DRAWING ROOM SOFA, COMPLETED 2017

At the end of the meal, according to the etiquette of the time, the ladies and gentleman would separate. The ladies would accompany Mrs. Mills to the Drawing Room. As with other rooms, much of the furniture is upholstered in silk. The Friends provided funds to re-upholster a small, but prominent, loveseat that was in tatters. Conservators who work for the State did the actual conservation labor and the Friends purchased a silk brocade material that was as close to the original as possible. Because the sofa involved tufting, which is not used as frequently today as it was in the Gilded Age, a tufting expert was also involved in part of the sofa conservation.

Click through the gallery below for more photos of our drawing room sofa project.