Balcaen

BALCAEN COMPANY Since 1972 Balcaen Company specializes in creating, reproducing and restoring high quality French classic style seats (chairs, armchairs, wing chairs, stools…) and pieces of furniture (beds, all ranges of tables, dressers and so on) according to the traditional techniques of Arts & Crafts inherited from the Eighteenth Century and guaranteeing a 100% French product from the wooden frame to the final piece. The newly edited catalogue contains around 300 updated references which are identical replicas of 1600s (Louis XIII) to 1940s (Art Déco period) antique models, hand made and carved in our workshop nearby Paris. We dedicate indeed all our efforts to maintain high standards of quality to satisfy the expectations of our prestigious clientele. SHOWROOM Within a renovated 165 sqm two-floor exhibition space, amateurs, professional and private customers will be provided with exhaustive individualized advice service according to any ongoing project and/or decoration needs. On the top floor we can even help you choose the fabric through a comprehensive range of samples, from cotton and linen to velvets and silks, from the major upholstery fabrics’ editors worldwide. Our expertise is complete: starting with your ideas for any specific project we propose you different options in terms of wood finishing, then we discuss the technical details of the manufacturing of the model(s), whether it is custom-made or standard. Each request is thoroughly examined prior to elaborating any estimate and in order to respond to any of your expectations. WORKSHOP Balcaen’s know-how makes our workshop one of the last existing for the creation of high-quality seats and pieces of furniture all over the world. Balcaen company preserves and improves a savoir-faire based on the traditions of the Eighteenth Century techniques. Woodworking, cabinet-making, mouldings and sculptures and all the finishing part, such as staining, varnishing, painting, gilding, filling and upholstery are processed in the workshop nearby Paris in Mandres-les-Roses. 300 sqm are dedicated to filling and finishing. The references from the collection are made in standard dimensions; these can be adapted upon request without resulting in altering the aesthetics of the piece. Balcaen specializes indeed in countermarking the finishing samples and manufacturing made-to-measure pieces. FINISHING – GILDING – STAINS All the finishing, gilding and application of painting or stains are carried out at Balcaen’s own workshop nearby Paris. This is when the beauty of the seat or piece of furniture is enhanced. The process of finishing or gilding is thus the way to make the piece more aesthetical but also for the sake of protecting the wood (prophylatic treatment). This way we guarantee the absolute inherent quality of our products. Moreover, from the application of a patina one or two shades or the copper, silver or gold leaf gilding, the whole finishing process is executed according to the ancient techniques without using any mechanical intervention. Trimming the edges of the wood, pumicing, varnishing, applying the patina or the leaf, these are the essential steps to do the finishing of the wooden structure. FILLING – UPHOLSTERY It is at Balcaen’s workshop where the seats are filled and upholstered. Our craftsmanship keeps applying traditional techniques for the repairing or manufacturing of any model, whether it is contemporary or antique. The seats can be made either with traditional (horsehair) or half-traditional filling. We can also adapt the filling according to your wishes like bultex for: an odourless result, a slightly more rigid, or conversely softer comfort. The cushions are made with: goosedown only, a mix between goosedown and quill feathers to which we can also add foam particles, always depending on the kind of comfort you would like to achieve. We then add the braids, nails or trimmings. We will afterwards proceed with the patina or gilding, as soon as the filling and upholstery parts are completed.