Danish Lounge Suite Reupholstery

By Frank Parker

The Fascinating History of Hans Wegner

Hans Wegner was born in Tonder, Denmark in 1914 and often worked from early years at his father’s shoe making business. He obtained an apprenticeship as a wood carver when he was 16. After completing this he then studied cabinet making and attended the School of Arts and Crafts in Copenhagen.

Hans was self employed with a small factory employing about six staff. They manufactured fine modern furniture of the day however delivery could be several years. Which is hard to imagine in these current times.

From here he convened Salesco AS – a group of five large Danish furniture manufacturers to make his furniture designs under licence. They included:
With the number of designs and the volume of furniture produced under licence Hans Wegner became known as the “Father of Modern Danish Furniture”. Hans died in Copenhagen in 2007.

Carl Hansen – timber chairs
Getama – timber framed chairs with lose cushions
A.P Stolen – fully upholstered chairs
RY Mobler – wooden storage units and
Tuck Barde – wooden tables.

With the number of designs and the volume of furniture produced under licence Hans Wegner became known as the “Father of Modern Danish Furniture”. Hans died in Copenhagen in 2007.

Restoring a Danish Hans Wegner Model 233

We had over the years restored a considerable amount of upholstered mid-century furniture for these particular clients. The latest job we did for them was the restoration of a Hans Wegner ‘model 233’. A classic Danish lounge suite which was in very good condition.

The Lounge Frame

Given that the lounge was in such good condition the timber frame only required scuffing, a coating with a 30% gloss lacquer then a light rub down with polish and super fine steel wool. The frame had a seat springing system which remained in superb condition, so this just required new replacement quilted padding fitted with elastic tabs.

The Lounge Cushions

The seat and back cushions were interesting being internally sprung but were slightly firm and uncomfortable. So we replaced the cushion inserts with laminated premium foam encased with bonded polyester fibre. This provided firmer cushioning and was considerably more comfortable. The upholstery fabric selected was Zepel ‘Mingle-Mangle Spice’ which gave the lounge a more updated finish while keeping within the design. Finally, the cushions were slip-stitch closed eliminating the requirement for zips (maintaining the original clean lines) and then buttoned.

Exceeding Our Clients Expectations

Our clients had high expectations and the team at Parker Interiors ensured we exceeded them. This mid century piece of Danish furniture was modernised whilst maintaining its classic mid-century simplicity. We trust this furniture will stay in the family for future generations to enjoy.

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Tessa Furniture Restoration
ByFrank Parker
Tessa Furniture History

Tessa originally was known as Twen commencing operations in 1968 then the name changed to Tessa in 1970. Tessa was formed by Fred Lowen, his brother Howard Lindsey and design technician Sigi Danielzik. However Fred commenced furniture manufacturing with Earnest Rodeck in the mid 1950’s having formed Fler which was sold in 1967. Tessa expanded operations nationally during the 1970’s with international links becoming an iconic name during the heydays of local furniture manufacturing.

Restored mid-century furniture with a Scandinavian influence is a niche market although the interest not only resides with those who have witnessed this period. Some discerning members of younger generations are purchasing or have inherited this furniture and enjoy involvement in the restoration process.

Our client purchased this piece of Tessa furniture secondhand from Amber-Brown, a well-known and respected Perth mid-century furniture dealer who referred her onto Parker Interiors for professional restoration. This Tessa T9 chair design effectively represented the end of the mid-century era as it was produced in the early 1980’s however it was clearly inspired by similar Danish chairs produced in the 1950’s and 60’s.

We subsequently removed all the upholstery and initially carried out the frame restoration with the joints knocked apart and dowels re-glued. The legs and arms were constructed from laminated timber finished with a Tasmanian Blackwood timber veneer with the stuffing and seat rails being solid Tasmanian Blackwood. The veneer was carefully sanded and touched-up then polished with a 30% gloss lacquer containing a Baltic stain to match the veneer background. Three coats were applied with the frame ribbed down between coats with super fine steel wool.

The base was re-webbed with a heavy quality elastic webbing then quilt padding fitted. The cushion inserts were fabricated from firm premium foam and encased in bonded polyester fibre. The cushion covers were cut and sewn as original using a superior olive velvet with a semi-crushed look. The result was a chair which looked like it had been lifted from an early eighties high end furniture pamphlet.
Well done to Frank and the team
I had come across this Tessa T9 which required restoration. Being a rare piece of furniture, I needed an expert to complete the restoration. From the moment I met Frank I knew he would do a fantastic job, he is a rare gem that loves his job and appreciates mid-century furniture. Old school service was outstanding and the restoration far exceeded my expectations. Well done to Frank and the team, we will enjoy this chair for many years to come. As the old saying goes; we never really own these pieces, we merely look after them for the next generation.
Tiffany
Mt. Hawthorn W.A.
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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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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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Our Restoration of a Manhattan Lounge Chair
ByFrank Parker
The Origin of Guy Rodgers

The ‘Manhattan’ lounge chair was manufactured by Guy Rodgers of Liverpool. They were the largest and most well known makers of contemporary upholstered furniture, in the U.K. during the 1960’s. Their designs were all named after prominent U.S destinations. The Manhattan was the most popular Guy Rodgers style designed by Eric Phamphilon and George Fejer.

