Reupholster Parker Furniture

By Frank Parker

Parker Furniture commenced operations in 1935 as Dagger & Parker formed by Alf Dagger and Jack Parker making chairs and cabinets fashioned from packing palettes. Post war they manufactured reproduction Queen Anne and Art Deco designs then Alf Dagger resigned and the business was renamed JW Parker and then Parker Furniture.

Tony Parker joined the business in 1949 working in the polishing and finishing area while studying furniture design at East Sydney Technical College at night. Tony then left the business for the UK working in furniture sales management and design for John Lewis. Jack reluctantly made some of Tony’s modernist UK inspired designs but showed little commitment in promoting these designs. Tony then displayed these new designs at the Sydney Furniture Exhibition with a year’s production being sold in four days! Grace Bros. then stocked and displayed these new designs with sales expanding so did the staff and the factories. After several shifts Parker Furniture premises was situated on eight hectares at Seven Hills and the business employed over 380 staff by 1973.  

The brothers sold the family business in 1990’s but without their enthusiasm and due to a changing market the company had closed by 1997. Covermore Designs rose from the ashes formed by former Parker employees and is still going strong today manufacturing some classic company designs and re-furbishing past production pieces.

A client approached wanting her Parker lounge suite to be re-upholstered. They had previously lived in Sydney and had purchased this suite in the early 1980’s. The lounge suite remained in exceptional condition, partially due to care but also testament to the quality design and construction.

Our client selected a linen similar to her original choice for the re-upholstery. We removed the existing upholstery with the timber frame and springing system still in superb condition. New premium padding was laminated onto the arms and frame body. New polyester encased premium seat cushions were fabricated also polyester filled channelled and quilted back cushion inners were made. The lounge suite was then re-upholstered being carefully pattern matched at all stages.

Our client was overwhelmed with her re-upholstered Parker lounge suite as it was delivered into her home it took her back to a bygone time.

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  • Re-upholster Torrance & McKenna furniture

    ByFrank Parker
    Torrance & McKenna upholstery perth

    The History of Torrance & McKenna

    Torrance & McKenna was founded by Andy Torrance and Allen McKenna commencing manufacturing high quality lounge furniture in 1939. Their business however was interrupted during the war years with both joining the armed forces. They recommenced operations from their factory in East Perth in 1945. Torrance & McKenna flourished for three decades during the boom years for local furniture manufacturers supplying the up-market Perth retailers with high quality custom-made lounge furniture.

    The business was sold in 1975 to Gerry and Kath Edwards with their son John later taking over operations. Gerry had an intimate knowledge of the industry being the state manager for Wilson Fabrics, the distributer of Sanderson Linen. In 1979 Torrance & McKenna started selling direct into the market which was a good strategic move to maintain a reputation for quality as discount furniture was starting to dominate the local retail scene.

    In 2002 Torrance & McKenna was purchased by Yogesh and Dina Shah. Yogesh having a degree in furniture design maintained the quality for which the business was renowned also introduced a re-upholstery service then shifted to a larger premises in Osborne Park. The business was subsequently purchased by an interior designer Deborah DeFiddes in 2018.

    Our Clients Situation

    Our clients approached us by saying they loved their Torrance & McKenna lounge furniture which they had purchased in 1989 but it has just worn out due to heavy use over a thirty year period. They wanted to flash back thirty years with an identical suite.

    Our clients were in luck as their suite was upholstered in a Sanderson Linen and this particular design was still available. We stripped back the existing upholstery to the frames, re-webbed the furniture then laminated high density padding to the body work and fabricated new polyester encased premium cushioning. The lounge suite was then re-upholstered to the original finish and our clients were absolutely delighted.

    Call us Today to Have Your Lounge Suite Reupholstered

  • Restoration of Antique Chairs

    ByFrank Parker

    Genuine fine antique chairs become scarcer as time ticks on due to fatigue with function and unnecessary destruction. Poor and inappropriate furniture repairs due to operators not possessing the necessary skills also increase the scarcity. It is important to always use a reputable and skilled restorer.

    Our client approached us with a dining chair from the 1880’s which was bequeathed to her by her maternal grandmother as one was for each granddaughter. After receiving the chair she had it repaired and re-upholstered however within a short time with only gentle use the lower back carved section again broke away. The chair remained in her lounge room as a decorative piece for several decades but constantly annoyed her until we were presented with the repair and re-upholstery task.

    The lumbar carved section had broken away for two reasons; only an average quality PVA glue had been used for the repair and where the timber had fractured there was burl grain so it was originally flawed. We chipped away the remaining burl timber then stage by stage rebuilt the carved section in question using two-pack epoxy resin. Each section was masked-up and filled with resin then sanded into shape. After this was completed the re-built section was stained to match the remaining timber work.

    The existing upholstery was then completely removed with new jute webbing being fitted, coil springs then laced in and tied down and a hessian overlay fitted. A synthetic thumb roll was then fitted to the seat edges and filled in with high density premium padding then a bonded polyester overlay. The chair was then upholstered in a black cut pile cotton velvet and finished with twin piping. This method reduces the cost for our client but also creates a usable and durable seat however not authentic of the period.

    Our client was elated with the finished result especially because the chair would once again become a functional piece of furniture.

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  • Le Cornu Furniture – reupholster

    ByFrank Parker

    Le Cornu was an iconic South Australian furniture manufacturing and retailing business. Operations commenced in 1861 when Phillip Le Cornu started a wholesale cabinet making business in Adelaide. In 1885 the factory was largely destroyed by fire and recommenced operations at a former church in North Adelaide. In 1921 the founder died and his son Phillip took over the business expanding operations and by 1924 employed 25 people.

