Friday, 31 May 2013

Takara Barber Chair Restored - Part 1

The barber chair… they don’t make them like they used to. Mechanical hydraulics with no electronic components, these chairs can last forever. I was lucky enough to inherit 4 of such chairs after the Chinese barber decided to retire. So I decided to have them refurbished.


Takara Original Condition photo 01BarberChairOriginalConditionWeb.jpg

So started the journey to find a carpentry company who was willing to take on this project. Never knew it was so difficult to find someone who wants to refurbish barber chairs but finally found one in Woodlands.
Takara Original Condition at Factory photo 02BarberChairOriginalConditionatFactoryWeb.jpg

Although it seems like a simple task, it is very labour intensive. Firstly, they needed to take the chair apart, clean and remove all the hair, take apart the cushion etc.
Removing the Old photo 04BarberChairRestorationRemovingTheOldWeb.jpg

The frame was a sight to behold.
Takara Barber Chair Frame photo 03BarberChairFrameWeb.jpg

And I never bothered to know what was inside a seat on the barber chair – actually cushion with coconut husks.
Old Cushion Stripped photo 05BarberChairOldCushionsStrippedWeb.jpg

Then we had to choose the colour of the leather and the type of cushioning we wanted. Three had the maroon colour…
Cushion Maroon Colour photo 06BarberChairNewCushionsMaroonWeb.jpg

while one opted for the beige leather...
Cushion Beige Colour photo 07BarberChairNewCushionsBeigeWeb.jpg

Wait for the final product... coming up - Part 2