The Reupholstery of Van Treight Chairs

By Frank Parker

The Story of Van Freight Furniture

Van Treight Furniture was founded by John Van Treight in 1947. Operations commenced with only one assistant, making nursery furniture from a shed in Parramatta. The business grew rapidly moving into manufacturing quality colonial style bedroom, dining and lounge furniture. In 1959 they made the shift into their Homebush factory with about 50 staff. In the early 1960’s the company also started producing Scandinavian influenced design. Then in 1966 acquired the rights to import and manufacture under licence from Drexel Heritage. In 1972 Van Treight shifted to a new purpose-built factory at North Rocks NSW employing about 65 staff. By the mid 1980’s they were employing over 130 staff and supplying top-end furniture to the leading national department stores and specialist furniture retailers.

Flash forward twenty years and the renowned furniture manufacturers were toppling due to cheap imitation furniture flooding in from Asia. Van Treight Furniture officially closed in 2001 and Drexel Heritage filed for bankruptcy in 2014.

Our Clients Story

Our Fremantle based client contacted us saying she had two chairs which she purchased in 1978 for her husband’s home study. The chairs were in severe need of refurbishment. Upon inspection of these chairs, we instantly recognised them as Van Treight, one of the legendary local manufacturers from the golden age of Australian furniture manufacturing.

How We Transformed the Chairs

Reupholstering the Chairs

We completely removed all the existing upholstery from the chairs revealing a timber frame.
The timber show-wood bases were cleaned then touched up with stain and polish.
The original seats and back zig-zag springs were still in good condition so we just fitted additional spring edge wire links.
The upholstery fabric was selected, it was the William Morris ‘Fruit Velvet – Midnight’ which suited the chair design.
Cutting patterns were developed with the fabric being carefully pattern matched.
High density foam was fabricated and laminated to the frames.
The bodywork was then upholstered bringing the chairs slowly back to life.
The outside arm and back panels were lined and padded then carefully upholstered with piped detail.
The back cushioning was fabricated using polyester filled channelled and quilted inserts and the seat cushions were fabricated from premium foam encased with bonded polyester fibre. When filled the cushioning completed the rejuvenation.

The End Result

Behind every re-upholstery job is a story and when the chairs were delivered the warm smile on our client’s face said it all.

“Restored the chairs to their former glory”

Thank you for re-upholstering my two Van Treight chairs which I purchased in 1978 as a surprise for my husband, Professor Bob Reece’s study here in Fremantle. Along with purpose built Jarrah book shelves and a restored Jarrah desk from the Fremantle wool store building, they created a perfect space for his work. Your restoration with the exquisite William Morris fabric has restored the chairs to their former glory. Thank you.

Lesley
Fremantle W.A.

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Danish Deluxe – Restoration
ByFrank Parker
Danish Deluxe commenced operations in 1958 and was located at a series of factories in Huntingdale Victoria. The business was founded by Neville Ashkanasy, John Westacott and Borg Gjorstvang with most of the designing done in house however they also manufactured under licence. Danish Deluxe utilised moulded polystyrene frames to which they had an exclusive licence in Australia. The business grew rapidly reaching national distribution by 1968 and ceased operations in the early 1980’s.

Our client who has had a long term involvement and is well known in the local furniture manufacturing industry approached us regarding restoring a Danish Deluxe ‘Trina’ lounge suite. He had been going to restore the furniture for years however it only reached the dismantled stage. He had noticed another ‘Trina’ lounge suite displayed on our social media which we had also recently restored for another well-known Perth furniture family.

This job was to be given the works so the timber base frames were first sanded then glued using two-pack resin and clamped overnight. The frames were then given another light sand and stained a blended Oak/Walnut returning the timber to its original colour. Then three coats of lacquer were applied with a light sand between coats then a final rub down with super fine steel wool returning bringing the frame back to the original mid-century finish.

