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.

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