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Returning comfort, beauty to heirlooms
By MICHELLE JONES
© St. Petersburg Times, LAND O'LAKES -- If Martin Crane on TV's Frasier had allowed his comfortable old recliner to be reupholstered, everyone would have been a lot happier. Instead, Frasier's father enjoyed the comfort while others grumbled about his ugly chair. This is what Mark Papaj does. He makes people happy by renewing their favorite piece of furniture or valued antique. When Papaj was 9 and living in New York, his uncle Louie told him to go out and find an old chair, and he would teach him how to tear it apart and reupholster it. Papaj, 48, has been plying this trade ever since. "My uncle would grab me by the hair -- I had long hair -- and say, 'Get over here and learn this,' " Papaj said. "My uncle was a mean man, but I appreciate all that he taught me." Papaj has been working in Land O'Lakes for 18 years, the past five on U.S. 41 just a few hundred yards south of Bell Lake Road. His business is called the Upholstery House. Refinishing antiques is one of his specialties. "I do the repairing, gluing, refinishing and reupholstering if needed," he said. "You don't have to take the furniture anyplace else." People may ask why redo when it is less expensive to just buy new. Papaj says that's true if it is not a family heirloom, a special piece of furniture or something irreplaceable. Jane Goldston is one of his satisfied customers. She and other family members have had at least 10 pieces redone. "He does excellent work," she said. "I definitely would use him again. In fact, right now he is restoring the wood on a mirror from the 1930s." Land O'Lakes resident Dora Bean had a recliner that her late husband enjoyed. "When he died, I had it re-covered and gave it to my son," she said. "They did a wonderful job at the Upholstery House." Jason Bean agreed. "He did a good job," said Bean, who also lives in Land O'Lakes. "The chair still works." Papaj said the first step in the process is to strip the piece of furniture down to the wood. "Lay it all in order so you know how to put it back together," he said. "Then measure one piece at a time." Proper webbing is important as it is the support for the fabric and springs. "The seat is the first thing you do," he said. "And, you build from there." Over the years, he has never changed the order of his work. His favorite piece was a rare antique sofa that he reupholstered in white. On the wooden portion of the arms and top were hand-carved eagles. He said tying the springs in a perfect line on a sofa or chair is important to ensure those who sit don't sink into the furniture after years of use. "The secret to good furniture is a good foundation," he said. In his shop is an antique perfume desk that he is restoring and painting white with gold and green flowers. "The color is the newest thing coming out," he said. However, he prefers the original wood. He pointed out the wooden wheels on the desk, saying that is one way of determining its age. Sometimes upholsterers find strange items inside furniture, such as the dead snake found in a couch at a Seffner shop. Papaj has not found anything that bizarre, but he did discover some spiders in a mildewed chair when he tore off the fabric. "There were thousands of them, mostly little, but some big," he said. "It was definitely a community; they were going everywhere." Exterminators had to be called. More often, though, he finds things that make the owners happy. "Lots of coins, lighters and TV remotes," he said, have been found in furniture. "My wife found a wooden comb wrapped in a flat box. We gave it back to the owners and they were tickled; they had been looking for it a long time." He once found an antique knife in a couch. One customer wanted a twin to a chair she owned to put in front of a fireplace. "There is not a piece of furniture I can't reupholster," Papaj said. In his shop, he has books and books of fabric to choose from, and he is willing to help. He also does pickups and deliveries, as well as estimates. Business hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. - Michelle Jones covers central Pasco community news. She can be reached at (813) 226-3459.
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