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RUSH SEATING
Rush seats are attractive and very hardwearing. It comes as no
surprise to discover that they are commonly used in churches and other places
where chairs get a lot of use.
SHOULD MY CHAIR HAVE A RUSH
SEAT?
Even a rush seat, strong as it is, eventually wears away and needs replacing. They are
also popular with energetic cats who are pleased to find a specially designed
scratching post!
More or less any chair with rails around the seat can be rushed, although those that
were originally designed for rush seating usually have rough, unfinished wood on
these rails.
CAN YOU REPAIR MY RUSH SEAT FOR
ME?
Unfortunately we can no longer undertake chair reseating with either natural rush or
ready-woven rush, although we're happy to reseat these same chairs with artificial rush,
seagrass or cotton cord.
I was reluctant to give up rush-seating, but the action of repeatedly pulling and twisting
at the wet rushes was beginning to damage my hands, and as a musician I had to get my
priorities right. I'm delighted to offer advice and support to anyone who wants to try the job
for themselves, however, and we can supply all the materials you require.
In case my story worries you - it took many years' work on rush seats to hurt my
hands. You are perfectly safe just doing a few seats for your own use!
CAN I DO IT MYSELF?
If you would like to undertake the job yourself we can supply the rushes but using
real rush is probably not a job for a novice. There are other alternatives if you've
never tried this sort of thing before, such as kraft paper rush (which looks very like the real
thing and comes in several colours), seagrass in two thicknesses or ready-twisted rush,
which, although not for complete beginners is a lot easier than using natural rush. Please
eMail or phone (01900 813200)
for advice.
Click to see bigger photo.
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KRAFT PAPER RUSH
As you can see in the photo (left) kraft paper rush looks very much like the real thing.
It's easy to work with, so if you want to try doing it yourself it's an ideal choice for a first
chair. On the other hand, I'm happy to reseat your chairs in this material, and can stain it
with woodstains of various colours to make it look even more natural. It's strong and
hardwearing, and can be finished with a couple of coats of dilute water-based polyurathane
varnish which makes it more or less waterproof and ideal for places where small children
may be spilling things!
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UNUSUAL PATTERNS
As you can see in the photos, there are many variations on the basic, traditional "rush
pattern". If you send us a seat for repair, we can match the original - it's always fun for us,
discovering new patterns!
If you're reseating your own chairs, and want some advice on copying an unusual
pattern, please email first, and then be prepared to email us clear, high resolution photos
showing your seat. We can draw you a diagram showing how to work your own seat,
though there will have to be a small charge for this, as it takes time to do it properly!
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N.B. - all photos in the right-hand column are thumbnails -
please click them to see larger versions. |
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Above - Typical rush chair, newly reseated with natural rush.
Above - A set of 6 tall kitchen chairs seated with rush.
Above - Close-up of one of the chairs from the above set. Notice how the pattern
differs from the first one.
Abovle - Drop-in seat reseated with Kraft paper rush. Once again this is a different
pattern. We can copy the pattern on your old seat to match the original.
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