As a very proud new owner of a reproduction Eames lounge chair (Craigslist) and semi-matching ottoman (eBay), I've gained a lot of insight into restoration techniques from these forums(particularly from lucifersam and spanky...thank you!). The chair/ottoman have good bones, but ultimately I do want to reupholster and reveneer them to match. I'm a pretty handy guy, particularly when it comes to woodworking, but I'm less experienced when it comes to upholstery. (Never worked with leather.) Anyway, the veneering should be a snap for me, but I'm trying to decide whether to reupholster it myself or pay to have it done. I'm also curious exactly who made my set (could easily be two different makers), since neither display any identification. Every time I think I may be on to the answer, I see a photo that contradicts it. Anyway, I'd appreciate the advice of anyone that has attempted this, and I will try to get a pic of my new baby posted soon.
Congratulations
Nothing beats the feeling of the newly refinished product.
If you can handle reveneering the wood you can certainly handle the basic upholstery. Altho... if you want an interesting project you could devise a way to affix the cushions from the inside of the shell - similar to the original 670. That way, when you reveneer the outside you can cover up all those ugly screw holes!
If you can handle a staple gun you should be all set. I wont repeat what Spanky and I have already said - it looks like you've discovered that post. One thing to do is hit the library/bookstore and read up on upholstery techniques.
In the instance that you're totally unsure of yourself just take the cusions and the armrests to a local upholsterer. It cost me 30$ an armrest, which were the most elaborate part.
You definitely need to post before and after pictures!
http://flickr.com/photos/38178174@N00/199914748/in/set-72157594547078868/
adventures in upholstery
Hey there... Thanks for the response! Sounds like you did exactly what I'm trying to do, so it's great to hear it from someone that's been there. Love your idea about potentially filling the screw holes... GREAT idea. My first instinct was to "embrace" them by just replacing the screws and washers with shiny new ones to play off the chrome base and headrest arms, but if I can figure out a way to do it your way, that might be an option. I wonder if insane amounts of velcro might do the trick...
Either way, I've posted some before and "during" pics. When I bought the chair, it had pretty nice dark chocolate leather upholstery I might have tried to work with, except that (as you can see in one of the lower pics), it appears the chair got into a knife fight and lost. It had a big hole in the seat that went through the first layer of padding. And THEN I found a semi-matching ottoman on ebay for 25 bucks (more on that later), which had different leather, so the choice to reupholster was very easy.
Then came the decision whether to do it myself or have it done. Bolstered by your post, I decided to at least experiment with some vinyl before buying any leather, so I went out and bought some. I also wanted to replace the padding, which seemed too thin. (When you sat down, you literally sunk to the wooden shell.) So I ended up completely overdoing it. I went from a combo of 2"+1"+1" medium density foam originally to a 4" piece of high density foam + the original piece of 1" med density foam on top. This proved to be WAY excessive. As my wife said "I feel like I'm sitting on top of the chair, not sinking into it". So I'm thinking of keeping with the original combination of foam padding, but using high density instead of medium. My thinking is I'll get the same thickness asthetically, but won't sink down to the shell when I sit in it. What was your padding like?
Aside from the fact that I HATE the vinyl I used, I do think the process was quite doable. I did not tackle the welting at first, but I actually just got home from buying some welting chord and fabric glue to do some more experimentation. Again, I loved your idea about just glueing the leather around the chord rather than sewing it. THAT was just what I was looking for. Did you use any particular glue? I found "leather glue" online, but couldn't find it in the store, so I just bought "high adhesive fabric glue", which it says works on leather.
Sorry for the long post, but I'm dying for info. I'm getting ready to head out to the garage and experiment with welting and button making. I'm waiting for black leather samples from Kyson (I even ordered samples of the real deal from DWR for comparison purposes). Can't wait to get that ordered. What size did you end up getting? You ran out before you got to your ottoman, right, so I'd better plan for more?
Thanks again! Pics below...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7370173@N02/
almost forgot...
Any idea exactly what repro I have? Every time I see a pic of an identified chair that I THINK is like mine, I find something different about it. The main shell itself looks Plycraft to me, but the arms don't (at least from a lot of the photos I've seen). The chrome base is also similar to Plycraft, but I've never seen a Plycraft with a 5-star base. Then there's the "matching" ottoman, which is identical in most ways, except the base has 4 arms, and there's a weird black paint along the edges of the plywood (which I will sand off). Oh, and the weirdest thing is that it's fairly smaller than Eames ottomans. Is that common for repros? Have you ever heard about that?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7370173@N02/
Hey Twine
It looks like a Plycraft version. The head-rest has the same rounded look as past plycrafts. Its hard to tell for absolute certain as I've never seen a Plycraft catalogue - and I've seen dozens of variations labeled Plycraft.
