Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Are there really "pet-friendly" fabrics?

We often have customers ask us about reupholstering a sofa that will be in a home with several pets. The truth is that you will always have to deal with pet hair and/or scratches if you own a pet, but there are a few fabrics that are more durable than others. We always recommend a high performance fabric to our pet-loving customers to keep pulls or scratches at a minimum. How do you know what to look for?? Check the "double rub" rating. The double–rub rating given to fabric tells its durability. This test simulates a person getting into and out of a chair and how well the fabric wears when another fabric is continuously rubbed against it. For general household use, a rating of 15,000 double rubs is good... but if you have pets you want to consider at least 45,000 double rubs. With so many different upholstry options available today, you are sure to find numerous options of high wearing fabrics with a comfortable feel and great look. Leather can be a good option for people with pets because pet hair doesn't stick to it. The leather can simply be wiped down when it's dirty. Something to consider with leather is that it will scratch though. This isn't always a bad thing because "weathered" furniture is extremely popular right now for that cozy, lived-in look.
Another high durability fabric for pet lovers is micro-fiber. It washes up incredibly easy with a damp cloth and won't rip or scratch easily.
If you want to branch out into other fabrics, remember that the general rule is that tight-weave fabrics with pattern, texture, and darker colors are best for hiding pet hair and dirt. We ALWAYS recommend to scotch-guard your furniture to protect it even further. Please fee free to contact us if you have any other questions about protecting your furniture!

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Fabric Friday

On Monday this past week I was able to leave the office for a bit and visit our local fabric showrooms to find the perfect fabric for a customer. While I was there I discovered the new Jonathan Adler line for Kravet, while I may be a little late to this game, I am totally smittin’
Check out the whole line here

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

What was once a coffee table.......

Is now an ottoman! To transform this coffee table, we had to make sure the Stretchers beneath the table were strong enough since they add more strength to the piece. The table was already at the right height for an ottoman so we didn't need to cut the legs at all. Then we added some padding and upholstered the top! Voila!

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Furniture Restoration Is More Than Just a Pretty Finish at Finish Pros

Restoration is an art that requires meticulous attention to detail, an eye for color and patience. Often many restoration pieces require reveneering, addressing deep compressions in the wood surface and regluing joinery. Before any of that can occur, the piece needs to get naked. Hardware is removed, special manufacturing labels are protected, the piece is fully stripped while paying close attention to wood and veneer types, and faux painting or inlays. Stripper can have a devastating impact on delicate pieces, potentially ruining the piece or requiring significant effort to repair. Every piece is fully analyzed for the best treatment before any chemical applications begin. Once the piece is stripped, we then send it to the woodshop to make all the repairs that may include veneer replacement, repair of broken pieces, hand carving to replicate designs and shapes, and in some cases disassembling the entire piece in order to reglue it back to structurally sound. During the entire process careful attention is paid to wood types, grain patterns, the patina of the wood, and how best to disguise repairs. Our skilled craftsmen are experts in disguise. After a quality check to insure everything meets our shop standards, the piece then moves to finishing. Meticulous attention to detail is critical at this stage. We must create the final color through a many step process. Finishing is an art form that requires a excellent eye for color. The patina of the wood can completely change the colors and the steps in order to achieve the desired color. We typically apply several base colors of stain and slowly work our way to the final color using toning before we begin the multi step process of topcoating a durable clear finish. After each step, the piece is carefully sanded so we can achieve a beautiful smooth finish. At the very end, we do a detailed 20 point quality check to insure everything looks it's best to re-enter your home!

Friday, October 18, 2013

CONTEST! Win a $300 Finish Pros credit!

Hey everyone! Finish Pros is very excited to hold our first blog contest! All you have to do to enter is "like" or "follow" us on our social media pages... and leave us a comment here on our blog with your email address. The winner will be chosen randomly at midnight on halloween! Please share this contest with your friends! a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

How to remove a heat ring from furniture

Ever place a casserole dish on a dining room table and then realize it was too hot to set down?  The consequence to this is probably familiar to all of us- a white heat ring that you can't wipe off.  Most of us would think this piece of furniture is ruined for life, but Finish Pros is here to help!  Watch this short video clip (that can also be found on our You Tube Channel here ) to see how YOU can get rid of the heat mark at home!


Friday, October 11, 2013

Fabric Friday! Picking the RIGHT fabric for your chair...


Some of our customers come to us with fabric already selected for their project but a good number still need some guidance when it comes to selecting the right material for their furniture. There is a lot of different things to consider when selecting the right fabric for your chair, where in the home will it be, how often will it be used, and how much you are wanting to spend on the fabric.