The arms were upholstered using a beautiful full-aniline leather which was top-stitched and moulded well to the polystyrene arms. The internal frames were knocked apart, glued and screwed then linked zig-zag springs fitted to the bases and quality elastic webbing fitted to the back frames. The back and seat carcases were also then upholstered in leather. Replacement seat and back cushion inserts were fabricated using premium foam and then encasing with bonded polyester fibre. The head-rest cushions featured quilted polyester filled inserts providing a more rounded and soft finish. The cushions were upholstered in a similar colour wool but the variation in covering textures displayed a classic mid-century finish.

This suite restored about five and a half decades after manufacturing now resides in a mid-century Fremantle home. We trust it will now endure another five decades.

We are thrilled with the contrast and finish
Hi Frank – Alicia and I would like to thank you and your staff for the fantastic craftsmanship that you have done to revive our 1966 Danish Deluxe 3-seater and chairs.
I was given the furniture 15 years ago and never had the heart to throw it away. This has been restored to new with the Aniline leather on the base and wool cushions from Kvadrat Maharam on the seat cushion. Both the leather and fabric I have also had for several years, and we are thrilled with the contrast and finish.

Once again, we greatly appreciate the great service and quality of work and comfortable lounge suite now to enjoy.
Shaun & Alicia
Fremantle W.A.
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Don Rex Furniture – Restoration
ByFrank Parker

Don Rex was a Brisbane based furniture manufacturer operating from the 1950’s to the 1970’s. They primarily manufactured Danish influenced designs now commonly referred to as mid-century furniture. Don Rex Furniture was renowned for utilising native hardwoods and high quality craftsmanship. Given this their refined designs are sought after by mid-century enthusiasts today.

Our business has always been focused on helping private clients with their upholstered furniture requirements and we value the constant stream of referrals. However as restored ‘mid-century’ furniture has gained popularity we have commenced working with several discerning furniture dealers. Working with these mid-century furniture dealers has introduced us to this brand of chairs, including Don Rex dining chairs and Don Rex armchairs. As they were only a medium sized manufacturer and based in Brisbane there is not a significant amount of this furniture brand circulating in W.A.

The Don Rex chairs we have restored have been soundly constructed and only occasionally requiring the frame joints to be re-glued. The frames are then sanded back then either lacquered or oiled depending upon client requirements. New cushion inserts are always fabricated from premium foam and wrapped with bonded polyester fibre. The chairs are always upholstered to the original finish which is not necessarily the way they arrive if they have been previously re-upholstered.

It is pleasing to see many younger clients purchasing this restored mid-century furniture. This displays the timeless quality of the designs but maybe more importantly young people turning away from a throw-away society.

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Read More ... Don Rex Furniture – Restoration
Re-upholstery of a Jason Recliner Chair
ByFrank Parker
Transforming the Classic Jason Recliner

Jason recliner chairs are an iconic piece of Australian furniture valued for their quality craftsmanship and durability, making them sought after to this day. This restoration aimed to preserve the chair’s structure for future generations to come.
The Origin of Jason Recliners

Jason chairs were manufactured under license from Lazy Boy in Munro Michigan. The factory operated in Welshpool WA from the mid 1960s through to about 1990. These chairs were known for featuring a very robust and unique mechanism. The business was owned and managed by the Bridge family with the chairs distributed around Australia and at its peak they were also exported.

This is Our Restoration Process

The chair was completely stripped and the mechanism cleaned and lubricated

The show-wood rocker base and the turned wing sections were sanded and re-lacquered dark walnut

The back zig zag springs were linked

New hessian was layered over the seat springs

New high density padding was laminated onto the body

New polyester encased premium cushioning was fabricated and

The chair was then re-upholstered to the same finish in an English Heritage Linen

This chair was also of sentimental value as it previously belonged to our client’s father. We wish her many years of memorable moments in this special chair.
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T H Brown Chairs– Restoration
ByFrank Parker
Thomas Howard Brown in 1911 formed Brown Brothers Wholesale Chair Manufacturers based in Adelaide. They grew rapidly supplying furniture and department stores, then in 1942 became T.H. Brown & Sons. The business continued to grow and became one of Australia’s largest furniture manufacturers. With the death of Thomas in 1964 his sons Napier and Peter continued to expand the business with interstate manufacturing. In 1987 with the retirement of Peter the business was sold to Work Space Commercial Furniture. Thomas’s grandson Simon joined the business in 2015 forming a joint operation to re-launch some of T H Brown’s signature mid-century furniture.

