Co-ordinating classic chairs

By Frank Parker

Timberline Furniture commenced operations in Perth WA with the factory being located in Willetton. The furniture manufacturing business was founded by Ron Jones and Hedley Van Der Straaten in the early 70’s and ran through to the mid 90’s with about 10 – 12 staff. Ron was a Wood-Turner by trade and managed operations with Hedley managing sales and general business. Timberline predominantly manufactured dining furniture but also made some lounge and occasional furniture. During the 80’s they entered into a collaborative venture with co-ordinated designs, Trustyle Furniture making the lounge suites, George’s Cabinets making the cabinetry and Timberline the dining suites. These co-ordinated furniture ranges were sold by furniture retailers throughout W.A.     

Our clients were involved in furniture retailing and furniture transport for many decades and contacted us to re-upholster their Timberline ‘Captain’s Chairs’. These were a very popular occasional chair from the late 70’s and early 80’s not just in residential sales but they were also used in commercial hospitality applications.

The chairs were originally upholstered in a Nylex Deerhide’ vinyl which was a quality product in its days so we advised using a vinyl from the Austex ‘Studio’ as a quality replacement. The existing upholstery was completely removed, then the show-wood frames cleaned and polished. New high density foam was laminated onto the padded areas and the chairs were upholstered to the original finish with piped and space studded detail.

Our clients re-upholstered ‘Captain’s Chairs’ looked in place around their bar with complimentary comments passed over a few drinks.

Similar Posts

  • Re-upholster Antique Chairs

    Occasionally we receive antique chairs which are basically well preserved but they have been previously shabbily re-upholstered or upholstered out of context with the era. This rarely does the furniture justice and usually results in complete restoration.

    Our client came to us with a lounge chair made in the 1890’s having been originally purchased by her deceased husband’s grandparents. She was honest in explaining that under her instructions the chair had been re-upholstered in the early 1980’s in a pastel cotton and the style modernised to match their décor at a previous residence. She was now ashamed of her previous decision and wanted the chair re-upholstered to its previous glory.

    The chair’s design had been modernised by having a loose seat cushion fitted and absence of piped detail. We removed all the upholstery stripping the chair down to the bare frame and the turned timber legs were then cleaned and polished. Heavy weight jute webbing was then fitted to the seat and back, the coil springs laced, tied down then hessian overlays fitted. We used synthetic ‘thumb roll’ on the seat front, arms and back scrolls then laminated premium polyurethane foams finished with polyester overlays. The seat cushion inner was fabricated from high resilience foam and encased with bonded polyester fibre.

    The chair was then upholstered using a fabric selected by our client which suited the chair and was basically in keeping with the period. The result was a chair which was modernised to a degree under the cover for comfort however retained much authenticity with the upholstery finish and piped detail. Our client was over joyed with her chair and no doubt will become a family heirloom.

    Call us Today
  • Mid-Century Danish Chairs featuring the EK Easy Chair

    The ‘EK Easy Chair’ typifies the Danish chairs during the boom period of the 1950’s and 1960’s. This chair was designed by Illum Wikkelso who belongs to the group of famous “mid-century” Danish furniture designers.  

    The chair was manufactured by Niels Eilersen who commenced business in 1895 originally as a wheelwright and coach builder, then motor body-builder and entering into the furniture industry in the mid 1930’s. Niels Eilersen developed the technique of steam bending wood and ply which proved invaluable after the war with the production of bent-wood and spindle styled chairs. During the 50’s and 60’s the company progressed into manufacturing world class furniture and employing famous designers such as Illum Wikkelso to produce the EK Easy Chair.

    We were contacted by a client saying she has two Danish chairs requiring re-upholstering in leather. When arriving at their residence and viewing the chairs we knew they were special having an unimproved value of over $5000 per chair. Our clients specified that they wanted new elastic seat webbing, the sprung cushion inserts replaced with foam/polyester inserts and the cushion covers to be leather.

    We replaced the elastic seat webbing with firm high quality webbing which had previously be replaced by average quality webbing. We then fabricated laminated foam seat cushion inserts with a very firm high density centre core featuring high density softer overlays then encased with bonded polyester fibre. The back cushion inserts were fabricated from the slightly softer grade used in the seat overlays then also encased with bonded polyester fibre. The leather cushion covers were fabricated from a high quality semi-aniline leather being Tasman Tanning “Matisse Black”. The original leather cushions were vandyked however we sewed shaped patches allowing for the fullness created by the buttoning.

    The result was spectacular as the chairs still retained their authentic look but we had fulfilled our client’s wishes by also having the chairs more comfortable for sitting. We also gave the clients back the original sprung cushions for re-sale value if ever required. Two classic chairs now sixty years old and good for another sixty years!

    •   We Were So Happy

      We were so happy with the two black leather chairs you re-upholstered for us.
      Monique
      Shenton Park, WA
    Call us Today
  • Re-furbish Library chairs

    Upholstered library chairs

    The History of These Upholstered Library Chairs (William IV Chairs)

    A set of two leather look library chairs were presented to us by a gentleman who wanted them rejuvenated. These chairs were purchased new in the 1920’s by his grandfather in England. “Library” chairs also referred to as “William IV” chairs were initially constructed in the 1830’s thus this design of chair had already been in circulation for almost a century.  

