StyleNorth reader Catia wrote to us with a story about these fantastic, original Thonet chairs, which she scored for $15 for the pair! Unfortunately, the chairs were also in their original condition. “They were pretty dirty and needed some wood repair to one leg and the back of one of the seats,” writes Catia.
“After an expert repair by our wood refinisher, I then spent hours cleaning the upholstery with warm water and soap and then saddle soap. I cleaned the wood with a solution of linseed oil and cider vinegar from my upholstery teacher and then gave it a final rubdown with beeswax! The nail heads were pretty rusted and the brass feet were blackened. So I used styleNorth’s favorite solution, Blue Magic, on the studs and they turned from orange to shiny nickel! Hurray! The feet I cleaned with Brasso and the shine came to life again!
“Now, the leather is white, the wood is beautiful and it’s all showed off with those shiny studs (need to find one more to replace a missing one). I absolutely love these chairs! And that’s my second story with Blue Magic, all inspired by you guys! I’m so glad you like them, I am very proud of my find!”
Catia, you’ve done an amazing job, take a bow! 1stdibs.com is currently featuring a set of eight of these chairs priced at . . . are you sitting down? $5,200!
March 26th, 2009 at 8:04 am
A-Mazing!!Great job Catia, such a transformation and you should be so pleased with your treasure..
March 26th, 2009 at 1:16 pm
Wow. I cannot believe that’s not new leather! Amazing!