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Desede Terrazzo Restoration

Posted by Pat Bates on 10th Jul 2019

This was quite a special project! Rare is the first word that comes to mind! I have restored a number of De Sede pieces over the years but this is my first and probably last Terrazza! Designed in 1973 by Ubald Klug for De Sede, you can still purchase these very unique pieces brand new but you better have a deep pocket! The craftsmanship is just out of this world. Even the staples underneath are perfectly aligned and spaced. I had the privilege to restore four of these pieces which require a bigger than average room to keep proportions right. In my top 5 for sure!

Borge Mogensen Spanish Chair (cir 1959)

He was one of the most important among a generation of furniture designers who made the concept of “Danish Modern” known throughout the world. Together with colleagues such as Arne Jacobsen and Hans Wegner, Borge Mogensen created international respect for Danish furniture design, and his simple and functional designs have for more than half a [...]

DIY Colour Change

With Christmas coming up quickly, we are receiving more requests weekly for kits to rectify wear and tear as well as total colour changes. This customer inherited a green couch from her father but she wanted it a different colour. What a makeover! Second hand furniture is relatively cheap to purchase and some folks are [...]

Mother and Son getting it done

One of our most recent DIY customers wished to restore a couple of chairs. This mum and son team did an amazing job restoring these heavily worn family heirlooms! While we are away for the holiday break, you can still enquire and send us your samples for colour matching. That way we can fill and [...]

I want someone to buy me a Pony

While the real deal can be a large, long investment, rocking horses can be a lot more affordable. I find it fascinating when I find other craftsmen or they find me! David Reiss of Equine Manufacturing Co has been restoring rocking horses as long as I've been restoring leather. While my (very small) part was [...]

Norwegian Kengu Chairs

These Norwegian Kengu chairs were produced between 1966-1988. When this customer brought the 2 chairs in, he was hoping we could salvage enough from the 2 to get one good chair. As these chairs are rare (approximately $2000 for the low back second hand), we took the time to save both of them!

Sometimes it takes a little longer...

I had this antique desktop at my factory for 4 months to repair the stain issue on one side. As I do with most projects as soon as they come in the door, I'm all enthusiastic with the new challenge and jump straight into it. And when issues occur, I also tend to slow right [...]

Aniline leather conversion

With converting aniline leather to finished, it's all about preparation. This customer had oil stains and cat scratches on these couches. They initially contacted a competitor who said it couldn't be done! The advantage of aniline conversions is it is possible to do colour modifications. This customer was looking for a darker colour and chose this colour off [...]

keeping a steering wheel original

This steering wheel was shipped to us for restoration as it was a fairly rare Walkinshaw Momo steering wheel that the customer didn't want to recover. It had lots of pH damage that needed repair and a refinish to bring back to near new. Our product Super Seal Filler features a lot in these steering [...]

Bringing Old Life to New Leather

This 1949 Riley Roadster seat for me for some reason produced a mental block. Maybe it was the paradox that I'm usually trying to make old worn leather look better and in this case it's the other way around. It's been an off and on again 6 month thing with it sitting in the corner [...]

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