Our Clients Story

We were contacted by a client who we had previously reupholstered a lounge suite for. She explained that she had a single lounge chair remaining from her parent’s divan suite, brought over from the U.K when the family emigrated. She now wanted
to have the chair completely restored for her son and his family.

Transforming the Chair

The Reupholstering Process
1. We removed all the existing upholstery and dismantled the timber frame. – the stained and lacquered surfaces were carefully sanded back. It revealed that the chair was constructed from solid Afromosia, an African timber bearing similar characteristics to Teak.
2. After the preparations had been completed the timber frame was stained a mid-tone walnut and lacquered with a 30% gloss to the original finish.
3. Completely new cushioning was fabricated from laminated premium foams then wrapped with bonded polyester fibre to replicate the seating comfort.
4. The upholstery fabric selected by our client was a plain blue chenille, Wortley ‘Domo Capri’. This was reupholstered differently to the previous upholstery but was tailored to replicate the original finish
The End Result

Our client told us her daughter in-law was ecstatic when collecting the chair and that her son also treasured the chair. These jobs are more than a monetary undertaking, we are trusted with family heirlooms just like this chair everyday – which are more valuable.
“Looks Absolutely Brand New”

This chair was part of a three-piece suite bought by my mother at a furniture store in Watford, Hertfordshire in the 1950’s. My parents were just a normal working-class
family with not much cash left before the next pay day, but we needed a new three- piece. Mum and I in the exciting outing finished up in the hoop which I believe was Calle Grange. We both fell in love with this particular suite, which was quite pricey. We committed to paying for the suite on hire purchase, paying a deposit then paid a fixed amount on a regular basis until it was fully paid. It was a rather unusual suite, the settee could become a single bed simply by turning the back over. The back panel was hollow designed for storing the bedding. We brought this suite with us when we immigrated to Perth in 1981. Mum had
it re-covered at some stage then after several years she decided it wasn’t needed and only kept one chair. When she passed my son said he would like the chair which
now required serious attention. Having seen the excellent job Parker Interiors had done in re-covering my armchairs Christopher asked them to restore this chair. Everything was done to perfection including the timber parts being restored and polished. In fact, it looks absolutely brand new and strangely enough the original upholstery was blue. Thank you all the craftsmen that had a hand in the restoration of a much-loved family heirloom, one that holds many treasured memories.

Valerie
Morley W.A.
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Read More ... Our Restoration of a Manhattan Lounge Chair
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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Reupholstering Mid-Century Leather Furniture
ByFrank Parker
The History of Kill International Furniture

Kill International Furniture was a globally recognised German bespoke ‘mid-century’ furniture manufacturer named after the founder Alfred Kill. Kill developed a product range by collaborating with renowned Danish furniture designers such as Preben Fabricius and Jorgen Kastholm. However, the furniture refurbished was designed by Rudolf Glatzel (1911-1999) and produced at the Kill International factory in Stuttgart – Fellbach Germany as documented in the photograph above.

Reupholstery of a Kill International Lounge Suite

A gentleman contacted us after Parker Interiors was recommended to him. The person who recommended us was the mid-century furniture dealer who he had purchased this nostalgic and rare suite consisting of a Kill International 3-seater settee and 2 Kill International lounge chairs. We were invited to his mid-century styled home and inspected the furniture. Given that it had never been re upholstered and was almost 60 years old it was in good structural condition. Just one back leg had a large chip. We explained that the leg could be repaired and the upholstery completely replaced. Given that this was a prestigious mid-century piece, we suggested a similar high quality black semi-aniline leather be used to maintain the design integrity. The Futura ‘Lena Black’ upholstery leather was selected by our client.

The Transformation Process

We disassembled the lounge suite and the first task was to rebuild the chipped rear leg with a two-pack resin. This was to make sure the fault was difficult to notice when completed. The body padding was replaced with appropriate high-density foams and the seat and back cushions were fabricated by laminating premium foams of various firmness then encased with bonded polyester fibre.

The Finished Product

The reupholstery replicated the original finish with large panel cuts and twin-stitched detail. Using hides of exceptional quality allowed us to use single panels for the Kill International 3-seater body. This was in accordance with the original design and ensured design integrity. The detailed stitching is a credit to our sewing machinist as was the buttoning and upholstery finish a credit to our master upholsterer.

Seeing Our Clients Amazed

The most rewarding aspect of our job is delivering the completed upholstered furniture. Our client was amazed with the finish which excelled his expectations. We just hope that the skilled artisans will exist in sixty years to refurbish this suite for our client’s grandchildren.
“I can only say how delighted I am with the result”
Last year I purchased a mid 1960s lounge suite in black leather by a famous German designer. After almost 60 years of wear and tear the suite was in poor condition: cushions were sagging and some were split, there was little spring left in the couch and one chair leg had a large chip.

Frank Parker was recommended to me as someone who could complete the job of full restoration to a high standard. Frank visited my house to see the suite, provided options in Italian leather and arranged for pick-up and delivery of the finished project for a mutual agreed date, later in the year.

I admit to feeling some ambivalence having gone ahead: this was a lot of money and what would I be getting in return? I can only say how delighted I am with the result. The professionalism of Frank’s team shows through in the quality of the finished project which exceeded my expectations. I look forward to contacting Frank in relation to some future work and unreservedly recommend Parker Interiors.
Mark – Hamersley
W.A.
Call us Today For Mid-Century Chair or Sofa Reupholstery
Read More ... Reupholstering Mid-Century Leather Furniture