Can you mix different chair styles?

Many buyers successfully mix different periods around a single table. The trick is keeping the seat heights consistent so your guests sit at the same level. Grouping them by timber helps tie the look together. A set of varied mahogany chairs reads as a deliberate choice rather than an accident.

We just moved into an older house with uneven floors and the set of chairs we bought seem to wobble quite a bit when you sit on them, is there an easy fix for this?

Move the chair to a known flat surface. The floors are usually the culprit in older houses. If it sits flat elsewhere, fit thick felt glides to the feet.

What fabric suits early mahogany frames?

Heavy wool damasks or tough leathers work well with the dark tones of mahogany. These materials echo the choices available to eighteenth-century upholsterers and stand up to daily use. Horsehair fabric is another traditional option. It offers a crisp texture and sheds spills effectively, which makes it highly practical for a dining room.

I have inherited a set of six chairs but the drop in seats are all covered in a dated floral pattern from the seventies, what is the best way to change the fabric?

Drop-in seats are straightforward to tackle. You can push them up from underneath the frame and lift them right out of the chair. Strip off the old top fabric and inspect the webbing and stuffing below. If the foundation is firm, you can stretch your new material over the existing pad and tack it directly to the underside of the wooden seat frame. Leave the corners until last. Fold them neatly to avoid bulk so the seat drops cleanly back into the chair.

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Chippendale Dining Chairs

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Designed to surround a table and support guests through long meals, antique dining chairs usually consist of an upright back and a padded or solid seat raised on four legs.