Upholstery Up-cycling

By Frank Parker

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We were also approached by a senior citizens home with quality furniture however it had become outdated over time and was also looking slightly tired.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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    “TV chairs” and “Daynite sofas” became popular from the late 1950’s and remained in production through to the early 1970’s. This coincided with the introduction of television and the modern appliance age. Today we generally refer to TV chairs and Daynite sofas as mid-century furniture which has regained popularity amongst novices and enthusiasts of this era. This furniture setting was made in W.A. by Condor Furniture in Osborne Park owned by the Trethowan family.

    This set of TV chairs and Daynite sofa were presented to us by our client who wanted them completely refurbished to original condition. The existing upholstery was striped to the frames then the frames sanded back to raw timber. The timber frames were constructed from Nyatoh, a Malaysian timber which is ideal for this type of furniture. The frames were then stained brown teak and three coats of clear lacquer applied.

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    The result was a refurbished classic mid-century lounge setting that took our clients back to the time of their initial purchase. We have no doubt that just as nostalgic memories will be relived good times are still to come for our clients to enjoy their furniture.

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  • Problems with re-upholstering your old lounge suite

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    This modular unit was manufactured by a local Perth, business ‘Farmer Furniture’ in the early 1980’s. It was re-upholstered 12 years ago however the clients had never been happy with the quality of the reupholstery job as it simply “did not feel like the old suite when new”.

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    The final result was a well finished and functional modular lounge this family will enjoy for many years into the future.

    Call us so we can help you reupholster your lounge suite

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    The Boan brothers opened their first department store at Wellington Street Perth in 1895 then moved into selling furniture in 1912. After the First World War demand for furniture was strong so Boans commenced manufacturing furniture from a factory located corner Saunders and Glide Streets Perth. The range of furniture made was extensive from cabinetry to upholstered furniture, mattresses and cane furniture.

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    Argyle Furniture Designs was founded by Frank Parker in 1982 and was a trading name of F.R Parker Furniture which commenced operations in Perth during the mid-1970s. Prior to this F.R. Parker & Co. commenced in 1964 operating as manufacturers’ agents in WA representing both WA and Eastern States furniture manufacturers.

    Argyle Furniture Designs manufactured a range of mainly Australian colonial styled furniture. The signature of their designs were solid well-constructed Jarrah frames featuring the Pullmaflex springing system.  Argyle Furniture Designs was sold to Karl Bloomfield of Living Choice Upholstery in 2006.

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    The lounge suite was upholstered in an Australian made plain chenille and upholstered to original condition. Our clients were elated with the finished result and we trust they have many years of enjoyment  using their re-upholstered lounge suite.

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    This classic mid century three seater couch was manufactured in 1948 by Hicks Furniture in Kalgoorlie Western Australia. Some classic furniture was made in major WA regional centres from the late-19th century through to the mid-20th century. This was due to the problems associated with long distance transport of bulky fragile items and the fact that many skilled trades people from all walks of life migrated to these areas during the preceding gold rushes. However the other important factor is that the demand existed during this time frame for quality upholstered furniture.

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    We stripped the existing upholstery back to the frame then carefully knocked the joints apart, glued then clamped and screwed the frame where necessary. Our client wanted to retain the history of this mid century sofa so we simply cleaned up the show-wood timber. We also touched up the chips with an oak stain and then used a quality furniture polish to bring back the shine. The frame was then webbed and re-sprung mainly using traditional upholstery methods with an art-deco upholstery fabric. The result is that a classic Australian made couch has been given a new lease of life for future generations to enjoy.

    Call us Today to Have Your Mid Century Furniture Beautifully Restored

  • Re-upholster antique chair in linen

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    The use of different upholstery materials can totally transform the appearance of a chair. You may have inherited a chair or just have seen an antique chair where you admire the design but have to use your imagination regarding a suitable fabric for re-upholstery which would suit your décor.  In this situation take your time to investigate the possibilities and possibly consult with an upholsterer experienced in this area of work.   

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    The chair was then upholstered a high quality screen printed vat dyed linen with a matching pink cotton velvet piping. This gave a softer appearance to the chair which was required by our client. This chair having been constructed in the 1880’s was now rejuvenated by descendants of the original owners and functional in 2019!

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