RAF chairs

Not only do we love each piece we work with, but we fall in love with them over and over, especially when we discover their history and stories.  Our latest project was a set of RAF chairs. These came to us from air ministry enthusiast, Andrew Bell, who came to own the chairs following the clear-out of an old air traffic control unit at Biggin Hill.

After keeping them in storage for a while, Andrew realised they were too nice to be hidden away.  He contacted us to work our magic and here’s what we did:

RAF Chairs refurbishment

We stripped back the old material and original vinyl green fabric, while doing so, we discovered that whoever sat in the chair, must have had a sweet tooth as the evidence was found down the back of the chair, along with a few 1/2 penny pieces!

The frames were then stripped back and they revealed the Air Military stamp and the year 1944. All wobbles repaired, the chairs were sanded then waxed with Reloved dirty wax, before being hand polished.

All the springs were replaced and the chairs were upholstered using traditional methods. Each chair has also been finished underneath with hessian and upholstery tacks, as per the original design.  Black bottom cloth is often used in modern upholstery.

The pieces were then upholstered in a geometric fabric, to bring them bang on trend.  This fabric is a favourite of ours. Kirkby Designs’ from their London Underground velvets range.

The finished chairs are now available to buy, each priced at £695.00.  Or if you want to design your own bespoke chair, we have two frames available, ready for reupholstery.