Re-furbish Library chairs

By Frank Parker

Upholstered library chairs
Upholstered library chairs

The History of These Upholstered Library Chairs (William IV Chairs)

A set of two leather look library chairs were presented to us by a gentleman who wanted them rejuvenated. These chairs were purchased new in the 1920’s by his grandfather in England. “Library” chairs also referred to as “William IV” chairs were initially constructed in the 1830’s thus this design of chair had already been in circulation for almost a century.  

Library Chair Details

These chairs were constructed from English Oak and traditionally upholstered in a tapestry fabric. They had then been re-upholstered in the 1970’s using a Nylex vinyl named “Deerhide”. Deerhide was a product of its day and although extremely popular, perhaps these chairs deserved to be covered in something slightly more elegant.

How We Beautifully Restored These William IV Chairs

We stripped these well worn chairs completely back then cleaned and polished the elegant carved timber frames. We used the original upholstery methods. This included jute webbing, coil springs and stitched edges and indulged in a final thin layer of premium foam. The upholstery was also finished to the original standard with space studded self-covered banding.

This resulted in this pair of two library chairs being brought back to their former glory and a very happy owner.

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    Our client approached us wanting to rejuvenate two library chairs with a matching chaise initially purchased new by his wife’s grandparents in the 1920’s being made in Australia. When we inspected this furniture it was in a completely dilapidated condition due to years of storage in a damp basement.

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    Our client still insisted the furniture be restored and this was now going to be a collaborative operation. Our friend from Eachells Fine Furniture was engaged to replace the rotten carved timber rails. He ascertained the species of Eastern States Eucalypt used in construction so replacements would look identical. The resurrected timber frames were then polished looking like original.

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