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We were also approached by a senior citizens home with quality furniture however it had become outdated over time and was also looking slightly tired.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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  • Reupholstery of Late 19th to Mid 20th Century Classic Australian Furniture

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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.

    This midcentury couch was purchased by its current owner who is now 93 years of age when he was married at the age of 24, as a present for his wife. It is interesting to note that it was re-upholstered in the 1970’s. The original sprung edge was replaced with timber rails. The initial upholstery fabric was a tapestry and it was re-upholstered in an olive velvet. Unfortunately the furniture repair of this piece wasn’t detailed. It was limited to only replacing a sprung edge with timber and placing the new fabric over the old sandwiched with a layer of foam.

    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

  • Mid-Century Danish Chairs featuring the EK Easy Chair

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    The ‘EK Easy Chair’ typifies the Danish chairs during the boom period of the 1950’s and 1960’s. This chair was designed by Illum Wikkelso who belongs to the group of famous “mid-century” Danish furniture designers.  

    The chair was manufactured by Niels Eilersen who commenced business in 1895 originally as a wheelwright and coach builder, then motor body-builder and entering into the furniture industry in the mid 1930’s. Niels Eilersen developed the technique of steam bending wood and ply which proved invaluable after the war with the production of bent-wood and spindle styled chairs. During the 50’s and 60’s the company progressed into manufacturing world class furniture and employing famous designers such as Illum Wikkelso to produce the EK Easy Chair.

    We were contacted by a client saying she has two Danish chairs requiring re-upholstering in leather. When arriving at their residence and viewing the chairs we knew they were special having an unimproved value of over $5000 per chair. Our clients specified that they wanted new elastic seat webbing, the sprung cushion inserts replaced with foam/polyester inserts and the cushion covers to be leather.

    We replaced the elastic seat webbing with firm high quality webbing which had previously be replaced by average quality webbing. We then fabricated laminated foam seat cushion inserts with a very firm high density centre core featuring high density softer overlays then encased with bonded polyester fibre. The back cushion inserts were fabricated from the slightly softer grade used in the seat overlays then also encased with bonded polyester fibre. The leather cushion covers were fabricated from a high quality semi-aniline leather being Tasman Tanning “Matisse Black”. The original leather cushions were vandyked however we sewed shaped patches allowing for the fullness created by the buttoning.

    The result was spectacular as the chairs still retained their authentic look but we had fulfilled our client’s wishes by also having the chairs more comfortable for sitting. We also gave the clients back the original sprung cushions for re-sale value if ever required. Two classic chairs now sixty years old and good for another sixty years!

    •   We Were So Happy

      We were so happy with the two black leather chairs you re-upholstered for us.
      Monique
      Shenton Park, WA
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  • Re-furbish Library chairs

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    Upholstered library chairs

    The History of These Upholstered Library Chairs (William IV Chairs)

    A set of two leather look library chairs were presented to us by a gentleman who wanted them rejuvenated. These chairs were purchased new in the 1920’s by his grandfather in England. “Library” chairs also referred to as “William IV” chairs were initially constructed in the 1830’s thus this design of chair had already been in circulation for almost a century.  

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    These chairs were constructed from English Oak and traditionally upholstered in a tapestry fabric. They had then been re-upholstered in the 1970’s using a Nylex vinyl named “Deerhide”. Deerhide was a product of its day and although extremely popular, perhaps these chairs deserved to be covered in something slightly more elegant.

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    We stripped these well worn chairs completely back then cleaned and polished the elegant carved timber frames. We used the original upholstery methods. This included jute webbing, coil springs and stitched edges and indulged in a final thin layer of premium foam. The upholstery was also finished to the original standard with space studded self-covered banding.

    This resulted in this pair of two library chairs being brought back to their former glory and a very happy owner.

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  • Tessa Vintage Furniture

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    What is Tessa Furniture?

    Tessa Furniture is an iconic name in Australian furniture manufacturing being a prolific name during the heydays of the local furniture industry. We know re-furbished mid-century modernist furniture with a Scandinavian influence is a niche market. However the interest not only resides with those who have been fortunate to have witnessed this period of design history. Some discerning members of the younger generations are purchasing or inheriting or purchasing second hand Tessa furniture and having it restored.

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    As per the above photographs Tessa lounges are extremely well designed and soundly constructed. This Tessa lounge suite was originally purchased in 1972. When the Tasmanian Blackwood timber was sanded and re-polished and new webbing and cushioning were re-upholstered – it looks amazing!

    Tessa Furniture History

    Tessa originally was known as Twen commencing operation in 1968. It then changed its name to Tessa in 1970. Tessa was formed by Fred Lowen, his brother Howard Lindsey and design technician Sigi Danielzik. Fred however commenced furniture manufacturing with Ernest Rodeck in the mid 1950’s having formed FLER which was sold in 1967. Tessa expanded operations during the 1970’s to become a national operation with international links.

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  • Re-upholster antique chaise lounge

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    When given a restored antique chaise lounge frame to re-upholster the problem is that there may have been many different ways it was traditionally upholstered. Therefore the method of upholstery depends upon the client’s interpretation on how the furniture appeared originally combined with the restorer’s knowledge and research into period pertaining to this style of furniture.   

    This antique chaise lounge frame was given to us by a client who wanted it upholstered for her bedroom. Apparently this piece originated from the 1880’s and she did not want any deep buttoning in the upholstery. We went through much archival material on chaise lounges from this period and found examples of similar double ended pieces from this period with plain upholstery which coincided with our client’s expectations. Above all our client also wanted the re-upholstered chaise to be comfortable giving us considerable autonomy regarding upholstery methods.

    We set about our task and first cleaned and repaired the original castors. We then webbed the base with heavy weight jute webbing, laced in the coil springs, tied them down then fitted a hessian overlay. We then used synthetic furniture edging and built the seat, back and scroll ends up with varying hardness’s of high density cushioning encased with bonded polyester fibre. The result of building up the platforms this way is that the traditional look is maintained however unlike the furniture from this era comfort has not been sacrificed for style. The upholstery was trimmed with matching gimp trim creating a superb finish.

    Our client was elated with the stylish finish of her re-upholstered antique chaise lounge but was equally impressed with the comfort which would not have been such a necessity in the bygone days. We trust our client will enjoy and relax on her rejuvenated chaise lounge for many years.

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  • Sofas to Size – Reupholster

    ByFrank Parker

    Sofas to Size evolved from Impact Designs, a company founded in 1996. The business manufactured wholesale upholstered furniture and was located at Buckingham Drive Wangara. Then in 2005 the business name was changed to Sofas to Size and marketed direct to the public from a retail premises located on Canning Highway in South Perth.

    The concept of marketing sofas custom-made to size was an excellent concept as the business grew rapidly in a short time. Sofas to Size ceased operating in 2010.

    We were contacted by a client who purchased several settees made by Sofas to Size. These settees were identical in design and custom-made to specific lengths to suit our clients living area. They were originally upholstered in a synthetic suede but they were to be re-upholstered in a quality plain chenille.

    The existing upholstery was completely removed from the timber framed settees then new heavy grade elastic webbing was fitted and then new body-work padding was laminated onto the frames. New polyester encased premium seat cushion inserts were fabricated along with polyester filled channelled and quilted back cushion inserts. The settees were then carefully upholstered to the original finish.

    Our clients was absolutely delighted with the result of their refurbished settees saying they were designed for the room and they still looked perfect for the room.

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