    Library Chair Details

    These chairs were constructed from English Oak and traditionally upholstered in a tapestry fabric. They had then been re-upholstered in the 1970’s using a Nylex vinyl named “Deerhide”. Deerhide was a product of its day and although extremely popular, perhaps these chairs deserved to be covered in something slightly more elegant.

    How We Beautifully Restored These William IV Chairs

    We stripped these well worn chairs completely back then cleaned and polished the elegant carved timber frames. We used the original upholstery methods. This included jute webbing, coil springs and stitched edges and indulged in a final thin layer of premium foam. The upholstery was also finished to the original standard with space studded self-covered banding.

    This resulted in this pair of two library chairs being brought back to their former glory and a very happy owner.

    Call us Today To Have Your Precious Furniture Restored
  • Problems with re-upholstering your old lounge suite

    Fixing up a previous reupholstery job

    This modular unit was manufactured by a local Perth, business ‘Farmer Furniture’ in the early 1980’s. It was re-upholstered 12 years ago however the clients had never been happy with the quality of the reupholstery job as it simply “did not feel like the old suite when new”.

    How we approached renewing this lounge suite

    We stripped the old upholstery from the modular frame. It revealed that the second layer of fabric had simply been placed over the initial fabric in which the suite was made. This style of reupholstery is very problematic. The issue is caused by the webbing, body padding and cushioning not being replaced resulting in this lounge furniture quickly returning to a dysfunctional state. Which is a waste of time and money for the owners.

    The next stage involved us:

    This process allowed us to modernise the upholstery finish without losing the authentic character of the lounge suite.

    The final result was a well finished and functional modular lounge this family will enjoy for many years into the future.

    Call us so we can help you reupholster your lounge suite
  • Re-upholster Charles Mackintosh chair

    A client approached us saying they had a ‘Mackintosh’ chair in desperate need of re-upholstery. They had purchased this lounge chair in the UK in the 1970’s and it had just been re-upholstered, they were told it was made about 1910 and was a Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868 – 1928) design reflecting the ‘Arts and Craft’ period.

    Charles Rennie Mackintosh was a Scottish architect and designer who played an important role in the turn of the century ‘Arts and Craft’ movement. He became interested in architecture at a young age and enrolled into the Glasgow School of Art at fifteen meeting the McNair children (marring one of the sisters). The foursome collaborated becoming renowned for their refined stylization of furniture. In 1889 Mackintosh became an apprentice at the architectural firm Honeyman Kreppie and was made a partner in 1901. He demonstrated a break from traditional Victorian design being influenced by Japanese and Celtic art. He was famously commissioned by Catherine Cranston to design the Willow Tearooms (Glasgow) interiors and furniture for which he developed the famous Argyle chair.

    We completely stripped the upholstery to the frame on this chair and judging from the construction techniques it coincides with the period. The chair was then re-sprung and completely re-upholstered being covered in a linen supplied by our clients.

    There is however something extremely strange regarding this chair? The construction techniques coincide with the with the ‘Arts and Craft’ period and the design coincides with the Mackintosh style of the period however from our research he never designed a fully upholstered lounge chair, only dining and occasional chairs with a few show-wood framed lounge chairs. Our client loved their rejuvenated chair and the mystery remains!

    Call us Today
  • Sentimental Furniture For Years

    Restoring Sentimental Furniture in Perth

    Passing Down Furniture or Inheriting Furniture

    It is always difficult to place a monetary value on something that is of high sentimental value however when the furniture has been restored the value is evident. Furniture that is of high sentimental value is usually inherited but may also have been from an era of perceived sentimental interest or have been previously possessed by an individual of interest. However regardless of the reason a high proportion of furniture we restore is due to sentimental value.

    Reupholstering Library Chairs From the 1920’s

    Our client approached us wanting to rejuvenate two library chairs with a matching chaise initially purchased new by his wife’s grandparents in the 1920’s being made in Australia. When we inspected this furniture it was in a completely dilapidated condition due to years of storage in a damp basement.

    How We Renewed the Library Chairs

    • We completely striped the upholstery to the frame noting that it had also been re-upholstered shabbily
    • It was not until we had completely stripped the existing upholstery that we became aware that some of the carved timber rails were rotten due to prolonged storage in damp conditions
    • We approached the client with this information as restoration was going to be a major task.

    A Collaborative Restoration

    Our client still insisted the furniture be restored and this was now going to be a collaborative operation. Our friend from Eachells Fine Furniture was engaged to replace the rotten carved timber rails. He ascertained the species of Eastern States Eucalypt used in construction so replacements would look identical. The resurrected timber frames were then polished looking like original.

    Our client still insisted the furniture be restored and this was now going to be a collaborative operation. Our friend from Eachells Fine Furniture was engaged to replace the rotten carved timber rails. He ascertained the species of Eastern States Eucalypt used in construction so replacements would look identical. The resurrected timber frames were then polished looking like original.

    We then set about the task of re-upholstering this furniture using original methods and materials. They were webbed with heavy weight jute webbing then coiled springs were laced in, tied down then hessian overlays. We then however use laminated layers of premium padding encased in polyester. The result is fundamentally original methods but finishing with some new materials to enhance the comfort.

    This furniture was upholstered to original finish and trimmed with a matching gimp. Our clients were ecstatic with tears of sentiment!

    Call us Today to Have Your Sentimental Furniture Restored For Future Generations