Reupholster Chesterfield Settees

By Frank Parker

The Chesterfield sofa was developed by skilled furniture artisans in the mid 1700’s for Lord Philip Stanhope, the third Earl of Chesterfield. The Earl was known as a trendsetter and commissioned local artisans to produce an upholstered piece of furniture to which gentlemen could sit on without creasing their suits.

Chesterfields would become the most renowned sofa design in history defined by the scroll arms, low back, deep buttoning and studded trim. They were usually upholstered in dark traditionally toned leathers. However over time this design has been modernised and is often now upholstered in velvets.

A couple approached us with two 2 ½ seater Chesterfield settees purchased in the mid 1980’s being made by Moran of Melbourne. These settees were over forty years old and attracted constant use but had stood the test of time well which was a display of their quality.

We removed the existing upholstery then started the re-upholstery process by fitting new jute webbing and fitting new spring units. The foundation of the inside arms/backs were fine so we just laminated and thin foam layer with a polyester overlay and new seat cushion inserts fabricated from premium foam then encased in bonded polyester fibre. The upholstery fabric selected was again a quality plain velvet which is suitable for this design sofa while also being very durable and serviceable.

The result spoke for itself and we often find clients select fabrics similar to their original selection because of favourable performance and design suitability. This was no exception and our clients seemed overjoyed with the result.

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    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.     

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