If you wannna make it look like a real 670 I'd worry less about the depth of the armrests and more about the height of the backrest. If you've never seen one of the real 670s in person you should stop by your nearest DWR and check it out. They're remarkably small compared to the big looming repros. (altho some would argue that the repros are more comfortable)
The base style on yours is also different - you can get a base closer to the original at the link below. But keep in mind that the aluminum base on the ottoman only has four points not five.
Keep me updated on the restoration. And keep posting photos 😀
http://www.swivel-chair-parts.com/7109EamesBase.html
still experimenting....
I read about your bold move to cut the back down, and I applaud you for having the guts to do that. (I have a fair amount of experience working with wood, but I'd be scared to death to take that step.) However, I'm 6'3", so the size of the chair actually fits me like a glove. (I could even go for a slightly larger headrest!)
Here's the latest... Just practiced again on the seat with some cheap vinyl. (New pic on flickr.) I went from an overstuffed yet too hard cushion to a much thinner, but more comfortable combination. Now I think I just need to add a little low/medium density foam to give it that "pillow" look of the 670, and I'll be set. If there wasn't that hole in the original seat, I wouldn't have to be screwing around so much with the padding... Argh.
I also experimented with thickening one armrest, which although comfortable, proved to be a nightmare of excessive vinyl... Everything I've read about redoing the armrests is true.
Just got 5 leather samples from Kyson. 3 are pebble textured, 2 are smooth and "satin" sheened. Any idea which is used on the 670? I ordered a sample of the leather from DWR for comparison, but it hasn't arrived yet. Also, how much did you end up needing for your chair/ottoman? I'm still undecided whether 50 is enough, or if I should just spend a little extra for 60 and give myself some margin for error. I lined up someone to do my armrests in the 670 style, so I'll be going it alone with the rest, which I feel comfortable I can do.
Oh, your tip about the welting worked GREAT. Wow, what a great solution to complicated sewing! Did you use a special type of glue for leather, or just white glue? I've read it doesn't matter, but I don't know if I believe that.
Yeah, the style of the base is very similar to Plycrafts I've seen, but most of those have had 4 legs, not 5 like mine. And then I've seen a lot of Plycrafts with "office chair" looking arms, as opposed to the bentwood ones I have. Haven't seen many Seligs, so I don't know what to look for there. I may eventually look into the repro bases you referred me to, but for now I'm digging the restored chrome.
So step 1 (upholstery) is in the works, step 2 (veneering) to follow. As always, the advice is GREATLY appeciated!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7370173@N02/
motivating!
Hi, Been reading your threads and hopefully soon get started on two repro's that have been sitting around for a few years.
I was just wondering how your applying your veneers?
I have many projects that I would like to veneer and was considering building a vacuum press to apply the veneers. I found a great site with free plans and also has fair prices on wood veneer.
If you get a chance take a look and give me your opinion.
Thanks for the motivation!
http://www.joewoodworker.com/catalog/
Ha, funny you should mention...
Ha, funny you should mention that article about the MacGyver-esque vaccum press... I just saw it the other night. I'm actually going to do it with contact cement, since the surfaces are flat with simple curves. I've never done it before, but I saw an epsidode of Freeform Furniture (on DIY network) where she applied walnut veneer to some bent wood forms that are nearly identical to what I'll be doing. If I was doing a table top or something that would take abuse or be highly visible, I'd be more concerned, but given that surfaces on the chair are purely decorative, I'm confident that contact cement will do the trick.
I agree with you about the pricing on that site. I was looking at the site below, which had walnut veneer for $85, then I came across joewoodworker, which had it for mid-$60. Looks like the only difference is one is paper-backed and the other is "Flexwood", where it's backed by another piece of the same wood, but with the grain running perpendicular to the top layer. I was talking to a friend of mine about which was better, but we couldn't decide. It would seem to me that the Flexwood version would be more stable, but without any experience using veneers, that's just speculation. Anyone have a preference?
Speaking of that episode of Freeform Furniture, she used a j-roller to flatten out the veneer, but several sites I've been to specifically say NOT to use a j-roller, but to use a scraper instead. "Scraping" a paper-thin veneer sounds risky to me... Has anyone else done this?
