Reupholstering The Modern @ The MoMA Museum
Restoration is about invisibility - when done right, you shouldn't see it at all.
A MOD <> BENTEL & BENTEL COLLAB
Mod Restoration was commissioned by Bentel & Bentel to reupholster the seating at The Modern, located within the Museum of Modern Art. The dining chairs were designed by Fritz Hansen, while the banquettes and sofa were custom-designed by Bentel & Bentel and fabricated in Denmark. The upholstery was executed in Spinneybeck’s Velluto Pelle leather in the color Espresso.
To achieve a clean, seamless, and minimal aesthetic, all structural bolts were concealed beneath the leather upholstery. Removing them presented a significant challenge, as they were originally intended for single use. However, we were able to successfully source replacement hardware directly from the original manufacturer in Denmark, allowing us to preserve the integrity of the design while executing the restoration to the highest standard.
PERFECT SYNCHRONIZATION
Because The Modern operates as a fully active Michelin-starred dining room, the project was executed with careful coordination between our Brooklyn workshop and the restaurant floor. Larger banquette sections and the curved centerpiece sofa were removed, wrapped, and transported back to our shop for full disassembly and reupholstery, while other elements were fitted and finished on-site to minimize downtime. Every stage - protective prep, teardown, transport, and final installation - was planned around the restaurant's service schedule.
The pieces themselves are anything but standard. The curved banquettes and the oval centerpiece sofa are built around heavy steel internal frames with riveted plate hardware, engineered in Denmark for exact tolerances. Stripping each piece meant working through layers of wool batting, hidden zippers, and concealed bolts before the underlying structure was even visible — and then putting all of it back together in a way that left no evidence of the work.
HIDDEN DETAIL, VISIBLE RESULT
One of the defining features of the design is the seamless, architectural silhouette - no visible hardware, no exposed seams at pressure points, and a continuous line of Espresso leather across every curve. To preserve that language, we relocated the access zippers to the underside of each cushion, tucked tightly against the frame so they disappear from any seated or standing sightline. Seams were mapped and stitched panel-by-panel to follow the geometry of each curved section, and the center sofa was rebuilt in halves so it could be maneuvered through the restaurant's doorways before being joined on-site.
The finished result is the opposite of flashy. Guests sit down, settle in, and never notice the layers of engineering, hand-finishing, and logistical planning that sit just beneath the leather. That's the standard the project was held to - and the standard Bentel & Bentel's original design deserved.
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