How do I tighten loose joints?

Traditional animal glue is the right way forward. A restorer will knock the joint apart, clean out the old dried flakes, and re-glue it. Modern adhesives are a bad idea. They set like glass and cannot be easily undone when the chair needs attention again in another fifty years.

We inherited a set of eight dining chairs but one carver is missing an arm, is it possible to get a matching replacement carved?

A skilled cabinetmaker can certainly carve a replacement arm. They will use matching timber and copy the profile from the surviving armchair to ensure the proportions are correct. The tricky part is getting the colour and finish to blend with the rest of the antique set of chairs. The new arm will need building up with layers of stain and polish to replicate centuries of natural wear.

Can you mix different chair styles?

Mixing styles works well around a large table. Harlequin sets are popular. The secret is finding a common thread. If the timbers match, the eye accepts the group as a deliberate choice.

The seat fabric on my grandmother's mahogany chairs has worn out over the years, does recovering them ruin the history of the set?

Fabric is meant to be replaced. Most chairs from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries have been recovered multiple times as fashions changed and textiles wore thin. Keep the original horsehair stuffing if it remains in good shape. A competent upholsterer will build up the traditional foundations and apply a modern fabric, ensuring the chairs are ready for another generation of daily use.

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Gothic Set of Chairs

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An antique set of chairs consists of matching or closely harmonising single seating furniture, usually designed for dining rooms or parlours, built to accommodate multiple guests uniformly around a central table.