Settle on the roadside

I wish I’d taken a picture of this Eastlake style settle on the side of the road when my wife and I drove by it the first time. I jokingly use the term “roadkill” for finds like these - but the truth is, I believe that often someone is hoping the item will be rescued and find a new life. But here it is just arrived at our Sherman, CT house the next day (yes, I went back, and it was still there). Broken arm, upholstered over at least once, quite rickety in all the joints, but somehow still charming. I have a huge fondness for the Eastlake style, and love spending the time to restore them.

pierced center insert in the back, simple lines, nice leaf-shape on the top, and principle woods of maple

Like any upholstered piece you might find on the road, the first task before it comes inside is to make sure it’s not infested with…..whatever. This got stripped down to the frame immediately, as the upholstery was not salvageable, nor was the layer of upholstery UNDERNEATH! Traditional cotton batting over horsehair stuffing was under all that. A mouse might have had a brief stay in the front of the piece many years ago, but the evidence was pretty scarce.

Stripped down to the frame and tied copper coils (huge!) over deteriorated canvas strapping. One contractor bag of stuffing and upholstery fabric, and a few hundred tacks!

As the strapping was beyond salvage, the frame has now been stripped completely, and knocked into more than a dozen pieces for stripping of the finish and then regluing. While I love maple as a principal wood, it does tend to finish on the orange side, so I’ll be experimenting with a little green universal tinting pigment to tone it down just a bit. I’ll continue to post as the project comes along, but as this piece doesn’t yet have an intended buyer, it will take a backseat to other pieces needing attention.