What fabric suits these chairs best?

Cotton damask and silk blends sit well on an antique Edwardian chair. You don't want heavy velvets or thick leathers drowning out the delicate wood profile. Keep the pattern small if you choose a floral. Large modern prints disrupt the narrow proportions of the seat pads.

My grandmother left me a set of these and the seats are sagging quite a bit underneath, so can they just be re-webbed or do they need a whole new pad?

That depends on what the stuffing is doing above the webbing. If the horsehair remains firm and holds its shape, an upholsterer can sometimes just replace the jute straps underneath and tension it all back up. Often the old ties have snapped inside. When that happens, the whole pad needs stripping back to the bare wood. It gives you a chance to check the corner blocks for loose joints while the frame is exposed.

Are they comfortable for dining?

They suit an evening meal but they aren't heavily padded like modern furniture. The backs sit quite upright by design. If you use them daily, a drop-in seat pad offers better support than a cane base.

I have a pair in the hallway with tiny little wheels on the front legs, but none on the back, and I was wondering why they would only put castors on two of the legs?

Drawing room chairs often had front castors to make them easy to tilt and roll towards the fire. The back legs stayed firmly planted on the carpet once you sat down. Servants moved seating constantly during the day. Those small brass wheels prevented the sharp spade feet from gouging the floorboards when they swept the rooms. It isn't unusual to find them missing now. The thin brass axles wear through after a century of use.

Home > Chairs > Edwardian Chairs > Page 2

Art Nouveau Edwardian Chairs

← Page 2 of 2 →

These lightweight seats were designed for drawing rooms and parlours of the early twentieth century, offering a sharper, more delicate silhouette than the heavy Victorian furniture that came before them.