Refurbishing 1950s Western Australia State Ships Chairs

Some History About the State Ship Chairs

These mid-century armchairs were originally either purchased or commissioned by the State Shipping Service of Western Australia. State Ships was owned and operated by the WA government having commenced operations in 1912 for servicing North-West ports and then operated a national service before being shut down in 1995. The chairs are interesting and appear to have been made in the 50’s, the era linking art-deco and mid-century. It’s also difficult to confirm the origin of these chairs, either imported from Europe or locally made using imported timber.

A WA Family and Their Interesting Chairs

Our client contacted us saying her parents arrived in WA after the war, previously living in Dutch Indonesia then returning to the Netherlands due to the Japanese invasion. After the war they migrated to Western Australia and her father worked for State Ships. These chairs were purchased by her father from State Ships in the late 60’s and then recovered in a floral linen.

How We Brought Back These State Ship Chairs to Life

Our Furniture Reupholstery Step by Step Process

We worked through our standard (and thorough) reupholstery process to ensure a high-quality finish on this pair of chairs. The upholstery fabric selected was Warwick ‘Eden Chintz’ also a floral linen but a bright contrast from the original fabric chosen by her parents almost sixty years ago.

The seat cushion inserts were fabricated in a similar fashion using a denser premium foam also encased in bonded polyester fibre.
We stripped the chairs to the bare frames; they were well constructed from Oak requiring no structural repairs.
the timber was sanded back, stained Walnut and lacquered to replicate the original finish. (The show-wood rails and legs on the mid-century chairs had been knocked around)
the upholstery seat foundation was also brought back to original with the inside back and inside arms fitted with jute webbing then hessian overlays as the chairs featured coil seat springing, so.
we brought the chairs into the modern times using high density polyurethane foam as the original body padding was formed using flock .
The back cushioning was deep buttoned with the cushion inserts fabricated from premium foam with bored buttonholes and a polyester wrap.
The seat cushion inserts were fabricated in a similar fashion using a denser premium foam also encased in bonded polyester fibre.

Why We Do What We Do…

Our client was referred onto us by her friend who said we could be trusted for quality work. However, this job as with many of the tasks we undertake are about more than just respecting a client’s expectations, its about honouring history and maintaining often bygone industry standards.

Happy with your workmanship

Hi Frank, I am very happy with the refreshed look of the chairs and I am happy with your workmanship.

Margie – Como

W.A.

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Reproduction Chairs Antique

ByFrank Parker

An Overview of Reproduction Antique Furniture

Reproduction upholstered antique furniture was a more substantial sector of the market during the 1960’s and 70’s. The majority of reproduction antique furniture made during this period tended to be of higher quality than furniture presently manufactured. The reasons for this are that generally antique furniture has declined in popularity over the prior decades and reproduction furniture produced now is sold on price not quality, so the value has vanished.

Our Client’s Story

The History of the Chairs

Our client approached us with two antique reproduction chairs that had originally been purchased by her mother in Johannesburg in the early 1970’s. They were re-production antique chairs made in South Africa which had a thriving furniture industry during these years.

The Chairs Condition

The vintage antique chairs had only attracted light use over the years so had never been re-upholstered but were now in drastic requirement of re-upholstery. They were originally covered in a regency stripe brocade which tends to be distorted with the deep buttoning.

Here is How to Reupholster an Antique Chair (the Parker Interiors way)

The chairs were stripped down to the frames
Then jute webbing was fitted
Coil springs were laced in and tied down
Hessian overlays were fitted
Synthetic ‘thumb roll’ was also replaced with premium foam laminated to the seats and backs
The button locations were pre-marked and cored and
Bonded polyester fibre was then laminated over the foam with the chairs gaining shape

Our Recovering Antique Chairs Process

The refurbished antique chairs were reupholstered in a floral brocade This looked superior to the original fabric as the abstract floral pattern was a preferable choice for buttoning. The outside back and arm panels were lined and padded then quality gimp was used for finishing trim.

Two Reupholstered Antique Chairs – Perfect for Retirement

Our clients had just re-located to a new down-sized home and these chairs have taken pride of place. We know they will enjoy their retirement in their superbly reupholstered antique chairs.

Excellent Job

Frank, thank you for an excellent job on the chairs.

Liza

Dawesville W.A

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Turn of The Century Decorative Chaise Lounge

ByFrank Parker

A Background to the Art Deco Period of Britain

This decorative chaise was made in England during the first decade of the 20^th Century. It is generally thought that the Art Deco period was from 1920 – 1940. However preceding this period from about 1880 there were the Aesthetic and Arts and Crafts Movements in Britain. The ethos of the design was to borrow concepts from the past and modernise them. As a result this time frame in furniture design is generally referred to as the start of the Modernist Design era.

The History of the Chaise Lounge

This decorative chaise lounge was constructed from mahogany with decorative brass inlays. However it had been poorly restored. Under instruction from our clients we stripped the upholstery back to the frame and properly repaired the fractured shaped timber rail using two-pack resin.

The Reupholstery Process

The process we undertook for the reupholstery was:

to strip the existing polish which had previously been stained Jarrah with a gloss finish

relacquer the show-wood with a natural finish in a low sheen and

reupholstered the chaise fitting it with new jute webbing, lacing coil springs then a hessian overlay

Our clients had a restricted budget so we then laminated firm premium cushioning over the tied hessian which gave an authentic finish and we are sure would be approved by the Modernists during its original construction. The fabric and gimp we selected were in keeping with the era. It gave a Modernist touch to the furniture keeping it reasonably authentic.

Our Clients Loved It!

Our clients loved the finished piece in their turn of the century home and we trust they will enjoy living with this furniture for many years into the future.

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Antique Chairs/Sofas