Curved chair back and foam cushions

[Jim C Martin]

Hello All:
I am building a Stickley 336 Morris Chair replica like the one you see below. The plans call for curved back rails and I am debating making those straight or curved. I can see where the curved back would be great with an old style stuffed cushion but I'll be using foam cushions. I imagine the cushion might sit flat and look add against the curved back. So, what do you guys say? Just go ahead and steam bend the back rails? Leave em straight? I'd particularly like to hear from those of you who have built similar chairs.
I'm already set up for steam bending the arms so its not a big deal to bend them.
Cheers,
Jim
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[Wayne Lomman]

Curved rails, no question. The comfort and appearance will be worth it. Cheers

[Bradley Gray]

Even with a cushion, curved rails will be more comfortable than straight.

[Jamie Buxton]

A chunk of foam, by itself, is flat. You can wrap it with dacron batting, which is quite compressable, to make the cushion a bit plumper. You make the edges of the upholstery about the width of the foam, and the cloth compresses the batting near the edge.

[Jim C Martin]

Thanks guys! Will be steaming up the rails!
Cheers,
Jim

A chunk of foam, by itself, is flat. You can wrap it with dacron batting, which is quite compressable, to make the cushion a bit plumper. You make the edges of the upholstery about the width of the foam, and the cloth compresses the batting near the edge.

[Mark Salomon]

You should be able to cut the curved profile of the back slats from 8/4 stock, saving you considerable work

[andy bessette]

Change your plan for slab foam back to something that will conform to the curve, like vertical strips of foam within a cover.

[Jamie Buxton]

If you make the foam concave, a simple fabric cover will just go straight across the concavity.

[Mac McQuinn]

I would certainly go with curved slats. The right shop can easily put a curve in the cushion to match the slats. I have a guy locally who does fantastic work, he did a back cushion for a late 40's chair my wife received from her grandmother. It came out great. No excess material, no wrinkles and fit like a glove. He worked off a photograph and the old cushion. Typically he is 8-12 weeks logged although he can do whatever you want. Check around.......
Mac

[andy bessette]

"If you make the foam concave, a simple fabric cover will just go straight across the concavity."

If the back foam is vertical pieces the cover can be tucked between them.

[Karl Andersson]

The original cushions were rectangular but lozenge-shaped in cross-section; the front and back curved out from the side seams. You can certainly make that effect with modern foam and upholstery if you want to have the cushion look and fit as intended. Start with block foam for the basic structure (abut 2-3 in thick) then face it with a layer of egg-crate or thin softer foam slightly smaller (1-2") than the face of the cushion, then wrap it all in poly batting to smooth the transitions. The covers on the original usually had a single edge seam,not a sidewall like a modern cushion.

Karl