Reupholstery of Jarvi Furniture Lounge

By Frank Parker

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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