Period appropriate fabrics
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Victorian Furniture thread on victorianforum.com · started December 22, 2008 by Raymanretro · 3 posts · discussion in 2008.
I`m hoping to start something here! I haven`t heard much ion this subject and I`m hoping someone here could elaborate on the proper fabrics for the differet eras of victorian fuirnishings. I know this could get to be a very involved subject but It could be very interesting.…
I`m hoping to start something here! I haven`t heard much ion this subject and I`m hoping someone here could elaborate on the proper fabrics for the differet eras of victorian fuirnishings. I know this could get to be a very involved subject but It could be very interesting. High end peices would have definitly had better fabrics than mass produced eastlake furniture, and Patterns would I suspect, also vary. When reupholstering where do you look for fabric and what do you expect to spend? I have several specialty stores and a friend who runs one will special order for me. I also like searching E-bay, but finding the right yardage can be a challange there. Would love tho hear from you on this subject! :)
Hey rayman
A lot of victorian furniture was covered in black horsehair as it was very durable. Rococo furniture was often covered in a silk damask with floral patterns and C scrolls etc. Renaissance furniture tended to have geometric patterns on it. Eastlake and Aesthetic had birds and poppies and oriental motifs. Solid colors are very common as well in all periods.
High end stuff had some really ostentatious coverings and often more than one fabric was used on the same piece as well as fringe etc.
A good place to get ideas is here:
http://www.historicstyle.com/index.html
Unless you have a huge budget to buy from them, you can at least get very authentic examples of what the fabric looked like.
My wife and I have champaign taste and beer money so we usually just go to a local fabric shop and pick out an appropriate looking damask in a floral pattern, which is always somewhat safe.
Sometimes there are small shreds of fabric from the original upholstery clinging to the frame underneath whatever upholstery is currently on the chair or sofa etc.
Since very few pieces have their original covering we have to rely on period photographs to see original fabric and those are black and white so color is only a guess.
The furniture of Berkey and Gay book shows some upholstered furniture in different fabrics and also illustrates nicely the way the fabric was tufted and shirred etc. This is pretty much only medium end furniture in the upholstered examples and really it’s only from one year.
A look at any examples in museums is also a good idea since they strive to present exhibits as accurate as possible.
A very good rule of thumb is to NOT use corduroy!
Good luck with your project!
Zeke
A lot of victorian furniture was covered in black horsehair as it was very durable. Rococo furniture was often covered in a silk damask with floral patterns and C scrolls etc. Renaissance furniture tended to have geometric patterns on it. Eastlake and Aesthetic had birds and poppies and oriental motifs. Solid colors are very common as well in all periods.
High end stuff had some really ostentatious coverings and often more than one fabric was used on the same piece as well as fringe etc.
A good place to get ideas is here:
http://www.historicstyle.com/index.html
Unless you have a huge budget to buy from them, you can at least get very authentic examples of what the fabric looked like.
My wife and I have champaign taste and beer money so we usually just go to a local fabric shop and pick out an appropriate looking damask in a floral pattern, which is always somewhat safe.
Sometimes there are small shreds of fabric from the original upholstery clinging to the frame underneath whatever upholstery is currently on the chair or sofa etc.
Since very few pieces have their original covering we have to rely on period photographs to see original fabric and those are black and white so color is only a guess.
The furniture of Berkey and Gay book shows some upholstered furniture in different fabrics and also illustrates nicely the way the fabric was tufted and shirred etc. This is pretty much only medium end furniture in the upholstered examples and really it’s only from one year.
A look at any examples in museums is also a good idea since they strive to present exhibits as accurate as possible.
A very good rule of thumb is to NOT use corduroy!
Good luck with your project!
Zeke
Quote from: zeke
A very good rule of thumb is to NOT use corduroy!
Or faux pony- or zebra-skin or red vinyl... :D
I have some (real) thoughts on Raymanretro's post, which I will write up later in the week... we have a guest coming from the other coast and will be busy explaining ceiling wallpaper and black furniture to him for the next couple of days. 8)
I have posted photographs of some furniture from our collection which retains some or all of the original upholstery, and if anyone is interested, can post images of a few pieces we've had reupholstered based on historic models.