How do you preserve your upolstery?

[tuppence]

The Fabric on the arms of my vintage lounge suite are wearing thin. I have tried to make slip covers for the arms, but they seem to move around a lot and need consatnt re-adjusting. Any hints on how to get them to stay put?
Thank you

 

[crwritt]

The Fabric on the arms of my vintage lounge suite are wearing thin. I have tried to make slip covers for the arms, but they seem to move around a lot and need constant re-adjusting. Any hints on how to get them to stay put?
Thank you

In the fabric store you will find some little pins that have a clear plastic head
and a prong that looks like a corkscrew. These are meant to keep the arm covers in place.
Other than that, you can invisibly hand stitch the back bottom corners of the arm covers to the upholstery fabric.

 

[tuppence]

Thanks, I knew there was something I was missing.

 

[dhermann1]

Only way to preserve upholstery: kill and eat all cats in the house.

 

[Tomasso]

^^^

OK but that still leaves dogs and children...........:rage:

 

[Paisley]

I put a decorative pillow (fancy side down) and a fluffy bed on the sofa for my dog. She'll lie there whether I put those there or not, so...

 

[Tomasso]

She'll lie there whether I put those there or not, so...

Sounds like a case for the Dog Whisperer......

 

[tuppence]

In the end I sewed rubber anti-rug slip stuff onto the inside.
And they no longer move.

 

[bunnyb.gal]

Only way to preserve upholstery: kill and eat all cats in the house.

I can lend you my greyhounds for that. The only problem is that they will then take over all of your soft furnishings!

(N.B. the first sentence is only a joke. I love all animals on this green earth and would wish none of them harm.)

 

[Warbaby]

What? No clear plastic slipcovers?

 

[Mr Vim]

Luckily I do not have any vintage furniture, because I also have a cat who thoroughly enjoys scratching at anything upholstered, but when I do get nice furniture, that animal will learn by gadfrey.

 

[Big Man]

I have a house full of vintage furniture, and most of it is used daily (and has been used daily since new). Three of the pieces are upholstered, and are known as "the new furniture." Around 1922 or 1923, when my aunt Hazel was "old enough to start dating," the living room suit was purchased. The suit consisted of a couch, an arm chair, a rocker arm chair, and a table. The furniture was placed in the "front room" and used for company or special occasions.

All of the pieces have the original finish and original upholstery. We still use this furniture, but am very careful with it. As you can see by the close-up photo, the upholstery is in excellent condition. However, it is almost 90 years old and I don't know how much longer I can justify using it at all. I would love to hear how other folks take care and/or preserve vintage upholstered furniture. These pieces have been a part of the house for so long, I would hate for them to cease being a part of the life of the house. But, I would also hate to see them be damaged. My grandparents were proud of their "new furniture", and when they passed away my aunt took possession and was likewise proud. Now that the house and all have passed to me, I want to make sure that I continue to take good care of what meant so much to them all these years.

As a side note, the table behind the couch was where my grandfather's casket was placed during his wake in 1932. Also, I remember as a child, whenever there was a lightning storm my grandmother had all of us go in the front room and put our feet up in the chairs. Just a couple of reasons to take good care of this old suit of furniture.

 

[jamespowers]

I have a house full of vintage furniture, and most of it is used daily (and has been used daily since new). Three of the pieces are upholstered, and are known as "the new furniture." Around 1922 or 1923, when my aunt Hazel was "old enough to start dating," the living room suit was purchased. The suit consisted of a couch, an arm chair, a rocker arm chair, and a table. The furniture was placed in the "front room" and used for company or special occasions.

All of the pieces have the original finish and original upholstery. We still use this furniture, but am very careful with it. As you can see by the close-up photo, the upholstery is in excellent condition. However, it is almost 90 years old and I don't know how much longer I can justify using it at all. I would love to hear how other folks take care and/or preserve vintage upholstered furniture. These pieces have been a part of the house for so long, I would hate for them to cease being a part of the life of the house. But, I would also hate to see them be damaged. My grandparents were proud of their "new furniture", and when they passed away my aunt took possession and was likewise proud. Now that the house and all have passed to me, I want to make sure that I continue to take good care of what meant so much to them all these years.

That still looks great. My L-shaped 3 piece couch in the living room has been recovered twice now. My grandmother had company every Sunday and Satuday too for fifty years. That took its toll on the furniture. I had it recovered because the alternative was to just simply replace it and I have the same affinity for my pieces as well. I also added by great grandmothers setee set upholstered in the same fabric. It all matches even though there is much time between the two. [huh]
My upholsterer is very good at what he does so I have him fix whatever needs fixing around the house---especially with two young boys roaming through the house daily.

 

[Miss sofia]

What a lovely suite, compliments! It's tricky with vintage furniture, especially like yours which has such sentimental value and would be a shame to not keep on enjoying daily.

I have an antique sofa and a rather valuable persian rug in my sitting room, or rather did have. The rug i have hung up on the wall in my dining room, as we have recently acquired a dog and i have hordes of my sons friends rampaging. The sofa i have had some thick loose covers made for, which hopefully will protect the vintage fabric,although i'm still concerned about wear as the dog for some reason likes to hang off one of the arms and go to sleep, and no matter how much i bellow like a fishwife at the boys i always seem to find one sitting on the sofa with a drink, aaargh! But the other option would be to put the sofa in storage and buy a cheapie, but i'm loathe to do that as i want to enjoy the sofa, so it's finding a balance i guess. I'll keep on bellowing!

 

[Big Man]

What a lovely suite, compliments! It's tricky with vintage furniture, especially like yours which has such sentimental value and would be a shame to not keep on enjoying daily. ...

Thank you. I feel very fortunate to have that suit of furniture, and to have it in the same house/room as its always been makes it that much more special. I guess the plan for now is to continue to use it as it has been for all these years - only for special guest and, of course, those lightning storms. We are fortunate to have a "front room" for the "new furniture" and other rooms for everyday use.

Come to think of it, the most modern piece of furniture we use for everyday is still from the 1940's, however it was recovered in the 1970's with that indestructible vinyl. [huh] I really need to get that chair recovered.

 

[BinkieBaumont]

"A Fur throw rug can hide any damage there is a big hole under there were one of my Dogs chewed a hole in it as a puppy"

 

[Paisley]

Your grey dog is camoflaged--just like my brown dog on my brown wing chair. She was so well hidden that it took my neighbor a few minutes to find her.