Modern Antique Chairs

By Frank Parker

It is becoming more common to re-upholster antique furniture using bright modern fabrics. At first this may seem sacrilege to connoisseurs of fine furniture but if quality antique furniture is being saved no one can complain.    

A client approached us saying she had found a pair of identical ‘Grandfather’ antique chairs beside the railway line in York W.A. At first we just assumed these were nothing but discarded antique reproduction chairs however upon inspection our client was correct, they were indeed genuine antique chairs from the mid to late 19th century.

We completely removed the existing upholstery and carried out some structural repairs then touched up the polish work. We then used traditional methods to re-upholster these chairs only compromising by using premium foam seat and inside arm/back overlays. A modern teal velvet with black velvet piping was used to cover the chairs and trimmed with black gimp.

Well what could we say, the clients were elated and the chairs looked stunning! The chairs were saved and our clients can enjoy their rejuvenated furniture for many years.

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    When given a restored antique chaise lounge frame to re-upholster the problem is that there may have been many different ways it was traditionally upholstered. Therefore the method of upholstery depends upon the client’s interpretation on how the furniture appeared originally combined with the restorer’s knowledge and research into period pertaining to this style of furniture.   

    This antique chaise lounge frame was given to us by a client who wanted it upholstered for her bedroom. Apparently this piece originated from the 1880’s and she did not want any deep buttoning in the upholstery. We went through much archival material on chaise lounges from this period and found examples of similar double ended pieces from this period with plain upholstery which coincided with our client’s expectations. Above all our client also wanted the re-upholstered chaise to be comfortable giving us considerable autonomy regarding upholstery methods.

    We set about our task and first cleaned and repaired the original castors. We then webbed the base with heavy weight jute webbing, laced in the coil springs, tied them down then fitted a hessian overlay. We then used synthetic furniture edging and built the seat, back and scroll ends up with varying hardness’s of high density cushioning encased with bonded polyester fibre. The result of building up the platforms this way is that the traditional look is maintained however unlike the furniture from this era comfort has not been sacrificed for style. The upholstery was trimmed with matching gimp trim creating a superb finish.

    Our client was elated with the stylish finish of her re-upholstered antique chaise lounge but was equally impressed with the comfort which would not have been such a necessity in the bygone days. We trust our client will enjoy and relax on her rejuvenated chaise lounge for many years.

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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.

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    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. 

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    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.

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    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.

    We stripped the 3 seater and 2 chairs down to the bare frames, removed the show-wood components then screwed the joints together. The timber arm trays were so badly damaged leaving us with no option than to completely replace them however the front base strips were sanded back and re-used have receiver three coats of lacquer.

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    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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    “TV chairs” and “Daynite sofas” became popular from the late 1950’s and remained in production through to the early 1970’s. This coincided with the introduction of television and the modern appliance age. Today we generally refer to TV chairs and Daynite sofas as mid-century furniture which has regained popularity amongst novices and enthusiasts of this era. This furniture setting was made in W.A. by Condor Furniture in Osborne Park owned by the Trethowan family.

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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.

    Trustyle manufactured styles incorporating show-wood frames with the furniture being in the upper middle class for price and quality always being considered good value for money in the industry.

    A client contacted us wishing to have her Trustyle lounge suite and dining chair seats re-upholstered. The Lounge suite was over thirty years old but remained structurally sound. It was originally upholstered in a patterned transfer print which were popular in the late 80’s and early 90’s but she decided to have the furniture re-upholstered in a plain chenille.

    This was a straight forward job, we replaced the elastic webbing laminated new high density arm foam and fabricated new premium foam seat and back cushions encasing them with bonded polyester fibre. The upholstery was also relatively simple and back to original including the buttoning.

    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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