For a typical club chair I usually suggest a smaller scale pattern which works well with a solid sofa  My standard rule of thumb is the bigger the piece of furniture, the smaller the pattern. I love a huge pattern on a dining room chair that takes up the whole seat, yet the same pattern on a large club chair would be overwhelming.

                                     

This is a great scale for an oversized On such a small simple chair this
wingback chair since you are still able to large pattern works great and
see the lines of the chair without becomes the focal point of the chair
being too distracted

However we all know that sometimes rules are meant to be broken.

The Iconic Schumacher Chiag Mai Dragon in Aquamarine will turn even the smallest piece into a work of art to use as the center piece in your home.

Whatever fabric you do decide to use, all that is important is that you love it.

Thursday, October 10, 2013

THE ARTISTS LIVE ON: MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE RESTORATION


Some of the furniture you might have unwittingly discarded to the curbside a few years ago is now in extremely high demand. Those funky looking walnut chairs that once adorned the shag-carpeted living room of your grandparent’s split-level home? If you put them up for sale online, you will now have plenty of eager offers within thirty minutes. That other odd-looking chair you picked up at a Goodwill years ago, only because it reminded you of Robin Williams in Mork and Mindy? That’s called an Egg Chair, originally designed by Arne Jaccobson, and today an authentic one can fetch you thousands of dollars. Believe it or not, there was once a time when you couldn’t sell the average person a great piece of mid-century modern furniture in your front yard for twenty dollars. Only the design-buffs among us have consistently understood the greatness of these forgotten treasures, and they were sure to hoard plenty of them away before the crowd caught on.



From a furniture restoration standpoint, this new appreciation for mid-century modern furniture is a Godsend. Any time a person turns his or her back to buying inexpensive imported furniture from a big-box store, and elects to have a piece of well-made, solid wood-framed furniture restored, a very wise market decision is being made. In addition, I believe the person is also allowing for something very important to occur: through the near-lost art of furniture restoration and upholstery, the legacy of great artists and their life’s work is being carried on into the future for all of us to enjoy.



 When you think “cool”, the first thing that pops into your mind might not be a guy who designs furniture, but take a quick glance at the artist above and allow it to at least superficially change your mind. In the photo, Hans Wegner is contemplating a model prototype of the Poppa Bear Chair, just one of the 500-plus chairs that this Danish master designed in his lifetime, dozens of which have become absolute icons in popular culture. Like Charles and Ray Eames, Arne Jacobson, Harry Bertoia, Eero Saarinen, and many others, the man lived and breathed his design ideas right into our collective consciousness. We may not know these artists by name, but we recognize their work because it has permeated the world around us.




Last year, we at Finish Pros were honored to work on one of the early Poppa Bear chairs, and it was given new life through an upholstery transformation that I think would have made Hans Wegner proud. It’s more than gratifying to know that through the art of furniture restoration and upholstery, our craftsman are able to carry on the legacy of great artists and their life’s work, all while making our customers exceedingly happy. Here’s to you Hans...


Friday, October 4, 2013

Fabric Friday!


From Carolyn~

Despite the fact that it in no way feels like fall, I am pretending it is. I have absolutely fallen in love with leather for the fall, which does not have to stop at all these amazing leather clothes that are coming out. We have a lot of great leather hide books as well as some extremly durable and beautiful recycled leather products.


Custom Ottoman done in Recycled Leather

                        
A full grain blue leather on a tufted                                           1960’s Modern Chair with a
chair from the 1930’s black Recycled leather

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

What is "glazing", anyway?

Are you thinking about a distressed look for your white cabinets but you're not sure what it's called or how it happens?

This process is called glazing.  It's basically a stain that we wipe on and then wipe off to give the piece of furniture or cabinet an aged, worn, or antique look.  It adds so much depth to a piece of furniture that you can't get with distressing alone.  The glaze seeps into all the cracks, lines, and imperfections of the furniture, giving it character.  You can customize the look by removing as much or as little stain as you like.  Take a look at this powder room transformation below.  It went from a stark white vanity to a rich and warm look.  A simple process yielding amazing results!


Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Inside Out Pilates

The reupholstery of these pilates machines was conducted over the weekend to minimize classes at the studio.  The tops of the tables were removed and brought back to the shop where our team removed the old vinyl material and foam.  The mats were rep added upholstered on a Saturday evening and installed in the studio a short 18 hours later!