Stories

  • Upcycled Chaise Lounge – From Curb-side to Family Heirloom

    ByFrank Parker
    Upcycled Chaise Lounge Perth WA

    What is Up-cycling?

    Up-cycling furniture is generally regarded as improving or transforming an existing piece of furniture into something better or more useful instead of disposing of it. However, ultimate furniture upcycling is the creative process of taking discarded pieces and giving them a new lease of life. The end result is a piece of furniture that is both functional and a beautiful heirloom. 

    How We Received This Up-cycling Opportunity

    The History of the Chaise Lounge

    This chaise lounge was a relatively common design dating back to the 1940’s to 1950’s.

    The Steps We Took to Upcycle This Chaise Lounge

    When upcycling furniture, it begins with undoing all the previous upholstery work that has been done.  This is what we did:

    • Firstly we removed several layers of upholstery that revealed a basically intact frame that was requiring some attention.
    • The frame joints and timber rails were re-glued and screwed into place
    • Corner blocks were fitted
    • Lastly the show-wood frame were fine sanded and oiled

    Now that we had taken the chaise lounge back to the framework, the next stage was the reupholstering.  This is how we completed this part of the process:

    • The upholstery foundation was traditionally restored with jute webbing
    • Coil springs laced into place that were then tied down and with hessian overlays
    • The contemporary upholstery methods were used with a synthetic thumb-roll fitted to the frame perimeters and
    • Premium foam cushioning fabricated and laminated with bonded polyester fibre overlays

    This provided the best of both worlds, a traditional foundation with the comfort and finish of modern materials.

    The Finishing Touch

    The upholstery fabric selected by our clients was Warwick Fabrics ‘Healesville Autumn’, a contemporary Australiana floral design with autumn tones picking up the oiled timber frame. The upholstery was trimmed with space studded self-covered banding which added a stunning finish to the work.

    Warwick Fabric Chaise Lounge Reupholstered Perth WA

    We were so happy for our clients, this restored chaise lounge was discarded by someone on the verge-side, ready for collection and has now been transformed into a family heirloom.

    Contact Us to Have Your Furniture Upcycled

    • Can’t recommend him highly enough


      Frank turned a free verge-side pick up into an incredible and unique piece of furniture which will last us 50 years and become a family heirloom. He’s also a genuine, lovely guy to deal with. Fantastic communication and incredibly quick turnaround time. Can’t recommend him highly enough. Absolutely beautiful work.

       
      Angela
      Beeliar W.A.   
       

  • Restoring a Tessa Lounge Suite

    ByFrank Parker
    Refurbished Tessa Lounge Suite Perth

    The History of Tessa Furniture

    Tessa Furniture was originally known as Twen commencing manufacturing in 1968 then adopted the name Tessa in 1970. Tessa was formed by Fred Lowen, his brother Howard Lindsey and design technician Sigi Danielzik. Prior to this Fred Lowen had undertaken furniture with Earnest 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 business with international links.  

    Our Client Had a Tessa Lounge That Needed Lots of Love

    A Complete Restoration Was Needed

    We were contacted by a client saying they had rescued a Tessa lounge suite requiring restoration. Upon initial inspection it was obvious the lounge suite had been re-upholstered involving poor workmanship and damage. Our clients decided to progress with the job which was going to be a complete restoration.

    How We Returned the Tessa Lounge Back to It’s Former Glory

    Tessa Chair Before Restoration Perth
    Old Tessa Lounge Before Perth WA

    We dismantled the lounge suite discarding all the upholstery cushioning and padding. Due to previous poor workmanship, we first replaced the ply outside back panels.

    • The frame rails were then re-glued and screwed with new end cap panels fabricated from 18mm ply to replace the fractured existing panels.
    • All the show-wood components were dismantled with the arm frames being re-glued.
    • These components were then sanded back and the indentations filled with two-pack resin.
    • These were then fine sanded with the Tasmanian Blackwood being stained Cedar as instructed and then three coats of 30% gloss lacquer applied.
    Repair of Tessa Furniture Chair Before Perth WA
    Tessa Chair Arm After Repair Perth WA

    How We Finished Reupholstering the Tessa Lounge Suite

    The chair seats were fitted with a superior grade elastic webbing and the frames laminated with high-density foam padding. Polyester filled channelled and quilted back cushion inserts were fabricated along with polyester wrapped laminated premium foam seat cushion inserts.

