Among the items salvaged from my grandmother’s home post-hurricane, this antique (late 1800s, early 1900s maybe?) pressed back rocker is one of the coolest. And I only had a small hand in its restoration. Here’s a recap of its history, condition, and reupholstering.
[Read the origin story of these heirloom restorations here: Heirloom Restoration]
before 
after
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the rocker in 1968 
the rocker (and me) in 1984
I’ve always remembered the rocker being at my grandmother Nonna’s house, but I wasn’t sure of its origins until going through pictures left behind. She was always great at writing on the backs of pictures, years later she continues to tell stories through her meticulous cataloging of things. Written on the back of the photo above left:
June ’68 Old rocker (before I had redone) from Mother’s Mother and Dad’s home (Grandma & Grandpa Bahnsen’s house
And written on the back of the photo above right:
June 1984 Sheila Elaine Echols 7 years. sitting in her great great grandparent’s chair at Nonna’s
So there it is, my great-great-grandparent’s rocker given to my grandmother years before her parents passed. Sometime between 1968 and 1984 she had the seat upholstered in light blue velvet. The rocker went from Louisana to California to Texas and back to Louisiana with Nonna until I brought it to my home in Texas this year. A well traveled chair!
My friend Sarah identified the chair as a pressed back rocker and sent a screenshot from a LOVEtoKNOW article about antique chairs. Mine was nearly identical, but with a suspended sleigh seat that Sarah thinks is quite unique. It still has the New Orleans Furniture Mfg. Co. sticker on the underside of the seat! She convinced me (threatened, more like) to not paint the rocker, as she believes it retains its original finish, which is in excellent condition. I conceded and she conditioned the wood with Linseed Oil. Remarkably, none of the wood needed repairing.
The upholstery was in bad condition and needed replacing. It had accumulated decades of dust and other icky particles from the air, probable water damage from the hurricane, and physical wear of the velvet. Wanting to stay on theme with my grandmother’s upholstery but make it more modern and neutral for my home, I chose an Italian chenille crushed velvet upholstery fabric in silver from Fancy Styles Fabric on Etsy. The fabric is lush and just gorgeous! Even though I had just reupholstered two dining chairs, I was intimidated by the sleigh seat, so I let a local professional reupholster it for me. Martin Mercader of Houston did a fantastic job and I’m so happy with how this rocker turned out. I love it love it LOVE it!
[Related: Dining Chairs Restoration]
It now lives in our bedroom, with one of the reupholstered dining chairs, and now with bedding that matches the dining chairs. Amelia approves! What do you think? If you have a similar chair and/or know more about this piece, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below!
For more in the series, click here: Heirloom Restoration or follow the corresponding board on Pinterest.