Odds are: never.
We can prove it. Just take a look at the settee plastered on the side of Mumford Restoration’s delivery vans. That settee was one of our most challenging and rewarding furniture repairs.
When you see it today, it just proves that most antiques can be fixed.
Even mass-produced antiques' materials and construction were of good quality. Can you imagine a modern couch coming back from similar damage?
When the client inherited it, she couldn’t bring herself to throw it away, but she certainly couldn’t bring it into her home!
So, she called Mumford Restoration for help
By the time Bernard Mumford pulled it into the sunlight, it had further collapsed in on itself and reeked of mildew.
The owner worried that this poor settee was beyond help.
Bernard knew it wasn’t.
Vintage and Antique Furniture: Phoenixes
Vintage and antique furniture was always made to be repaired.
That’s why Mumford Restoration is here.
We’ve helped many pieces of furniture rise from the ashes (sometimes quite literally).
Our antique repair experts haven’t forgotten the traditional techniques that made old furniture so tough.
That knowledge and experience has made us Raleigh-Durham’s go-to specialists for antique furniture repair and reupholstery.
Our craftspeople’s talents range from repairing scratches and dents all the way to to complicated veneer repair and full furniture refinishing.
You can trust us when we look at your antiques, collectables, and heirlooms and say we can restore them.
This settee combined nearly every issue that comes into our shop:
Loose Sofa Frame
Antique sofas tend to have solidly built joinery, but it still must rely on glue to keep the joints steady.
Until the 1950s, hide glue was common. It tended to last for at least a few decades before it broke down naturally. In fact, some century-old pieces’ hide glue is still going strong!.
However, moisture and heat can degrade hide glue. Additionally, hide glue can sometimes attract rodents, which like to nibble on it.
If you have furniture that has been an attic, basement, a storage unit, or in a house following a power outage or fire or flood, their hide glue may have broken down.
Whether Mumford Restoration is repairing a piece with old-fashioned hide glue or modern carpenter’s glue, we carefully clean the old glue from all of the joints. This cleaning process is tedious, but it is crucial to ensuring a good fit and a fresh surface for new glue.
We then test fit the pieces together to ensure that all of the joints are in good condition and have not swollen or contracted. We make any necessary adjustments during this test fitting.
We then apply glue to both elements of each joint, fit the piece back together, and place clamps perpendicular to all joints.
We allow the glue to dry for at least 24 hours before we remove the clamps.
Broken Joints
A sofa’s joints can break due to a dramatic fall or just from a long-ignored loose frame.
As the glue fails, the sofa begins to move little by little.
This puts stress on the mortises and tenons (which is essentially like a socket and the bone that goes in it).
After time the mortise (the socket) can crack or the tenon (the part that fits inside the socket can snap).
When this happens, we replace the wood around the mortise or remove the broken tenons and create brand new ones.
We ensure that any new pieces are properly reinforced and well-fitted.
This sofa was beyond a simple reglue and many of its tenons had to be completely replaced.
Sagging Sofa Cushions
Sagging cushions on an antique couch usually means there is an issue in the foundation–the network or springs that support people when they sit down.
Take a look at our upholstery blog post for examples of foundations you’ll see in antique sofas and chairs.
When an 8-way hand-tied spring pops up, that probably means you need new twine. The twine is the thin but strong rope that holds all of the springs together as a unit.
This is what we refer to as “retying the springs.”
It’s just part of the foundation’s natural life cycle.
In other cases, the twine may be holding strong, but the webbing is failing.
The bottom of the springs were generally sewn to webbing–a lattice of wide jute straps that formed a floor for the springs.
Like all materials, jute breaks down over time and loses its strength.
In the case of our famous sofa, it was suffering from deteriorated twine and webbing.
This deterioration led to the springs poking up wildly and the bottom sagging.
Damaged Upholstery
Even well maintained upholstery frays and gets thin after many years of use.
You can generally wait and save up to fix pieces that are just a little tired. If you have small stains, you can use a gentle fabric cleaner and attempt to remove the stain by following the manufacturer’s directions.
Take Youtube tutorial directions with a grain of salt, but you can always test clean inconspicuous areas before you move on to the stained fabric.
In the case of furniture whose fabric suffered fire or water damage, it is important to act quickly.
This poor settee’s upholstery was beyond saving–it was frayed, worn, mildewed, and rodent damaged.
We were fortunately able to make the reupholstery process easy, as everything is in house.
From picking out fabric samples, to meeting our upholsterers, our customers don’t have to leave the building to get everything set for their upholstery, repair, and refinishing needs.
Faded or Flaking Finish
French polished finishes often do not need to be removed, but are instead gently cleaned and then rejuvenated with additional layers of french polish.
Sometimes, a lacquer finish just needs a bit of rejuvenation. Our restorers can gently smooth the existing finish and restore its luster.
A finish is ready for replacement when it flakes off, becomes very dull, or wears through in places.
Our refinishers use a professional-grade chemical remover available only to businesses. Due to the required handling procedures, it is not available to residential customers.
This chemical finish remover lifts the old finish from the surface and even from the wood’s pores. This ensures that the wood will be able to absorb stain uniformly. After the stain dries, our refinishers apply layers of sealer and lacquer to give the wood sheen, a beautiful depth of color, and finally, protection.
This settee’s finish had deteriorated from the temperature and humidity in its storage area, so Mumford Restoration had to fully refinish it.
First a Visitor, Now a Resident!
Fast forward to 2025.
This settee’s owner enjoyed it for twenty years before she decided to downsize a bit.
She considered auctioning it, but thought it might instead serve as a testament to antique restoration. She contacted Mumford Restoration to see if we’d like to have it. Of course, we jumped at the opportunity!
Today, you can see this settee in Mumford Restoration’s front office. It’s become a sort of mascot for our company over the years, so it feels right that it can greet every customer that comes in!
Watch the video below to hear the full story of this wonderful settee!
A New Look for a Classic Settee
Do you think this beautiful settee could use some fresh upholstery? We do!
Now that she has a new home at Mumford Restoration, it’s time for new clothes!
We have two master upholsterers in our workshop, so this settee is guaranteed to look sharp.
All that's left is choosing the fabric. We’re looking over our fabric room, but there are just so many choices!
Making Your Decision: You Aren’t Alone!
Our artisans are passionate about preserving and restoring history. After all, we’re the furniture repair experts that North Carolina has relied on for decades. Our work speaks for itself!
The real question is: How strong are your feelings about this piece? Strong enough for the investment?
Is this a very sentimental piece?
Mumford Restoration’s consultants are happy to talk you through your options and see how you feel.
We will be glad to look at your item and give you an honest answer about the state of your item, the work it needs, and the kind of investment that will mean.
If you have questions about the furniture repair, refinishing, or reupholstery process or want to schedule an evaluation, reach out to us!
Call us at 919.510.6310
or
Send us photos though our online form and a consultant will contact you.