Category Archives: French Furniture

Restoration of a Floral Needlepoint Seat ca 1900

The needlepoint seat we restored was part of a larger restoration/conservation project of a historic Mason and Hamlin Melodeon, ca 1866, shown above during assessment, and the small brass and glass claw foot spool turned Piano Stool which accompanied it, … Continue reading

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Oregon State Capitol Textiles

MPF Conservation conserved several textiles for the State of Oregon, intended to be displayed in the Capitol building; Megan Atiyeh was our contact. For more information on art shown in the Oregon State Capitol Collection, see the short booklet by … Continue reading

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Louis XV Settees Slipcovers

The two Louis XV Ca. 1750 Settees needed slipcovers for the summer months in the south; we created lovely tailored slips for both! (To see the treatment of the two settees, go to Two Louis XV Ca. 1750 Settees.) Tailored … Continue reading

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Two Louis XV Ca. 1750 Settees

We are going to show you how we repaired the settee from the image on the left, to the conserved, reupholstered image on the right.  Many clients do not know all that goes into the conservation of an old frame … Continue reading

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Two Third Republic / Louis XVI Bergères ca 1900

Two hand carved, French walnut, French or Belgian Third Republic/Louis XVI Bergères are our topic for this blog.  Our client contacted us about the bottom literally dropping out of their two bergères, shown above, Bergère #1, left, and Bergère #2, … Continue reading

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Louis XV Polychrome Commode Ca. 1730

Above, the commode before treatment; note the faux “drawers” on the front which are really hiding the door. Below, the underside of the commode. This well loved Venetian poly-chrome commode was created in the classical Louis XV Style.  It has … Continue reading

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Embellished Pillows

Several pillows were made to accompany our client’s family furniture after the design presentation:  below, images from the production process.  Pillows can make the look!   These pillows and bolsters are all hand-stitched other than the basic forms. CYLINDER BOLSTER The … Continue reading

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Design Presentations

We don’t discuss design presentations often but they are a normal part of our business.  With every project we present options to our client.  They range from simple presentations of fabric and trims placed over the object to be conserved, … Continue reading

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French Walnut Country Buffet, 2, Excavation

FRENCH WALNUT COUNTY BUFFET Follow along with our interim report for our client’s French Walnut Country Buffet: Previously, we began with Assessment… Our “before” images are our reference documents! EXCAVATION We removed the doors, and then the top of the … Continue reading

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French Walnut Country Buffet, 1, Assessment

FRENCH WALNUT COUNTY BUFFET Our client’s French Walnut Country Buffet was created in the mid to late 17th century. The finish, likely original, has not been tampered with any modern finish materials… It has a lovely patina that we will … Continue reading

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Deadlines: A Re-post from Kate’s Art Site

Kate has a site where she posts about her art journaling. Of course, our work is often a subject… This is from her post at  dkatiepowellart. Deadlines are stressful, and partly it is because of my age; I am simply … Continue reading

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A Folding Journal of an MPFC Project

Guest post from Kate’s Art Blog, dkatiepowellart. I don’t enter many competitions, but the Sketching Work competition for the Centre for Transformative Work Design out of Perth AU was easy for me as I sketch our lives and work quite … Continue reading

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Sketching to Communicate with Clients

Does anyone create lovely sketches for their clients anymore? We often create amazing decorative pillows to accompany a conserved item. Kate created design sketches from images and samples, so that we could better talk with our client about ideas for … Continue reading

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Planter’s Chair: 8 Showcover

We are properly conserving a French-made Planter’s Chair, circa 1860. (You can begin here, if you like.) We’ll follow the chair through excavation to the new show-cover. We left off in the last posting with upholstery buildup of the inside … Continue reading

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Planter’s Chair: 7, Buildup, Tufted Back and Seat

We are properly conserving a French-made Planter’s Chair, circa 1860. (You can begin here, if you like.) We’ll follow the chair through excavation to the new show-cover. We left off in the last posting with inside back excavation. The inside … Continue reading

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Planter’s Chair: 6, Excavation, Back

We are properly conserving a French-made Planter’s Chair, circa 1860. (You can begin here, if you like.) We’ll follow the chair through excavation to the new show-cover. We left off in the last posting with the Buildup of the Seat. … Continue reading

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Planter’s Chair: 5, Buildup, Seat

We are properly conserving a French-made Planter’s Chair, circa 1860. (You can begin here, if you like.) We’ll follow the chair through excavation to the new show-cover. We left off in the last posting with frame and finish conservation. Mitchell … Continue reading

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Planter’s Chair: 4, Reparation and Finish Work

We are properly conserving a French-made Planter’s Chair, circa 1860. (You can begin here, if you like.) We’ll follow the chair through excavation to the new show-cover. We left off in the last posting with the excavation of the seat. … Continue reading

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Planter’s Chair: 3, Excavation, Back (Partial)

We are properly conserving a French-made Planter’s Chair, circa 1860. (You can begin here, if you like.) We’ll follow the chair through excavation to the new show-cover. We left off in the last posting with the Excavation of the seat. … Continue reading

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Planter’s Chair: 2, Excavation, Seat, Continued

We are properly conserving a French-made Planter’s Chair, circa 1860. (You can begin here, if you like.) We’ll follow the chair through excavation to the new show-cover. We left off in the last posting with the seat partially excavated. Removing … Continue reading

Posted in antiques, conservation techniques, decorative motifs, French Furniture, Interim Report, preservation, process, restoration techniques, upholstery | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Planter’s Chair: 1, Excavation, Seat

We are properly conserving a French-made Planter’s Chair, circa 1860. We’ll follow the chair through excavation to the new show-cover. An overview of the process, from one vantage point, below. We begin with excavation. Excavation is the discovery process, and … Continue reading

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French Planter’s Chair

We are properly conserving a French-made Planter’s Chair, circa 1860, belonging to a Portland preservationist. Hand carved persimmon wood, European Beechwood frame, original innards, unmolested finish. We’ll follow the chair in detail through excavation to the new show-cover. We will … Continue reading

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