Our Refurbishing of T.H Brown chairs

By Frank Parker

TH Brown Chairs Reupholstered Perth
TH Brown Chairs Reupholstered Perth

The History of Thomas Howard Brown

Thomas Howard Brown formed T.H Brown during 1911 in Adelaide. The brand became a household name in furniture during the first half of the 20th century being one of Australia’s largest furniture manufacturers by the 1920’s and producing its two millionth chair by the 1940’s.

Thomas’s son Peter joined the business after his return from WWII and went on to develop some of T.H. Brown’s most iconic pieces of furniture. Peter and his brother Napier ran the business until 1987 when T.H. Brown was sold to Work Space Commercial Furniture.

Thomas’s grandson Simon joined the business in 2015 and formed a joint operation to re-launch some of T.H. Brown’s mid-century signature pieces.

Our Client’s TH Brown Chairs

Our client has a classic mid-century home and wished to furnish it appropriately. She had acquired a substantial range of pre-loved furniture from this era over several years and we were fortunate in been given the task of restoring these pieces.

One of our tasks was to restore a set of six T.H. Brown dining chairs.

  • We carefully stripped these chairs down
  • Due to the quality of construction few repairs were required
  • The chairs were then carefully sanded back
  • Three coats of clear lacquer were applied being sanded back between coats
  • The frames were then gently rubbed back with super fine steel wool to enhance the matt finish required
  • We then laminated the seat ply panel with high density premium padding and
  • Upholstered the seat with a classic mid-century textured velvet.

This beautiful mid-century furniture was completely rejuvenated to its bygone glory days and our client is now living out her dream.

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