Custom Upholstery

By Frank Parker

This custom-made dining lounge was designed and manufactured by a cabinet making firm then upholstered by a local upholstery business. The frame was well designed and constructed however there were continual substantial issues with the upholstery. Unfortunately this is something that occurs to often in our industry. 

A client approached us saying she had a custom-made dining lounge and there were substantial issues with the upholstery and she had given up trying to negotiate any solution with this upholstery business. The entire front edge of the seat had collapsed and buttons which she did not want but were initiated by the upholstery firm had ‘popped’. Our client engaged us to completely re-upholster this dining lounge.

We completely removed the existing upholstery and discovered the problems causing the clients concerns. The previous upholsterers had used high quality foam on the seat however they had used a water based contact adhesive to which there are still major application problems and is was simply just not effective. Also the reason they had to place buttons into the seat and back panels was that the patterns were not true to the frame sizes causing the cushions to distort.

We started from scratch making templates true to the frame then fabricated premium cushioning and laminated it with bonded polyester fibre. The cushion covers were then carefully marked with sewing indicators and sewn to shape as such large panels can either be stretched or gathered. The lounge was then upholstered with minimal effort as the fabric covers fitted perfectly.

The result was that our client was absolutely overwhelmed with the result and we have since received repeat work from her. This just goes to show that quality work is always the best form of advertising and everyone is a winner.

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    ByFrank 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.

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  • Reupholstery of Jarvi Furniture Lounge

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    A Special Wedding Gift

    A couple were getting married and had requested of their wedding guests to contribute to the re-upholstery of their ‘Jarvi’ lounge suite. This lounge furniture with a matching table and cabinetry was purchased by the Groom in NSW some time ago and the fabric for the re-upholstery selected by the Bride.

    The History of Jarvi Furniture

    Jarvi Furniture was founded by Len Jarvi, who was born in Finland in 1910. Len migrated to Australia learning his trade at Chesterfield Furniture in Botany NSW. He then established Jarvi Furniture in Sydney after the war. They were focused on manufacturing high quality lounge and dining furniture influenced on the Jacobean style of furniture. Len Jarvi died in an accident on his farm in 1959 however his quality furniture still lives on today.

    The Lounge Suite Restoration Process

    We worked on restoring the frame of the lounge through the following process:

    • Stripped this lounge suite down to the bare frame
    • Repaired several minor structural defects
    • cleaned and polished the show-wood frame
    • re-webbed the bases with jute webbing
    • coil springs were laced into place and then overlayed with hessian
    • Several modern materials were used to finish of the sprung edge (whilst maintaining quality)
    • Placed a synthetic thumb-roll on the front edge and
    • Then finished with a high density foam overlay

    Finally, the front edge and borders were hand sewn to give the traditional finish.

    The Final Part of the Lounge Reupholstery

    The seat and back cushions were box piped using cotton piping cord. We also incorporated zip borders so the cushions are removable. The cushion inserts we used were laminated premium quality polyurethane foams encased in bonded polyester fibre. The result being firm resilient cushioning that will last for decades.

    Such a special gift for this newly married couple.

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  • Restoration of Club Lounge

    ByFrank Parker
    Reupholster Club Lounge Perth

    What we generally recognise as Australian styled ‘club lounges’ were made from the late 1920’s through to the mid 1950’s. This design was not uniquely Australian however it was very popular in Australia during this era and the suite featured is typical of this period however many variations were available.

    These lounge suites all featured the wide arms, usually with timber trays and bases but some also had decorative timber trim on the arm facings. The upholstery finishes were also available in a wide variation of finishes. This included cord trim, contrast piping and raised panel patterns on the inside backs.

    A client approached us who is from a prominent furniture manufacturing family to restore their ‘club lounge’. This club lounge was not a family heirloom but a design from the era they had always found interesting and destined for their retirement home. It is always an honour to be asked by a contemporary to restore a favourite piece of furniture however the expectations are always as equally high.

