how to measure seat height?

Take a tape measure and run it from the floor to the top centre of the seat cushion. If the armchair has a soft upholstered seat, press down slightly on the padding. You need to know the compressed height, as that dictates where your legs will sit when in use.

My grandfather left me a wooden armchair that seems quite low to the ground compared to my modern sofa, is this normal for older pieces?

Antique seating often sits lower than modern equivalents. People were generally shorter, and sitting postures were different. Nursing chairs in particular were built low to the ground. This allowed the user to lean forward easily and tend to young children or a fire. It is also common for the bottom of the legs to have been trimmed down. Castors break or rot sets into the feet, so past owners sometimes sawed an inch off to level the chair.

what is a drop in seat?

A drop-in seat is an independent wooden frame covered with webbing and upholstery. It rests on supports fitted to the inside of the chair's main seat rails. You can lift the whole padded section out from above. This made it much easier for upholsterers to recover the seat without moving the heavy wooden carcase.

I have an old mahogany armchair with a loose joint where the right arm meets the back, can this be fixed or will it ruin it?

Loose joints can be repaired without harming the piece. A restorer will carefully knock the joint apart, clean out the old animal glue, and re-glue it. Old hide glue is water-soluble. This means a professional can soften the old adhesive with warm water or steam without scraping away the original timber.

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Gothic Armchairs

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Originally reserved for the head of the household, an antique armchair is a single-seat piece of furniture featuring side supports for resting the user's elbows, built in styles ranging from rigid oak wainscot panels to fully upholstered mahogany wingbacks.