Problems with re-upholstering your old lounge suite

By Frank Parker

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

Similar Posts

  • Re-upholster antique chaise lounge

    ByFrank Parker

    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.

    Call us Today

  • Custom Upholstery

    ByFrank 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.

    Call us Today

  • Why do modern sprung cushions have problems?

    ByFrank Parker
    cushion upholstery Perth

    What are contemporary sprung cushions?

    Contemporary sprung cushions have been marketed over the last decade as a superior concept however there are major issues regarding the effectiveness of using ‘spring pockets’ in the fabrication of seat cushion inserts.

    How are traditional spring cushions different to modern spring cushions?

    Traditional sprung cushions were constructed using mid-gauge coil springs and hand sewn into a hessian case then encased with flock and fitted into a box piped seat cushion with sewing usually finished by hand stitching. Seat cushions constructed this way tend to stand the test of time as is evident by cushions still used in antique furniture.

    However the fabrication of modern sprung cushion inserts utilise light-gauge coil springs encased in a series of thin polyester pockets which are normally referred to as ‘spring pockets’. These spring pockets are placed in the centre of the cushion inserts and sandwiched with polyurethane foam then usually encased with polyester fibre. With moderate to heavy use the spring pockets tend to distort with the springs often fracturing the casings. The result is a distorted and uncomfortable seat cushion and maybe a costly repair bill outside the warranty period.

    What about the option of premium quality foam cushions?

    The sales personnel promoting the “advantages” of sprung cushions usually infer by definition that the base is also sprung but most sprung cushions are on bases fitted with elastic webbing. The truth is that there is nothing wrong with a settee base correctly fitted with high quality elastic webbing. However a superior cushion insert can be effectively achieved by simply using premium quality polyurethane foam encased in polyester fibre and no spring pockets!

    Call Us To Help You With the Cushions on Your Furniture

  • Sofas to Size – Reupholster

    ByFrank Parker

    Sofas to Size evolved from Impact Designs, a company founded in 1996. The business manufactured wholesale upholstered furniture and was located at Buckingham Drive Wangara. Then in 2005 the business name was changed to Sofas to Size and marketed direct to the public from a retail premises located on Canning Highway in South Perth.

    The concept of marketing sofas custom-made to size was an excellent concept as the business grew rapidly in a short time. Sofas to Size ceased operating in 2010.

    We were contacted by a client who purchased several settees made by Sofas to Size. These settees were identical in design and custom-made to specific lengths to suit our clients living area. They were originally upholstered in a synthetic suede but they were to be re-upholstered in a quality plain chenille.

    The existing upholstery was completely removed from the timber framed settees then new heavy grade elastic webbing was fitted and then new body-work padding was laminated onto the frames. New polyester encased premium seat cushion inserts were fabricated along with polyester filled channelled and quilted back cushion inserts. The settees were then carefully upholstered to the original finish.

    Our clients was absolutely delighted with the result of their refurbished settees saying they were designed for the room and they still looked perfect for the room.

    Call us Today

  • Ethen Allen Furniture – Reupholster

    ByFrank Parker

    This American company was founded in 1932 by two brothers-in-law starting business as a homewares manufacturer. In 1936 they purchased a bankrupt high-end furniture manufacturer in Vermont and adopted the name Ethan Allen in 1939.

    Ethan Allen now a public company and has four manufacturing plants in the USA and one in Mexico with retail outlets across the USA and Canada. Although the company had suffered a severe decline in business over the last few decades the share price is now rebounding with the strong public sentiment towards supporting home grown products and businesses.

    A couple were referred to us to have their two Ethan Allen ‘Restocrat Recliners’ re-upholstered. They purchased these recliner chairs in the mid 70’s while living in the U.S. Their present home still reflected the architecture and furnishings from the 70’s so it was the preferable option.

    These recliner chairs were stripped back to the bare frames and the mechanisms were removed. The quality of the mechanisms were outstanding, we just cleaned them up with the timber frames only requiring minor repairs. The frames were re-sprung and new cushioning was fabricated from premium foam and encased with bonded polyester fibre. The fabric selected by our client was a 70’s pin stripe velvet which was a prefect replacement.

    What could we say, these recliner chairs looked like they had just been purchased from an Ethan Allen store forty five years ago! However the important thing was that our clients just loved their rejuvenated recliner chairs.

    Call us Today

  • Ercol Furniture – upholster

    ByFrank Parker

    Ercol Furniture was established in 1920 by Lucian Ercolani in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire manufacturing timber framed lounge furniture and occasional furniture. In 1944 Ercol was awarded a contract by the Government Board of Trade to produce 100 000 low cost spindled/bentwood framed chairs. This involved a process the company developed of steam pressing English Elm so the chairs could be assembled from pre-formed components.

    In 2002 Ercol moved into a purpose built factory at Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire. The company has gone on to produce many award winning ranges of furniture. Like many western countries, the UK has in more recent years also had a reversion back to purchasing from local manufacturers.

    A client from the Peel region approached us requiring a quote to have her Ercol lounge suite re-furbished. The furniture was originally purchased by her parents in the UK prior to her birth in Australia. There had been some rather amateur attempts to both polish and re-upholster this suite which has the effect of adding to the work involved.

    We removed all the upholstery and stripped back the lacquer to bare timber. The frame was then stained a mid-tone walnut and coated with three coats of 30% gloss lacquer. Quality seat webbing was then fitted and then we fabricated premium foam cushioning laminating it with bonded polyester fibre. We disregarded the old cushion covers and made new patterns bringing everything back to original with a blue tone fabric featuring a wide abstract diamond pattern being selected by our client.

    When delivering the furniture the look on our client’s face said it all, she simply said “Amazing!” This just reinforces our factory philosophy ‘work hard and enjoy the journey’.

    Call us Today