FINALLY DONE--WHAT A JOURNEY

It has been a long and arduous journey........finally the set of 4 Regency Open Arm Chairs are ready. (Drum roll, please)

Sometimes you buy an item that you think is beyond doubt super rare (which doesn't equate to easy-to-sell) and a great buy....only to discover that there is a tortuous path of restoration to bring it to the point of sale. This set of 4 period Regency open arm chairs took the prize for being a huge pain in the butt. I'm a purest and I hate restorations that are simply not right! 

Here's what the chairs looked like when we bought them....not too bad, right?? I thought it was just a matter of reupholstery.........and a bit of tightening.

Here's what they looked like at Camilo's without the upholstery...again, not too bad

What I thought would be a simple tightening job, turned into replacing several seat rails; totally replacing the natural rush seats; reattaching all arms that were removed in order to redo rush seats; taking chairs back to Camilo because he did a messy job putting the arms back on; worrying and fretting about who would be able to match the paint without damaging the original painted details. At least 5 or 6 trips back and forth to Camilo and rush seat person (both in Los Angeles proper).....and on and on and on for 7 long months (thank goodness, I'm a patient person). And guess who did the final touches on the paint matching, etc.? Yep, my faithful Roberto finished the touch ups last week and the chairs hit the floor. In case you are wondering, the chairs are a very dark green.........

I really wouldn't have bothered with these chairs except that a set of 4 period Regency painted arm chairs is quite rare and these chairs had great bones and the painted surface was wonderful. The chairs date to c. 1810-1820, are comfortable and sturdy and now are ready for another 100 years of use. And there is still a good profit margin--I'm supposed to be making money here!!

It's getting late and I need to get up bright and early tomorrow...this 'Wedgwood 19th c. Basalt figure is coming up early on at auction

It's "Minerva" and she dates to c. 1870-80. Wish me luck.

Please pray for the fire situation here in Southern California. We need the killer winds to subside and we need a lot of rain.

Blessings,

Mary & Jones & Cole