These classic T H Brown occasional chairs were supplied to us for restoration through a well known mid-century furniture retailer. The chairs had previously been poorly repaired so they were stripped to the bare frames. The frame joints were repaired then all surfaces sanded back, stained and three coats of low sheen lacquer applied. The chairs were fitted with quality elastic webbing and premium foam cushioning profiled then polyester fibre laminated. The small pattern textured upholstery fabric selected was carefully matched during cutting and sewing.

The overall effect with the timber stain tone and upholstery fabric selected gave a slightly modern touch to the restored mid-century chair. However the most important point is that this furniture restoration bought joy to our client.
Parker’s restored these pieces so perfectly
I am very blessed . . . Brendan suggested buying these two chairs for my office from Benskys Vintage. Naomi Baron chose some fabulous fabric and Parker’s restored these pieces so perfectly. Customer (me) extremely happy thank you.
Vivienne
Dianella W.A.
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Restoring Fler Furniture
ByFrank Parker

Background of Fler Furniture

Fler Furniture was founded by Fred Lowen and Earnest Rodeck in 1946 and ran through until 1968 producing iconic designs now referred to as ‘mid-century’ furniture. Featured in this article are the Fler D71 ‘Norsk Divan’ and the E71 chair purchased from a Perth furniture retail store in 1960.

Our Clients Furniture Request

Our client contacted us saying she had furniture purchased by her parents in 1960 from a Perth furniture retailer. This furniture was then given to her daughter by the grandparents when she set up home then her daughter had the furniture re-upholstered in the late 1980’s. When this furniture was re-upholstered the upholstery design was altered and finished to a very poor standard. Her mother recently took back this furniture and wanted it restored to original condition and finish.

How We Reupholstered The Fler Furniture

The divan and chairs were completely disassembled including the timber frame components.

The timber components were sanded back with the oversized fixing holes and dents filled with two pack resin then reassembled using a crosslinking PVA.

The frames were then stained to the original timber tone and three coats of 30% gloss lacquer was applied then finished with a rub of superfine steel wool.

New cushion inserts fabricated from premium foam with polyester overlays now conformed to the original dimensions. The fabric selected by our client was a sage velvet having a semi-crushed effect with the upholstery also detailed to the original finish.

The Restored Mid-Century Furniture

The result spoke for itself and our client was absolutely delighted with her restored mid-century furniture taking her back to childhood days.

See more of our high quality furniture restorations.

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Read More ... Restoring Fler Furniture
Refurbish G-Plan chairs
ByFrank Parker
The Interesting History Behind G-Plan

The company, which evolved into G-Plan was founded in 1898 by Ebenezer Gomme. They sold their furniture direct to the public establishing galleries around the United Kingdom. During the war years their business suffered until the lifting of trading conditions in 1952.

In 1953, their designer Donald Gomme embarked on a plan to produce modern furniture for the entire home based upon Danish styles. He also changed the name of the business to G-Plan. The various furniture designs were both coordinated and long running. This meant that people could purchase their furniture over many years to furnish their home.

In 1987 the Gnomme sold the company to the Christie Tyler Group. Then in 1996 the upholstery arm of the business was on sold to the Morris Furniture Group which continues to manufacture in the UK.

Restoring G-Plan Chairs

The Furniture Restoration Process We Undertook

Our clients trusted in us their precious set of four dining chairs for refurbishing. This is the process we followed: were completely stripped of the upholstery then the frames dismantled. The timber components were then sanded back and the frames reconstructed using a high quality resin. 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.
Each of the four chairs were completely stripped of the their upholstery fabric

Then the frames of the chairs were dismantled

Our master upholsterers then sanded back the timber components

The frames were reconstructed using a high quality resin

We applied three coats of lacquer, with sanding between coats and

The frames were then lightly rubbed back with a super-fine steel wool to produce a high quality 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 enhancing the appearance of the era.

Our client was absolutely ecstatic with the result and is slowly filling her home with beautiful mid-century furniture.

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Read More ... Refurbish G-Plan chairs