Reproduction Chairs Antique

By Frank Parker

upholstered antique chairs
repairing antique chairs
upholstered antique chairs

An Overview of Reproduction Antique Furniture

Reproduction upholstered antique furniture was a more substantial sector of the market during the 1960’s and 70’s. The majority of reproduction antique furniture made during this period tended to be of higher quality than furniture presently manufactured. The reasons for this are that generally antique furniture has declined in popularity over the prior decades and reproduction furniture produced now is sold on price not quality, so the value has vanished.

Our Client’s Story

The History of the Chairs

Our client approached us with two antique reproduction chairs that had originally been purchased by her mother in Johannesburg in the early 1970’s. They were re-production antique chairs made in South Africa which had a thriving furniture industry during these years.

The Chairs Condition

The vintage antique chairs had only attracted light use over the years so had never been re-upholstered but were now in drastic requirement of re-upholstery. They were originally covered in a regency stripe brocade which tends to be distorted with the deep buttoning.

Here is How to Reupholster an Antique Chair (the Parker Interiors way)

  1. The chairs were stripped down to the frames
  2. Then jute webbing was fitted
  3. Coil springs were laced in and tied down
  4. Hessian overlays were fitted
  5. Synthetic ‘thumb roll’ was also replaced with premium foam laminated to the seats and backs
  6. The button locations were pre-marked and cored and
  7. Bonded polyester fibre was then laminated over the foam with the chairs gaining shape

Our Recovering Antique Chairs Process

The refurbished antique chairs were reupholstered in a floral brocade This looked superior to the original fabric as the abstract floral pattern was a preferable choice for buttoning. The outside back and arm panels were lined and padded then quality gimp was used for finishing trim.

Two Reupholstered Antique Chairs – Perfect for Retirement

Our clients had just re-located to a new down-sized home and these chairs have taken pride of place. We know they will enjoy their retirement in their superbly reupholstered antique chairs.

  • Excellent Job

    Frank, thank you for an excellent job on the chairs.
    Liza   
    Dawesville W.A

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    Over the last few years, we have had several clients specify that they wanted stunning Catherine Martin Designs by Mokum Fabrics for their furniture. These include such fabric designs as ‘Leopardo’, ‘Panthera’ and ‘Beverly Hills’.

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    A client approached us with a carved antique chair that required considerable frame work with re-polishing and complete period re-upholstery. Our client specified that they wanted Mokum Fabrics ‘Panthera Olive’ with a space studded finish.

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    We had previously done work for this client restoring their farm furniture for their Perth, city apartment. They presented us with four antique ‘Bridge Chairs’, covered in decades of dust in severe need of restoration.

    In addition we had previously restored a 1930’s ‘Club Lounge’ for them in a plain green velvet so they required a fabric tone that would work with this. The fabric they selected was Mokum Fabrics ‘Beverly Hills Olive’ with a plain black velvet for trim.

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    • The Jarrah frames were stripped back and re-polished revealing the beauty of the timber
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    • The chairs beautifully complemented the existing restored farm furniture

    The refurbished chair spoke for itself, and our clients were absolutely elated.

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    Reupholstering a Queen Size Bed

    This second client contacted us as they had several upholstery tasks to be undertaken including re-upholstering their queen size bed.

    They wanted a classy, patterned fabric. As we have lots of experience with recovering a bed we were able to advise them about their fabric selection. 

    We suggested that as bed frame was sectional a small overall design maybe most appropriate. The fabric our client selected was Mokum Fabrics ‘Leopardo Palm Leaf’ which was a perfect selection for this purpose.

    We were able to exceed our client’s had high expectations.

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    This furniture had previously been re-upholstered four times with the integrity of the finish increasingly compromised over the years. We were given the task of stripping the furniture completely back and restoring to its bygone glory days.

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    The chaise and chairs were completely stripped to the bare frames. The frames were soundly constructed requiring no structural repairs.

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    The deep buttoning formation was marked out with cylindrical holes then bonded polyester fibre overlays were applied recreating the original contours.

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    Our client had selected Warwick Fabrics ‘Lovely Atlantic’ being a flocked velvet with a semi-crushed pile. We initially upholstered the seats then slowly and methodically worked through the deep buttoning process. The outside arm and back panels were lined and padded with twin-piping trim fitted resulting in a fine tailored and slightly modernised appearance.

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    Our client contacted us saying her parents arrived in WA after the war, previously living in Dutch Indonesia then returning to the Netherlands due to the Japanese invasion. After the war they migrated to Western Australia and her father worked for State Ships. These chairs were purchased by her father from State Ships in the late 60’s and then recovered in a floral linen.

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      Hi Frank, I am very happy with the refreshed look of the chairs and I am happy with your workmanship.
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    Bedroom chairs, also known as a bedroom slipper chair, date back to 18th Century Europe. The armless upholstered chair with short legs was designed for women’s dressing rooms out of necessity. Since Victorian women often wore restrictive layers of clothing, tight corsets with wide petticoats they tended to require assistance when slipping on their shoes. More modern versions of the slipper chairs evolved over time remaining in fashion until the 1950’s. 

    Our client approached us saying she had rescued an old chair from her grandmother’s house which had originally belonged to her great grandparents. Upon inspection of the chair it was a bedroom chair or more appropriately a ‘ vintage slipper chair’ and judging from the art-deco design most probably made in the 1930’s.

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    • We are delighted with the outcome

      Cleaning out my Nan’s house recently after she passed away we found an old chair that was in pretty poor condition. Believing that it had potentially belonged to our Nan’s parents we decided to get it refurbished and keep it in the family.
       
      We rang Frank at Parker Interiors to get his opinion. Dealing with Frank was a pleasure, he was very knowledgeable and very helpful when it came to choosing what materials to use. Frank explained what options would be best to keep the authenticity of the chair.
       
      We are delighted with the outcome and love the look of the new chair. Frank was even able to tell us that it was originally made in Perth sometime in the 1930’s.
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