Monday 19 October 2015

Fine chair making

I'de decided to take my furniture making up a notch and have a go at some luxury furniture. So this week I make a Louis XIV style settee and chair set.


I chose an image of a sofa that I liked and copied it. I made the chair base and back from basswood and the legs from match sticks which I carved with a blade. 


For the ornament on the top I used a small bit of laser cut card I can left over.


Rather than upholster with foam I used a clever trick I recently learned which is simply the cut and shape cushions from soft balsa wood. This makes coating them with fabric MUCH easier. I then glued on the yellow silk carefully to avoid staining the fabric. 


Here you can see the upholstered sofa next to the balsa wood cushions of the chairs.


I then gave the wood a light paint with gold paint and rimmed the edge of the cushions with a fine gold thread which finished them very well. 


The final product, ready for a salon which does not yet exist!


15 comments:

  1. Shaping the cushions in wood is a very good tip, thank you. Love the fabric choice =0)

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  2. Very pretty! Anyone who can carve a toothpick gets a lot of respect from me!

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  3. You are just brilliant! This little set is just gorgeous!
    All the best
    Vivian

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  4. Te ha quedado muy bien.
    Un abrazo
    Maite

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  5. Impresionante,has hecho un gran trabajo!!!
    Besos.

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  6. The balsa wood cushion is a very interesting approach, and I do love the mustard yellow silk. Beautiful results!

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  7. I love the yellow you selected. You did such fantastic work with the toothpick legs. Amazing that you could have succeeded in doing this with toothpicks. Could you tell me what sort of glue you used to glue the fabric?

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  8. Wow, this is fantastic! Looks great.

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  9. I love the step by step pictures, thank you. You've made an excellent job of the set. It looks lovely.

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  10. Beautiful work! I will be adding a link to your work on my website ^^ I do have a question though, where do you source your base wood? Being in North Queensland I do have a problem with local sourcing. Any tips?

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  11. Your furniture looks incredible! What a talent you have! :D

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