It was the time to perform a little surgery on my Art Deco chair this weekend. It needs more work than this, but at least it has it's own proper form again. Some time in its existence someone thought that the back rest was too short and had an upholsterer to add a board and a cushion to it. That may have made it more comfortable for the owner, but it also messed up the lines of this chair.
This is the "before" with the added (loose) cushion.
I carefully undid the seam and peeled back the batting. The board was already cracking, and based on its condition and the nails, it must have been added quite a while ago.
I pulled out all the staples, and tried to pry out the nails too, but unsuccessfully. I decided to leave the nails in place for now, and to just saw off the top of the board. It's not the world's most even cut, so I levelled it a bit with a rasp. Then I vacuumed up all the dust from sawing and the lint of ages where it had collected between the board and the back rest.
I cut the two pieces of fabric and batting to size, folded them, pinned them, and sewed them in place with waxed linen thread. There is a bump where the back board rises slightly above the back rest, but it hardly shows and it's miles better than the elongated back of "before".
And there you are — one dashing Art Deco chair in its proper form. Progress!
The next step is to have it cleaned and/or reupholstered. Until then, it can live under a throw.