    In 1954 the business went factory direct with a diversified range of furniture and over the next two decades expanded retail stores in S.A and Darwin. In 1989 the North Adelaide store was closed and then the business was sold to Fantastic Holdings in 2008.

    Our client approached us wanting to re-upholster a settee purchased by his parents from Le Cornu in 1959. This settee was the surviving piece of the lounge suite which he grew up with and lounged upon as a teenager. It was still upholstered in the original fabric being a ribbed velvet which would have been the latest trend at the time of purchase.

    We removed all the existing upholstery from the settee frame and it was well constructed with little structural work required. The frame was re-sprung with heavier gauge no-sag springs on the seat and the back springs were replaced with the same gauge. The springs were linked, outside arms and back were lined with hessian and high density body work padding applied. The original cushion inserts were latex and these were replaced with polyester encased premium cushions. The two seater settee was then upholstered to its original finish in a ribbed Zepel gold velvet.

    Our client was gobsmacked upon delivery of the settee saying it was just as he remembered it as a child growing up in Adelaide.

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  • Why do modern sprung cushions have problems?

    ByFrank Parker
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    What are contemporary sprung cushions?

    Contemporary sprung cushions have been marketed over the last decade as a superior concept however there are major issues regarding the effectiveness of using ‘spring pockets’ in the fabrication of seat cushion inserts.

    How are traditional spring cushions different to modern spring cushions?

    Traditional sprung cushions were constructed using mid-gauge coil springs and hand sewn into a hessian case then encased with flock and fitted into a box piped seat cushion with sewing usually finished by hand stitching. Seat cushions constructed this way tend to stand the test of time as is evident by cushions still used in antique furniture.

    However the fabrication of modern sprung cushion inserts utilise light-gauge coil springs encased in a series of thin polyester pockets which are normally referred to as ‘spring pockets’. These spring pockets are placed in the centre of the cushion inserts and sandwiched with polyurethane foam then usually encased with polyester fibre. With moderate to heavy use the spring pockets tend to distort with the springs often fracturing the casings. The result is a distorted and uncomfortable seat cushion and maybe a costly repair bill outside the warranty period.

    What about the option of premium quality foam cushions?

    The sales personnel promoting the “advantages” of sprung cushions usually infer by definition that the base is also sprung but most sprung cushions are on bases fitted with elastic webbing. The truth is that there is nothing wrong with a settee base correctly fitted with high quality elastic webbing. However a superior cushion insert can be effectively achieved by simply using premium quality polyurethane foam encased in polyester fibre and no spring pockets!

    Call Us To Help You With the Cushions on Your Furniture

  • Upholstery Up-cycling

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    Over the decades we have found considerable change in consumer sentiment towards reducing waste and up-cycling furniture. This tends to mainly occur with furniture that is built to last but the design has become out dated over time. Unfortunately lower quality furniture after several years of use ends up on verge collections, unnecessarily depleting resources and contributing to the landfill problem.  

    A client approached us with a Moran sofa-bed she had purchased many years ago as a student as she required both a sofa and some were to sleep. This was well constructed and the bed action was very good condition warranting re-upholstery.

    We completely removed the existing upholstery and laminated new high density foam padding to the frame body. Then fabricated new polyester filled channelled and quilted back cushion inserts and new polyester encased premium foam seat cushion inserts. The upholstery finish was modified deleting the skirts and replacing them with piped borders. The result was a smart contemporary sofa-bed which will function for another few decades.

    We were also approached by a senior citizens home with quality furniture however it had become outdated over time and was also looking slightly tired. We suggested the settees could be re-styled with some cosmetic changes to the upholstery.

    The settees were stripped to the frames then new heavy grade elastic webbing fitted and high density foam laminated to the body work. New channelled and quilted polyester filled back cushion inserts were fabricated and polyester encased premium foam seat cushions were also constructed. The main change in the upholstery was the deletion of skirts which was replaced in the front by a padded piped border with the outside arms and backs also then lined and padded providing a plush finish. The previous fabric was a striped satin weave and was replaced with a fresh looking abstract floral in a flat weave. The clients were elated with the result!

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  • Reupholster Arthur G Furniture

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    The History of Arthur G Furniture

    Arthur G was established in 1979 Arthur Georgopoulus having initially commenced leather sofas in the garage at the family home in Melbourne. Today Arthur G has a large manufacturing operation in Huntingdale. His son Leonard joined the family business in 2008 with the focus then changing to direct sales. Arthur G now has showrooms in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth. 

    How We Reupholstered This Piece of Arthur G Furniture

    It’s always a pleasure to re-upholster high quality Australian made furniture. The Arthur G furniture pictured was only about 10 years old however our clients were shifting into a new residence and wanted their furniture re-upholstered to coordinate with the new décor.

    The Furniture Reupholstery Process

    We completely stripped down the existing furniture revealing solid Victorian Ash timber frames and quality upholstery componentry. We encased the existing down/feather cushion inserts with bonded polyester providing a silky finish to the cushioning however there was no maintenance work involved. The settee was re-covered in a plush pink cut-pile velvet and the chaise lounge in Tasman ‘Matisse’ leather.

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    Our clients were ecstatic with their re-upholstered furniture which we trust they will enjoy for many years into the future.

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