I picked up this vintage platform rocking chair this past June at an estate auction held for a woman who had passed away nearly 20 years ago. After her passing, the son closed up the large Victorian house that his mother lived in and walked away. Now, that once beautiful house is on the verge of being condemned, so all furnishings were sold at auction. I was fortunate enough to purchase several items at this sale. One of which I did not feel fortunate about was this chair. They couldn't get a bid on it, so the auctioneer sold it with an antique radio that I purchased. Now, I am one that really dislikes when people leave items behind after an auction, even if they got stuck with some things that they didn't want. Therefore, my feelings of guilt took over as I loaded up all of my other purchases and prepared to leave this chair behind. Guilt won out, and the chair came home.
When I purchased the chair it was nowhere near the condition that it is in now. It had been reupholstered many times in the past, and the last time that it was reupholstered, it was covered in bright green corduroy with blue designs flocked onto it. Not only was the fabric hideous, the arm had fallen off the chair and the wood needed to be refinished. I decided to try my hand at restoring this chair. I felt like I wouldn't be out much if I failed (I got the chair and radio, which I also restored, for $2). I stripped it down to the frame, finding along the way several live spiders and lots of old nylon stockings which had been used to fill in where the original padding had gone bad. I also found a lot of straight pins and a few needles. This must have been her sewing chair. Once down to the frame, I sanded and refinished the wood (I love Minwax Polyshades), reattached the arm, put the original padding back on along with new foam padding, and reupholstered it. I really like the fabric, which I got at Walmart for $5/yard. Yes, it is upholstery fabric! I trimmed out the edges with brass upholstery nails and it was finished! I also got a matching footstool that somebody did leave behind and I refinished it as well. It is really comfortable! The only thing that I still need to do is replace the springs in the rocking mechanism, as they allow the chair to lean back too far.
Awwww, you did a nice job rescuing this chair! I'm like you, I feel bad about leaving anything behind at an auction. In fact I pick up the stuff other people leave - also like you, it appears. And sometimes the best stuff is what got put in the Dumpster before the sale! I once found a 1940s black Bakelite desktop telephone in the Dumpster of a sale. Nobody thought it was worth bothering to sell it, I guess.
ReplyDeleteGood for you! I can't believe all the work you put into it, but it looks like it was worth it.
ReplyDeleteDo you happen to know who manufactured it? My grandmother had one very, very similar (minus the new upholstery) ;0) I'd love to get my hands on one... been looking off and on for years...
ReplyDeleteSorry Aben, I wasn't able to locate any manufacturer information on it when I rebuilt it. Good luck with your search!
ReplyDeleteI think you'll find your platform rocker is older than the 1950s. My mother bought her living room set used in the early 50s. It had to have dated from the 40s or even 30s. She recently moved into a retirement living facility at 86, but her platform rocker now re-upholstered in medium blue velour went with her to Ottawa. My brother has the velour chesterfield and armchair that came with it into our lives in the 1950s. It was originally dark green velour on some pieces and dark red or maroon on others. Then, it got a chocolate brown and pink make-over in the early 60s. Then, a bright yellow (hideous!) and bright sunfolower print in the early 70s. And finally, back to a diagonal tattersall dark print velour that resembled its original upholstery.
ReplyDeleteLove the chair. Have a similar one, but the rocker mechanism was a bent (curved) board. When it broke, my father replaced it with a straight board. It now leans too far back and too low. I am trying to locate a replacement board or a pattern to make a correct replacement. Let me know if you have any suggestions.
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