So after a fruitless day (yes, just one to cover as many shops as possible), I got back home and started searching, this is when I fell on the Jan Poulsen Z chair and sofa. After consulting immediately the next morning with two competent carpenters both said they were not doable in good standards. So as the local proverb says "chreyto wala terbeyto" (buy it instead of raising it), I thought - well, if I cannot get them custom made why not try to buy them from a vintage store.
Enter Hamadani Brothers whom I follow on Instagram and who have an amazing range of vintage furniture and accessories. Nestled in the Basta area the shop is painted white, has no visible bric a brac, shows beautiful mid-century pieces and - contrary to the elderly men in other stores - was inhabited by two young men in understated design attires.
From a previous chat Moe Hamadani told me that there could be pieces that might interest me at the gallery. Again, they were not what I was looking for but their Instagram feed was so rich and varied so there was hope. I showed the Jan Poulsen model to Moe, he showed me back some other chairs quite similar in design - mid-century modern and most likely Scandinavian in design too. I needed four chairs and a sofa. The sofa was not available to complete the set so we compromised on one from the same period but different design. The fabric was chosen in one minute flat - I wanted one in brown (hides the stains you know!) but which seems exactly like a grey one covering a set of chairs in the shop.
Three days later Moe sends me the photo from an armchair which completes the chairs - it was found in their depot in the south. So now I had the full salon ready to be fixed, the wood repainted and upholstered from scratch.
Seriously, the whole transaction was so seamless - the idea was that, having seen their works on display in high-end apartments or villas then I did not need to discuss nitty gritty details with them. They knew their job, and obviously I was a serious customer (I am not sure if it happened to them before for someone to book a full salon with fabric included in less than 5 minutes).
Long story short? My mother is now taking a siesta on the sofa (which was photographed at their shop earlier today) which she judged as "extremely comfortable and exceptionally well-looking". My mother has very high standards, so for her to admit to the quality of the work is itself a major flattery.
I am a satisfied customer - I say so while sitting on a one of the chairs which has been delivered a few hours back.
Well yes, there was a million things to do before getting the final results in - and having only two hands it was a bit daunting (at times like these Hindu goddess Gurka makes sense), but seeing the end result - who knew refurbishing a full house would turn out to be (relatively) so easy!