The story

This is exactly the sort of chair you imagine beside a bookcase, a fire and a very good whisky.

Michelle found a pair of these antique walnut armchairs at Denbighshire Antiques.

One was slightly more generous and imposing.

The other a little more delicate.

So, naturally, they became known in the workshop as the gentleman’s chair and the lady’s chair.

This is the gentleman.

He has all the presence you would expect from a proper old library chair – a high back, deep hand-sprung seat, wonderfully solid proportions and a beautifully detailed walnut frame.

The carving is full of character.

The front arm supports feature carved rectangular panels, fine incised line detailing and rounded scroll-like motifs. Below, the chair stands on bold turned front legs with further carved detail and brass castors, while the rear legs are gently splayed and follow the elegant sweep of the overall frame.

It is the sort of chair that would once have felt completely at home in a gentleman’s library or study.

Comfortable enough to settle into for hours, but with enough stature to hold its own in the room.

We stripped the upholstery back and fully rebuilt it using traditional materials, retaining that wonderfully comfortable hand-sprung seat.

Then came the sheepskin.

And this one took some matching.

We used five individual British rare breed sheepskins, carefully selecting them to work together for colour, texture, wool length and patternation before making the first cut.

The finished covering is deep Chocolate, naturally feathered with beautiful flashes of Ivory.

Each fleece is completely individual, so getting five of them to sit together as one cohesive covering took time, patience and quite a lot of moving them around the workshop until we were happy.

The result was worth it.

The finished chair has all the variation and character we love about rare breed sheepskin, but the five skins flow together beautifully across the back, arms and generous seat.

We have finished the back of the chair in 100% pure new wool, secured with old gold speckled decorative nails.

It is a lovely traditional detail and works perfectly with the warm walnut and rich Chocolate tones of the sheepskin.

This is a proper sit-and-stay-awhile chair.

Made for books, fires, slower evenings and the time of year when coming home and getting comfortable starts to feel particularly appealing.

And somewhere in the workshop, his lady is waiting her turn.

The details

Antique walnut library armchair
Generously proportioned gentleman’s chair
High carved backrest
Deep hand-sprung seat
Traditional upholstery materials
Fully stripped and rebuilt in our workshop
Upholstered using five individual rare breed sheepskins
Sheepskins carefully matched for colour, texture, wool length and patternation
Deep Chocolate colouring with natural Ivory feathering
Richly carved walnut frame
Carved rectangular panel details
Fine incised line decoration
Rounded scroll-like carved motifs
Bold turned front legs
Brass castors
Gently splayed rear legs
Backed in 100% pure new wool
Finished with old gold speckled decorative nails
Handmade and restored in North Wales
One available
Ready to ship

Dimensions

Overall height: 106cm
Overall width: 70cm
Overall depth: 75cm
Seat height: 45cm
Seat width: 39cm at the narrowest point
Seat depth: 56cm
Arm height: 62cm

Condition

This is an antique chair and carries the small marks, knocks, variations and signs of age that we would expect from an original piece of furniture.

The walnut frame has been carefully cleaned and refurbished while preserving the patina and character that have developed over its lifetime.

The upholstery has been completely stripped back and rebuilt in our North Wales workshop using traditional materials and methods, including a hand-sprung seat, before being finished in rare breed sheepskin.

The brass castors and carved walnut details retain signs of age and use, which we consider part of the beauty and history of the chair.

Good to know

Genuine antique walnut chair
One available
Fully refurbished in North Wales
Traditional hand-sprung seat
Upholstered in five carefully matched rare breed sheepskins
Natural Chocolate and Ivory colouring
Every marking in the fleece is unique
100% pure new wool back
Old gold decorative nailing
Ready to ship
Covered by our standard 60-day returns

Styling notes

This chair really does suit a room with a little atmosphere.

Put it beside a bookcase, near a fireplace or in a study with old rugs, dark woods and warm lighting and it will look as though it has always belonged there.

But the sheepskin stops it from feeling too formal.

The deep Chocolate colouring and natural Ivory feathering soften the carved walnut and bring a wonderfully tactile quality to what is otherwise a very traditional antique frame.

It would also look fantastic in a lighter interior, where the dark sheepskin and warm walnut could provide contrast against plaster, linen, pale walls and natural flooring.

And with the weather turning properly autumnal, this feels like exactly the sort of chair you want waiting for you at the end of the day.

Drop note

Michelle found this chair as part of a pair at Denbighshire Antiques.

This more generously proportioned version quickly became known as the gentleman’s chair, while his slightly more delicate companion is waiting in the workshop for her own transformation.

Fully restored, traditionally upholstered and covered using five carefully matched rare breed sheepskins, this one-off antique has been made especially for Workshop Drop 19.

Once he’s gone, he’s gone.

Why Baa Stool?

In 2011 I left the corporate world, moved home to rural North Wales and retrained to be an upholsterer.  Two years in, during a tea break from a particularly challenging chair, I was looking at the sheep in the fields surrounding my workshop and mused ‘they look like little footstools. Hmmmmmm…sheepskin covered footstools. Oh yes!’

I spent several months developing the idea and ensuring that every detail of the product is high quality.  The frames and legs are made by skilled craftsmen.  The sheepskin is always premium grade and predominantly from UK flocks.  I source the best upholstery materials and we upholster each Baa Stool using a mix of modern and traditional methods.  This is important because I want my customers to enjoy a product that is the very best it can possibly be.

Around this exciting product a group of talented, enthusiastic and dedicated individuals gathered to form 'Team Baa' and a Great Little British Business was born.

I started selling Baa Stools at local artisan markets and county shows and they quickly developed a following. I noticed that the sheepskin cover upholstered on the footstools made people stop in their tracks, look closer…then, inevitably, smile. This quickly became the overall aim of every new design… to make people smile when they walk into a room.