You'll want to have a seat after you read this.
Just about two years into their new business, aptly dubbed Limited Seating, the dynamic duo have developed a following selling their wares in prominent Pittsburgh-area boutiques, including Pittsburgh Trade Alliance in the Strip District and Cajoli in Indiana Township.
"A lot of people are too intimidated to use a decorator," Parker says. "We want to make beautiful things accessible, without the intimidation factor."
Parker and Henry scour flea markets, antique shops and the Internet for old pieces, and then work with upholsterers to re-stuff, refit and redesign them. "A lot of our chairs have to be rebuilt," Henry says. "They catch our eye because of the shape or woodwork."
They search for bargain-priced remnants of high-end fabrics such as mohair, patent leather, horse hide, linen and silk velvet from vendors around the globe, and pair them with unexpected embellishments like vintage rhinestone buttons, Asian frogs and unique tacking. Parker and Henry apply, by hand, high-gloss metallic paints to the woodwork as well as custom embroidery and crystal beadwork.
"We're trying to do new finishes and little touches that … make our chairs unique," Parker says.
Chairs range from about $200 to $2,500. Stools, benches and settees are also part of the collection, which runs the gamut from Hollywood glam to modern country. Their bold creations include everything from a pair of high-back Hollywood Regency chairs covered in pony skin and cotton welting with glossy white trim to a loveseat featuring multi-colored crystals embellishing the flower detail on eye-popping magenta, orange and red fabric with high-gloss metallic magenta trim.
Long before Limited Seating was born, Parker created her first customized chair for her own home. When she spotted the channel-back Art Nouveau piece from the 1920s, it was in deplorable condition.
The frame was split down the middle, pieces of carving were chipped off, and it was covered in worn teal brocade. "I knew the instant that I saw it what I wanted to do with it," Parker recalls.
Now displayed prominently in her home, the chair is dressed in pewter mohair and welting with chrome tacks and trimmed in high-gloss pewter paint. "Everyone who came into my house just loved it," she says.
The pieces may look like works of art, but they are meant for everyday use – even in homes like those of Parker and Henry, where jelly-fingered children rule the roost. Parker, a mother of two, and Henry, who has four youngsters, met at their children's preschool in 2003. When Henry asked Parker for help with her own furniture they discovered a mutual passion for the durability and charm of vintage furnishings.
Henry, who studied language in college and dabbles in oil painting, likes to take her children antiquing. And Parker, who majored in art, has been known to return from family vacations with a trailer of furniture in tow.
"This has sort of been an outlet for us and an income for us at the same time," Parker says. "I love being a mom. I love staying home with them, so I appreciate being able to do this."
For more information, call Limited Seating at 412-779-1500 or visit www.limitedseating.biz.
