would be helpful to see a side view of the entire chair as well as an angled view of the front. It looks like the back cushion is a bit on the tall and thick side but i also think you should see what's inside it before you make any decisions. Some Jalk chairs and others had sprung back cushions and it's usually a good idea to keep them.

I could go on about replacement cushion material but let's see what's in there first.

As for getting new cushions made, any good upholsterer will do that and it's probably better to do locally anyway--easier to deal with any little issues that may come up. Or it should be easier, anyway. Just make sure the upholsterer is agreeable to doing it the way you want it done. Some will just say yeah, yeah, sure---and then do it the way they do conventional cushions, which is too overstuffed for Danish furniture.

As a general rule, these kind of chairs look best if the seat cushion is about an inch thicker than the back. The height of the back cushion looks best somewhere between level with the frame and 1"/2cm taller. If you do a google image search for "danish lounge chair" you'll see a variety of thicknesses and heights on the cushions. Notice which look right to you and which don't.

Hi Ernest.

http://www.galerie-mobler.com/en/vintage-furniture/set-of-cushions-for-g...

This is from someone I know and can be trusted 100%. Pretty expensive anyway. Beware that a meter of Kvadrat fabric retails for around 150

The seat cushions in this chair should be spring, with a bit of padding and foam wrapped around the springs.

The seat foundation is also wrong. It should be eeeeeee springs stretched front to back, with not much space between each, with a layer of 1/4" polyurethane foam above that, then the piece of fabric, which looks original. I imagine a jute foundation makes the seat much less comfortable than eeeeee springs.

I suspect you are right that the fabric is not original, but I don't think your reason for saying you are certain is valid. This chair and the Juhl Japan sofa both were made by France & S

Dear spanky, Dr. Poulet and Leif,

thank you for your very kind help. Indeed, the pillows contain springs. I have made a little inspection this morning and when I put my finger inside the pillow, I can feel some kind of straw material and some rigid structural material. So the thick wool that covers the pillow is the only upholstery present.

Leif, you confirmed what I was afraid of. I have now removed the seat frame, and indeed I found that under the jute there are still the original holes where the springs were placed. What do you think if I put the eeeee springs again? Where could I find them?

Is there anything to know when to mount these springs and to put the cover back?

Dr. Poulet, thank you for the link, I did not know such a service existed. I must say that the price is a bit high, but I cannot imagine paying less than that here in Zurich, so I'll give a thought. For sure I cannot keep the pillows as they are.

Thank you and kind regards

Ernest.

Ernest--you can get the springs here and this place is in Germany---not too far!

http://www.design-restoration-spares.com/product/eeeeeee-spring-hooks-us...

The straw-like material you can feel inside the cushion is most likely a horsehair mat. That was the usual padding put over springs. The metal wears through most other stuff pretty quickly.

France and S

Hi! spanky thank you for the link.

Leif, do you think it is possible to get these springs, and is it difficult to fix them into the wood?

Thank you

Ernest

Oh right--I've seen the mat thing you're talking about. I believe it's coir.

http://mallanka.com/en/organic-rubberized-coir-manufacturer/rubberised-c...

That popped up first in a search--there are probably other sources too. I know it's not exactly the same texture but it's in the same class.

I thought I had photos of the mats I've seen but I I guess I didn't take any. I do have some of a coir mat on some tagged German coil springs in an unmarked chair. The mat was sandwiched between two layers of burlap or other coarse fabric and quilted together.

Hi and sorry to bother again. I still have two unresolved questions: the first one is whether I should try to keep the original pillows with strings inside, and re-upholster them, even if I think that they are too thick for my taste. The second question concerns whether it is still possible to find the eeeee springs for this chair.

Thank you for your help!

Ernest

I posted a link above to a source for the springs. They come with clips to screw to the frame but you could snip them off if you don't want to use them (or maybe they come unattached, I didn't read the description).

I think Leif said the springs on this chair were originally attached with big staples. If you attach them that way, just make sure you do it in a way that won't lead to the wood splitting. I'd be inclined to use the clips and pre-drill holes for the screws, but I'm also not a strict purist about the little details.

If you don't think you can live with the thick original cushions, go ahead and get new cushions made the way you want---but DO save the originals for the next owner (even if you think you'll never get rid of this chair in your lifetime and you can't even imagine anyone else ever owning it). It's great to restore a chair to its original look but that makes it uncomfortable to sit in or if you just don't like how it looks, then whatever---it's YOUR chair. And cushions are not a permanent alteration. Just hang on to the originals.

Hi, in respect to the springs, how do you know whether their size would fit this chair? I am also a bit skeptical with screwing them inside the frame, as I do not know how the original setting was. I could also not find any picture on the internet...

THank you,

Ernest

I have a sofa with the springs, the problem is that the attachment points are hidden from sight unless the coverlet and foam are stripped off. I believe that you will find it obvious when you open the seat foundation. The wood will have marks from the springs and holes from the staples. As I remember the springs are not under a grea amount of tension. They might be pulled a couple of inches. It has been years though. And when you open the seat foundation you will be able to count how many there should be. There are a lot of them. All you see under the seat is springs.

Definitely keep the original cushions even if you don

Hi Leif, thank you. As shown in the picture above, I can see where the holes in the frame are. But I do not know how to adapt these springs from Getama that spanky suggested, to the holes present in my chair.

Thank you

Ernest

You have to remove the fabric coverlet, which means pulling all the staples. Then remove the jute, which means pulling more staples. Then you will see where the springs should attach.