Antique restoration

Michael’s Custom Built Upholstery recovers and restores antique upholstered furniture. Working with antiques requires a special level of expertise. Much of the older furniture that we work on has never been recovered, or was recovered over 40 years ago. We frequently discover padding and cushion filling over 75 years old. This is furniture that was built before we had the synthetic foams and Dacron filling that is widely used today.

Older furniture is usually padded with a combination of cotton, straw, horse or hog hair and springs. Antiques are not known for their comfort but these old-time fillings hold up for years, and in many cases we are able to reuse the old padding, adding in some new as needed which can help maintain the integrity of the furniture.

On the other hand, the old type of padding is all-natural, and with exposure to damp or musty areas like a basement, attic, or storage area, the filling can be damaged beyond repair.

Depending on the type of furniture and how you intend to use it in your home, Michael’s can either recreate the same type of fill that was used in the original product, or we can replace the filling will all new natural products. From the outside, you will not be able to tell the difference and you will have a more comfortable chair or sofa to take home.