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    The bases and backs were re-webbed with jute webbing then the coil springs laced in, tied down and covered with heavy weight hessian. We then used synthetic ‘thumb roll’ to build up the edges and laminated layers of premium foam over the bases, arms and inside backs until the desired shapes were achieved. Flutes were sewn into the inside back covers and the suite was trimmed with contrast piping. The seat cushion inserts were fabricated by laminating various densities of premium foam then encasing them with bonded polyester fibre. The outside arms and outside backs were all lined padded providing a superior finish.

    The result was that we had brought furniture made about 80 years ago back to life. We trust the new owners will receive many years of enjoyable use of their furniture. However from a trade persons perspective we often wonder, what would those who originally made the furniture think of it now?

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  • Reupholster Chesterfield Settees

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    The Chesterfield sofa was developed by skilled furniture artisans in the mid 1700’s for Lord Philip Stanhope, the third Earl of Chesterfield. The Earl was known as a trendsetter and commissioned local artisans to produce an upholstered piece of furniture to which gentlemen could sit on without creasing their suits.

    Chesterfields would become the most renowned sofa design in history defined by the scroll arms, low back, deep buttoning and studded trim. They were usually upholstered in dark traditionally toned leathers. However over time this design has been modernised and is often now upholstered in velvets.

    A couple approached us with two 2 ½ seater Chesterfield settees purchased in the mid 1980’s being made by Moran of Melbourne. These settees were over forty years old and attracted constant use but had stood the test of time well which was a display of their quality.

    We removed the existing upholstery then started the re-upholstery process by fitting new jute webbing and fitting new spring units. The foundation of the inside arms/backs were fine so we just laminated and thin foam layer with a polyester overlay and new seat cushion inserts fabricated from premium foam then encased in bonded polyester fibre. The upholstery fabric selected was again a quality plain velvet which is suitable for this design sofa while also being very durable and serviceable.

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  • Our Refurbishing of T.H Brown chairs

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    TH Brown Chairs Reupholstered Perth

    The History of Thomas Howard Brown

    Thomas Howard Brown formed T.H Brown during 1911 in Adelaide. The brand became a household name in furniture during the first half of the 20th century being one of Australia’s largest furniture manufacturers by the 1920’s and producing its two millionth chair by the 1940’s.

    Thomas’s son Peter joined the business after his return from WWII and went on to develop some of T.H. Brown’s most iconic pieces of furniture. Peter and his brother Napier ran the business until 1987 when T.H. Brown was sold to Work Space Commercial Furniture.

    Thomas’s grandson Simon joined the business in 2015 and formed a joint operation to re-launch some of T.H. Brown’s mid-century signature pieces.

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    Our client has a classic mid-century home and wished to furnish it appropriately. She had acquired a substantial range of pre-loved furniture from this era over several years and we were fortunate in been given the task of restoring these pieces.

    The Reupholstery Process We Undertook

    One of our tasks was to restore a set of six T.H. Brown dining chairs.

    • We carefully stripped these chairs down
    • Due to the quality of construction few repairs were required
    • The chairs were then carefully sanded back
    • Three coats of clear lacquer were applied being sanded back between coats
    • The frames were then gently rubbed back with super fine steel wool to enhance the matt finish required
    • We then laminated the seat ply panel with high density premium padding and
    • Upholstered the seat with a classic mid-century textured velvet.

    This beautiful mid-century furniture was completely rejuvenated to its bygone glory days and our client is now living out her dream.

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  • Trustyle Furniture

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    Truestyle evolved from a lounge furniture manufacturing business which came into existence as W. E. Young & Co. The business was founded by Bill and Beryl Young who came to WA from Victoria starting the manufacturing business in the late 1950’s originally located in Claverton Street east Perth. In the late 1960’s the business relocated to Osborne Park.  The business was then taken over by several of the employees in the mid 1970’s with Colin Bainbridge running operations. The business then shifted to River road Bayswater to a purpose built factory.

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    Our client was happy as her favourite piece of furniture was back to new condition and hopefully she will have many years of enjoyable use.

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