Refurbish Lincoln Furniture

By Frank Parker

The Background to Lincoln Furniture Nedlands W.A.

Richard Laurence the founder of Lincoln Furniture worked in the upholstered furniture industry in California USA and immigrated with his family to Perth Western Australia in the late 1960’s. He initially worked with Perth furniture retailers for several years to gain an understanding of the local industry then commenced Lincoln Furniture.

Reupholstering a Lincoln Lounge Suite

This Lincoln lounge suite consisting of 2 x 2 ½ seater settees and 2 x chairs was purchased in 1978 from the Perth furniture store – Lincoln Furniture. Lincoln Furniture was established in Perth in the early 1970’s and the company operated until the early 1990’s. This Nedlands based furniture manufacturer used to produce high quality traditional American style furniture. Parker Furniture had the privledge to beautifully reupholstered this lounge furniture to restore it for its appreciative Western Australian owners. The lounge was originally constructed with a unique sprung edge utilising no sag springs which was an American system and had previously not used by Australian lounge furniture manufacturers.

 

Call us To Have Your Old Lounge Suite Reupholstered

Similar Posts

  • Refurbish Parker Knoll chairs

    ByFrank Parker
    Parker Knoll Chairs Perth Restored

    The Origination of Parker Knoll

    New seat and back heavy grade elastic webbing was fitted then high-density foam was laminated to the arms and frame bodies including the outside arm and back panels which were lined and padded. Polyester filled channelled and quilted back cushion inserts were fabricated. The premium foam polyester encased seat cushion inserts were fabricated by laminating two grades of foam creating a cushion that progressively firms and ensuring greater longevity.

    The new venture was quickly successful producing high quality sprung furniture for the mass market. During the war years the company produced wooden componentry for de Havilland and repaired gliders then reversed into furniture production after 1945. With increasing the company listed in 1950 and then in the 1960’s saw vast production of recliner chairs which became a signature item.

    The company went back to private ownership in 2004 after suffering financial difficulties then went through several ownerships and now has gone back to its roots producing high quality furniture from a state of the art factory in Nottinghamshire.

    How We Restored the Parker Knoll Chairs

    A set of two Parker Knoll chairs were completely stripped of the upholstery and sanded back to the bare timber.  Three coats of lacquer were applied being sanded between coats. The frames were then lightly rubbed back with super-fine steel wool to produce the required finish.

    The client selected a 1970’s period velvet for the upholstery. The padding was fabricated by laminating premium cushioning then encased in polyester fibre. The upholstery fabric suited these chairs embracing the era.

    Our Client’s Feedback

    Our client was overwhelmed with the chairs adding these pieces to her home filled with beautiful mid-century furniture.

    Call us Today to Have Your Furniture Reupholstered

  • Co-ordinating classic chairs

    ByFrank Parker

    Timberline Furniture commenced operations in Perth WA with the factory being located in Willetton. The furniture manufacturing business was founded by Ron Jones and Hedley Van Der Straaten in the early 70’s and ran through to the mid 90’s with about 10 – 12 staff. Ron was a Wood-Turner by trade and managed operations with Hedley managing sales and general business. Timberline predominantly manufactured dining furniture but also made some lounge and occasional furniture. During the 80’s they entered into a collaborative venture with co-ordinated designs, Trustyle Furniture making the lounge suites, George’s Cabinets making the cabinetry and Timberline the dining suites. These co-ordinated furniture ranges were sold by furniture retailers throughout W.A.     

    Our clients were involved in furniture retailing and furniture transport for many decades and contacted us to re-upholster their Timberline ‘Captain’s Chairs’. These were a very popular occasional chair from the late 70’s and early 80’s not just in residential sales but they were also used in commercial hospitality applications.

    The chairs were originally upholstered in a Nylex ‘Deerhide’ vinyl which was a quality product in its days so we advised using a vinyl from the Austex ‘Studio’ as a quality replacement. The existing upholstery was completely removed, then the show-wood frames cleaned and polished. New high density foam was laminated onto the padded areas and the chairs were upholstered to the original finish with piped and space studded detail.

    Our clients re-upholstered ‘Captain’s Chairs’ looked in place around their bar with complimentary comments passed over a few drinks.

    Call us Today

  • Restoration of Club Lounge

    ByFrank Parker
    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.

    These lounge suites all featured the wide arms, usually with timber trays and bases but some also had decorative timber trim on the arm facings. The upholstery finishes were also available in a wide variation of finishes. This included cord trim, contrast piping and raised panel patterns on the inside backs.

    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.

    The bases and backs were re-webbed with jute webbing then the coil springs laced in, tied down and covered with heavy weight hessian. We then used synthetic ‘thumb roll’ to build up the edges and laminated layers of premium foam over the bases, arms and inside backs until the desired shapes were achieved. Flutes were sewn into the inside back covers and the suite was trimmed with contrast piping. The seat cushion inserts were fabricated by laminating various densities of premium foam then encasing them with bonded polyester fibre. The outside arms and outside backs were all lined padded providing a superior finish.

    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?

    Call us Today

  • Modern Antique Chairs

    ByFrank 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.

    Call us Today

  • Mechanical rocker/glider chair – reupholster

    ByFrank Parker

    Mechanical rocker/glider chairs or platform rocker chairs are a type of rocking chair which moves as a swing seat, where the entire frame of the seat is attached to the base by means of a double rocker four bar linkage. The non-parallel suspension arms of the linkage cause the chair to simulate the motion of a rocking chair. The mechanical rocker/glider chairs were first manufactured in the United States and Canada during the 1930’s.

    Our client in her late 80’s approached us to rejuvenate her rocker glider chair and we just loved her story. As a young child in the pre-war years she travelled from her home in Rugby England with her father by train to Edinburgh Scotland to visit her grandmother. Apparently her grandmother had very strict house rules however when she had the chance she would love to rock in her grandmother’s chair. A few years later after the passing of her grandmother her aunty asked if she would like any of her grandmother’s possessions with the obvious response, “the rocking chair”. Then some eighty years later we were given the task of reupholstering her special chair.

    Our client had selected an olive cut pile cotton velvet for the upholstery which suited the chair and reflected the era. All the upholstery was removed from the chair then the timber frame was cleaned and polished. Jute webbing was fitted over the seat and then a hessian overlay and premium padding with a polyester overlay. After the outside back was fitted the same process as the seat occurred then the arms pads were built up with premium padding and polyester overlays. The inside back, seat and arm pads were then upholstered and unlike the original chair which was trimmed with gimp we used self-covered banding which was then space studded.

    When the chair was delivered our client had tears of joy saying this was something she had wanted to do all her life.

    Call us Today

  • Re-furbish Library chairs

    ByFrank Parker
    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.

    Call us Today To Have Your Precious Furniture Restored