Antique couch

We have this couch that belonged to my late mother. She was going to reupholster it, but never got to it. Can anyone here identify the type of couch it is? My sister said Chippendale, but idk. It is from the 1920’s or 1930’s. The cushions are horse hair and have springs inside the cushions. And - is it worth getting reupholstered?

 

not in my opinion...
it's nice enuff...but now it's just used furniture....with no great demand/

 

Such a pretty, graceful shape. Yes to reupholstery if you plan on keeping it. Family things are always nicer than store bought new (and usually of better quality.)

Debora

 

Absolutely will need new cushions for starters along with reupholstering, and as long as the bones are good.....but I'm just giving a larger image for a better view for others to comment on! If it was a family piece, and you love it, then by all means, go for the re-do of it....it should look lovely when done!!! It has comfortable looking lines!!



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I learned my lesson about not to redo a sofa planned for every day use when I had a large camelback sofa reupholstered. It was as expensive as buying a new sofa.

 

Yes, but the quality is unlikely to be the same.

Debora

 

Exactly. Furniture now is junk- you want the old framework these pieces have.

 

Exactly. And it would be hard to find a modern sofa with those graceful, period lines. Finding a sympathetic fabric while avoiding JoAnn's is the challenge in most communities.

Debora

 

We have an excellent reupholstery business here, thank goodness.

 

They're hard to find nowadays.

Debora

 

It's a lovely couch but does it really have "horse hair" stuffing? Maybe someone like @Ghopper1924 or @verybrad could comment on how long ago that could have been given up?

 

Certainly based on a chippendale sofa. Certainly possible that it is from the 20s-30s but could have also been made into the 50s. Only reupholster if for yourself and you intend to keep it a long time. Otherwise, the cost would not be worth it.

 

@verybrad Do you have a sense of when horse hair stuffing for cushions would have gone out of use?

 

Sometimes still used into the 50s but not as common by then.

 

Interesting. I would not have guessed that late. Thanks.

 

To tell you the truth, I don't see that pressing a need to redo it from this one picture. Some puffing up the loose cushions, certainly, but beyond that, maybe artistically throw a shawl over the back if you must

I myself am in the process of spending an unnecessary amount of money in the reupholstering of a wingback armchair (about time I had a proper old man's chair). Prices do not compare, but I got if for $60, velvet will be $120, and the job I had quoted at $500 (as if!). Estimated resale, 100 to 150! When I find the time, I will be trying my hand at the drabbing the fabric over the frame, not calling it anything else.

 

Hi Fern...............

My town offers adult education classes, and one of them that I took was reupholstering. I did a chair.

Lots of hard work..............I have no photo.....wish now I had taken some. A friend liked the chair and bought it from me..............(years ago)

Check out your town for such a class if you have reupholstering in mind. It's not easy!

 

A bit late, but I’ve had chairs from the 1940s that used horsehair, so it’s a pretty safe bet that this one does.

 

Won’t be worth the expense to reupholster, UNLESS it is for your own use. In which case go for it. Far cheaper and quicker in the short term, is to find a nice fitted cover that will work for that size and design.