    The furniture was upholstered in Tasman Tanning ‘Matisse Black’ leather. The upholstery finish was back to the original Tessa T1 finish including large panel cuts and the top-stitching detail.

    Quality Reupholstered Tessa Lounge Chair Perth WA

    Our clients were overwhelmed with the finished lounge suite our team restored, the frame had been stained to match the Cedar architraves and stairs and with the black leather upholstery it looked stunning in the lounge room. We would like to thank our clients for having the foresight in rescuing this classic Australian lounge suite.

    Contact Us to Have Your Much Loved Lounge Suite Restored

    • Frank and his team were extremely thorough, and the restoration is a masterpiece


      So pleased to have made the decision to trust Parker Interiors with the restoration of our ugly duckling Tessa suite I rescued from it’s inevitable fate. Frank and his team were extremely thorough, and the restoration is a masterpiece. The photos speak for themselves, I am so pleased with the outcome. Thank you, Frank.

       
      Monica
      Gnangara WA   
       

  • Reupholstered Catherine Martin Designs by Mokum Fabrics

    ByFrank Parker
    Antique Chair Recover in Panthera Fabric Perth

    The Popularity of Catherine Martin Designs

    Over the last few years, we have had several clients specify that they wanted stunning Catherine Martin Designs by Mokum Fabrics for their furniture. These include such fabric designs as ‘Leopardo’, ‘Panthera’ and ‘Beverly Hills’.

    Apparently, these fabric designs were inspired by Elvis’s iconic stage costumes and jewellery.

    Our First Client’s Story

    A Carved Antique Chair

    A client approached us with a carved antique chair that required considerable frame work with re-polishing and complete period re-upholstery. Our client specified that they wanted Mokum Fabrics ‘Panthera Olive’ with a space studded finish.

    Clients That Come Back to Us Again and Again

    We had previously done work for this client restoring their farm furniture for their Perth, city apartment. They presented us with four antique ‘Bridge Chairs’, covered in decades of dust in severe need of restoration.

    In addition we had previously restored a 1930’s ‘Club Lounge’ for them in a plain green velvet so they required a fabric tone that would work with this. The fabric they selected was Mokum Fabrics ‘Beverly Hills Olive’ with a plain black velvet for trim.

    How We Restored The Antique Chair

    Antique Bridge Chair Before Reupholster Perth
    Antique Bridge Chair Beverley Hills Mokum Fabric Perth
    • The Jarrah frames were stripped back and re-polished revealing the beauty of the timber
    • Traditional re-upholstery was used with modern twin-piping trim
    • The chairs beautifully complemented the existing restored farm furniture

    The refurbished chair spoke for itself, and our clients were absolutely elated.

    Antique Chair Before Reupholster Perth
    Antique Chair Reupholster After Perth
    Antique Chair Recover in Panthera Fabric Perth

    Our Second Client’s Story

    Reupholstering a Queen Size Bed

    This second client contacted us as they had several upholstery tasks to be undertaken including re-upholstering their queen size bed.

    They wanted a classy, patterned fabric. As we have lots of experience with recovering a bed we were able to advise them about their fabric selection. 

    We suggested that as bed frame was sectional a small overall design maybe most appropriate. The fabric our client selected was Mokum Fabrics ‘Leopardo Palm Leaf’ which was a perfect selection for this purpose.

    We were able to exceed our client’s had high expectations.

    Upholstered Queen Bed Before Perth
    Repholstered Bed After in Mokum Fabric Leopardo Palm Leaf Perth

    Our professional team of upholsterers would love to help you with choosing the best upholstery fabric for your chairs or upholstered bed.

    Contact Us to Get Help Choosing Fabric To Reupholster Your Furniture or Bed