Well, I'm off to try to find some softer padding to use on the seat I just can't seem to get right. Wish me luck!
http://www.woodworkerssource.net/Merchant3/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store...
Leather
Hey Twine,
I would definitely get 60sf of leather. I used a nice black with a very small, tight pebbled grain. I didnt want totally smooth, and certainly not shiny - altho I feel most of the originals I've seen are a glossy leather. I used white archival glue called PVA (PolyVinyl Acetate) on the welting. Because I had to cut long welting strips down the center of the hide I ended up with only very small scraps out of the 50sf that I bought - and then had to do the ottoman in vinyl. More is definitely better.
I'm realizing now that I should have added some padding to the seat/backrests. I simply recovered what was there, and its a little flat. When spring gets here I'll pull off all the leather and add some padding.
Plycraft has done dozens of versions of this chair. Some of them, like yours, kind of stand alone as a design. Others, like mine, have been copied as closely to the original as possible - cast aluminum bases and headrest struts, the shape of the backrest as it relates to the seat shell. The armrests on mine are curved plywood, but have been fully padded (see link). I think you could manage to do that look fairly easily, especially if you use an upholster. Mine have some visible staples underneath, but I went over them with a black sharpie and you almost dont notice them.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/38178174@N00/271364534/in/set-72157594547078868/
Veneer
Oh yeah, definitely take pictures of the reveneering process. Mine, I think, was already walnut, but had that god-awful honey colored stain on it. Some sanding brought the finish off and picked up some gorgeously figured grain. I refinished with a cherry tinted poly to give it some warmth. I'd love to see yours with the fresh new walnut veneer.
black leather
I'm definitely trying to go for 60sf if at all possible. It seems like the options narrow significantly as the square footage goes up. Did you order from Kyson? (They've been extremely helpful to me thus far.) If so, do you remember the number of the leather you chose? I'm trying to stay medium to smooth in texture, and DEFINETLY not shiny. She found one hide in natural grain (which she said is like the back of your hand) in 60sf for $149, and is sending me some more samples. Sounds like that might be my best compromise between the buttery soft ones that come in smaller sizes and the larger stiff/highly pebbled hides. I'm with you though, the larger the hide, the better. This will be my first time upholstering with leather, so between the welting and saving enough to send out to have the armrests done, I'd better leave myself plenty extra.
Speaking of the armrests, judging by the pic you sent, it definitely looks like ours are similar. The white vinyl version of yours (the "before", right?) looks a lot like mine when I tried to do it myself... Bunches and bunches of vinyl crammed along the curve. I assume the upholsterer was able to resolve that when you had it redone?
Regarding the padding... I'm surprised you said yours is a little thin. It certainly looks nice and pillowy from the pics. Mine is not bad other than the seat and arms. I'll probably just add some thick batting to the existing back, headrest and ottoman when the time comes and call it a day. I checked, and the padding on the arms will be beefed up by the upholsterer. That leaves the seat, which is still driving me insane. I can't seem to find the magic combination of thick and tailored, yet soft and pillowy. So tomorrow, for the third time, I'm going to rip the vinyl off and experiment with some more combos of batting and various thicknesses of foam until I find one that works. At least this is giving me plenty to do while I try to find the perfect leather...
veneer
Yeah, mine is some god-awful honey color. I can't figure out exactly what the veneer is. It MIGHT be walnut, but I've never seen walnut that light. It really looks like oak to me, although I've never heard of one of these with oak veneer, have you?
Luckily the ottoman I found had a perfectly matching chrome base (score!), but the veneer is a much darker brown. I would considering trying to sand and restain as you did, but the veneer on both is in such bad shape, I figure it's best just to do a rough repair and spend 75 bucks on some new veneer (that I KNOW is walnut).
30 years
Im not sure when mine was produced, but Im guessing some time in the 60's/70's. Which means that the foam has 30 years of ass flattening it down. The ottoman I have has much more soft batting on top of the foam, which makes it softer and cushier. The seats not too bad, but the backrest on mine is a little thin, which gives me a weee bit of ache if I sit for a couple hours.
The leather I got from Kyson was b69. Its a nice black with very small grain. You can see it in the photos. I played around in photoshop with lots of different colors of leathers. The browns looked to blah with the brown of the wood. I toyed with a medium grey, but then I saw an actual 670 with it and it wasnt so hot.
Ive seen the veneers run anywhere from the amber stain, to almost black walnuts. I saw an abysmal parquet veneered knockoff on Ebay a few months ago. I cant wait to see yours.
If you need any help, please contact us at – info@designaddict.com