Stories

  • Reupholster to Modernise

    ByFrank Parker

    Clients approached us as they had shifted from an older traditional styled house into a new modern mid-century styled home located in the Perth hills. They had a much loved traditional Torrance & McKenna lounge suite consisting of 2 x wing back chairs and a low back 4 seater settee. They wanted to retain this lounge furniture but re-upholster it to suit their new home.

    The most important aspect of this process is to select an appropriate fabric for the re-upholstery process. Our clients had two issues to consider, the upholstery fabric selected had to suit their existing lounge furniture while looking in place in a new mid-century styled home. The upholstery fabric selected fulfilled the criteria being an abstract floral design with the blue and autumn tones looking effective on the polished concrete floor and picking up the tones of the timber cabinetry.

    This job was a complete re-build so we removed all the existing upholstery. The frame was re-webbed with heavy weight jute webbing and the coil springs laced into place then the sprung edges constructed. New high density foam padding was laminated to the frame bodies with the upholstery back to original including lined and padded outside arms and backs. The cushion inserts were fabricated using premium foam and then encased with bonded polyester fibre. The cushions were upholstered back to the original finish being boxed piped seats and centre piped back and arm cushions.

    The result spoke for its self and our clients were ecstatic when their re-upholstered furniture was delivered. This is great example of up-cycling fine furniture which was purchased new 45 years ago and is now good for another 45 years.

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  • Reupholster Chesterfield Settees

    ByFrank Parker

    The Chesterfield sofa was developed by skilled furniture artisans in the mid 1700’s for Lord Philip Stanhope, the third Earl of Chesterfield. The Earl was known as a trendsetter and commissioned local artisans to produce an upholstered piece of furniture to which gentlemen could sit on without creasing their suits.

    Chesterfields would become the most renowned sofa design in history defined by the scroll arms, low back, deep buttoning and studded trim. They were usually upholstered in dark traditionally toned leathers. However over time this design has been modernised and is often now upholstered in velvets.

    A couple approached us with two 2 ½ seater Chesterfield settees purchased in the mid 1980’s being made by Moran of Melbourne. These settees were over forty years old and attracted constant use but had stood the test of time well which was a display of their quality.

    We removed the existing upholstery then started the re-upholstery process by fitting new jute webbing and fitting new spring units. The foundation of the inside arms/backs were fine so we just laminated and thin foam layer with a polyester overlay and new seat cushion inserts fabricated from premium foam then encased in bonded polyester fibre. The upholstery fabric selected was again a quality plain velvet which is suitable for this design sofa while also being very durable and serviceable.

    The result spoke for itself and we often find clients select fabrics similar to their original selection because of favourable performance and design suitability. This was no exception and our clients seemed overjoyed with the result.

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  • Restoring Fler Chairs

    ByFrank Parker

    Fred Lowen and Earnest Rodeck met on a refugee ship escaping Nazi Europe bound for Port Melbourne. Fred Lowen started work in 1942 as a fitter and turner but woodturning was his passion. The two commenced their business in 1946 under the acronym FLER starting in an old stable.

    The business grew quickly as they engaged with Myer Emporium supplying modern designs with turned legs and Scandinavian influence. By the mid-late 1960’s Fler had manufacturing operations is several states. The massive demand for this style of furniture in Australia was created by the post-war residential boom in modern housing.

    A couple were referred onto us as they had two Fler SC55 chairs produced in the late 1950’s and two E31 chairs from the 1960’s requiring complete restoration. They originally were purchased new by her parents but unfortunately were very poorly ‘restored’ by a supposedly reputable business in the 1980’s. Given this we had to completely strip the chairs back to the raw timber frames with the intention of restoring them to their original splendour.

    With the frames completely sanded back the timber was stained Mahogany then three coats of clear lacquer. The cushion inserts were originally latex rubber however premium polyurethane foam encased with bonded polyester fibre is more durable and provides superior comfort. We re-upholstered the chairs in a velvet using the original finishing methods resulting in glowing fine lines.

    Our clients were astounded with the result taking her back remembering the chairs in bygone years. This work also provides great pleasure for us as furniture manufacturers and restorers.

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