Re-furbish Library chairs

By Frank Parker

Upholstered library chairs
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.  

Library Chair Details

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.

How We Beautifully Restored These William IV Chairs

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.

Similar Posts

  • Ercol Furniture – upholster

    Ercol Furniture was established in 1920 by Lucian Ercolani in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire manufacturing timber framed lounge furniture and occasional furniture. In 1944 Ercol was awarded a contract by the Government Board of Trade to produce 100 000 low cost spindled/bentwood framed chairs. This involved a process the company developed of steam pressing English Elm so the chairs could be assembled from pre-formed components.

    In 2002 Ercol moved into a purpose built factory at Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire. The company has gone on to produce many award winning ranges of furniture. Like many western countries, the UK has in more recent years also had a reversion back to purchasing from local manufacturers.

    A client from the Peel region approached us requiring a quote to have her Ercol lounge suite re-furbished. The furniture was originally purchased by her parents in the UK prior to her birth in Australia. There had been some rather amateur attempts to both polish and re-upholster this suite which has the effect of adding to the work involved.

    We removed all the upholstery and stripped back the lacquer to bare timber. The frame was then stained a mid-tone walnut and coated with three coats of 30% gloss lacquer. Quality seat webbing was then fitted and then we fabricated premium foam cushioning laminating it with bonded polyester fibre. We disregarded the old cushion covers and made new patterns bringing everything back to original with a blue tone fabric featuring a wide abstract diamond pattern being selected by our client.

    When delivering the furniture the look on our client’s face said it all, she simply said “Amazing!” This just reinforces our factory philosophy ‘work hard and enjoy the journey’.

    Call us Today
  • Tub Chair Reupholstery

    tub chairs perth

    These tub chairs were purchased three years ago from a leading WA furniture retailer. The clients paid a high price for these chairs which were sold to them as superior quality Italian made pieces of furniture. The manufacturing labels fixed under the chairs reveal they were made in China.

    The covering which is a very poor quality laminated fabric has delaminated in areas of wear. The frames can only be described as having been ‘slapped together’ by unskilled labour. The poor quality elastic seat webbing was breaking down and the low density foam collapsing.

    As part of the tub chair reupholstery process, a new seat frame was constructed from a single piece of structural grade plywood, laced with heavy duty elastic seat webbing then laminated with high density premium grade cushioning. The furniture recovering of these chairs was finished with a quality Australian made fabric.

    The end result was that the client spent about 70% of the initial purchase price to have their tub chair upholstery problems rectified. This makes a mockery of the old saying “the high purchase price is long forgotten but the bitterness of poor quality remains” as these clients were stung with a high purchase price and left with the bitter taste of poor quality. I guess the moral of the story is “buyer beware” so do your research prior to purchase and maybe look a bit closer to home!

    Call us Today
  • Re-upholster antique chair in linen

    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.   

    A client came to see us from the South West farming town of Boyup Brook as they had inherited chair from the United Kingdom made in the 1880’s. This chair had sadly resided in their shed for many years and was in a dilapidated state having been previously in leather. They wanted this chair to be re-furbished for their bedroom so a Heritage Linen with a matching soft pink cotton velvet for piping.

    The existing upholstery was completely stripped to the frame then structural repairs carried out and the legs re-polished. We then fitted jute webbing, laced and tied down coil springs with hessian overlays. The shapes were then developed utilising modern polyurethane furniture edging instead of fibre fill stitched edges and premium high density foam instead of the traditional flock and fibre. We feel that using this combination of traditional and modern methods of building the upholstery foundation gives an authentic finish with superior comfort.

    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!

    Call us Today
  • Modern Antique Chairs

    It is becoming more common to re-upholster antique furniture using bright modern fabrics. At first this may seem sacrilege to connoisseurs of fine furniture but if quality antique furniture is being saved no one can complain.    

    A client approached us saying she had found a pair of identical ‘Grandfather’ antique chairs beside the railway line in York W.A. At first we just assumed these were nothing but discarded antique reproduction chairs however upon inspection our client was correct, they were indeed genuine antique chairs from the mid to late 19th century.

    We completely removed the existing upholstery and carried out some structural repairs then touched up the polish work. We then used traditional methods to re-upholster these chairs only compromising by using premium foam seat and inside arm/back overlays. A modern teal velvet with black velvet piping was used to cover the chairs and trimmed with black gimp.

    Well what could we say, the clients were elated and the chairs looked stunning! The chairs were saved and our clients can enjoy their rejuvenated furniture for many years.

    Call us Today
  • Leather Furniture Repair

    leather furniture repair perth

    This leather is an exceptionally high quality semi-aniline leather used to upholster a beautiful contemporary settee. The client thought that the scarring was excessive and considered them as leather imperfections. With this type of rustic look natural leather defects are acceptable and indeed considered a feature. However scarring where the surface is broken can be seen as a type of leather damage and should be confined to inconspicuous areas of the upholstery.

    This was a case in which the client complained with possible good reason. The manufacture should have been more prudent with the leather cutting process and the furniture retailer should have better explained the natural features of rustic semi-aniline leather to the client. Fortunately this settee was made in Australia and both the manufacturer and retailer acted quickly  to rectify the problem resulting in a happy ending!

    Call us Today to Have Your Timeless Furniture Restored
  • Jardan Reupholster

    Jardan owned by brothers Nick & Michael Garnham commenced operations in 1987 from humble beginnings having eight staff by 1997 with over one hundred and seventy employed today.  All furniture is custom-made in a modern equipped factory located in Melbourne with retail outlets now in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.

    A client approached us saying they had purchased a Jardan 3 seater settee when their children were just toddlers now their children are young adults and the settee has served them well but was in desperate need re-upholstery. Our clients were true patriots as they also selected an Australian made fabric for the re-upholstery.

    We removed all existing upholstery from the timber frame and the only casualty from almost two decades of heavy use was one broken spring which shows the value of purchasing high quality Australian made furniture. We laminated new high density foam to the frame body and fabricated polyester filled channelled and quilted back cushion inserts and polyester encased premium foam seat cushion inserts. The settee was then re-upholstered with the outside arms and back lined and padded with piped detail.

    Our clients were glad they had made the correct decision in having their settee re-upholstered in a quality Australian made fabric, it should be good for another two decades and the grandchildren.

    Call us Today