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[TeréziaBlašková]

Hello,

I received 2 beautiful Thonet S 411 armchairs, which I want to have renovated by a professional upholsterer. But it seems that upholsterers have different opinions on how to deal with chairs' metal coil springs.

Opinion 1: Keep the springs only if the original ones are in good condition, otherwise remove them completely and put only foam in the chair.

Opinion 2: Keep the original springs if they are in good condition. If they are in unsatisfactory condition, replace them with new ones.

Opinion 3: Definitely remove the springs and use foam as a replacement material. It will be cheaper and more convenient. Original springs are not comfortable and most likely in bad shape and replacing them with new ones will decrease historical value anyway.

So we have a dilemma. The armchairs are not just collector's items and we want to use them everyday in our home, so they should be comfortable. But we also want the chairs to retain their historical value as much as possible. How would you approach the problem? Thanks for every opinion.

[fibersport]

I'm new to upholstery as a hobby but this is similar to any other item that is collectible and usable. The example I'll use due to familiarity is classic boats, restore as original or restore with new updated materials - in my opinion, original construction belongs in a museum, not on the water or for daily use. It becomes less valuable by using the wrong materials, but it becomes safer by using new materials (the boat), newer materials can offer something better (comfort, durability, ease of working on/with), using it will reduce its value but will increase your pleasure of ownership. Think too about the value, either you are going to sell it or you will use it, the more you use it the less valuable it becomes. You're asking for two different things out of the same item, you really can't have your cake and eat it too as they say, so pick one and go that way. Just my $0.02 mind you -

[JimmieJoe]

If you want to learn about old traditional spring used for 100s of year look up Kim Buckminster. A lot of the problem with old spring is the tiring has failed and most people now a days have no clue how to properly tie springs.