Stories

  • Recovering Traditional Lounge Furniture in Perth

    ByFrank Parker
    1920's USA Chair recovered Perth

    Restoring Character Furniture for a Mid-Century Home in Bentley, WA

    New contemporary lounge furniture can look completely out of place in a mid-century home. However, individual pieces of furniture can be refurbished and then provide both an interesting and comfortable living experience.

    About Our Clients

    Our clients were recommended to us by a former industry colleague. They had several items of upholstered furniture; 1920’s sitting room chair from the USA, a 1950’s Parker Knoll wing back chair and a replica miner’s sofa. This furniture suited the living area and they wanted it to be re-upholstered so the individual pieces co-ordinated whilst keeping their authenticity.

    How We Refurbished the Chairs

    Recovered Parker Knoll Chair Perth

    Preparation and Structural Restoration

    The American and Parker Knoll chairs had the

    1. Layers of previous upholstery and materials removed
    2. The timber frames were repaired including the show-wood legs being touched-up and polished.
    3. The chairs were fitted with jute webbing and coil springs laced into place.

    Upholstery and Cushion Construction

    1. Premium foam cushioning was fabricated and laminated with bonded polyester fibre.
    2. The outside arm and back panels were lined and padded and the upholstery featured piped detail as per the original finish.
    3. A polyester encased premium foam cushion insert was fabricated with a box piped cushion cover for the miner’s bench.

    The Upholstery Fabric Selection

    The fabric used on the Parker Knoll chair was Warwick ‘Flemington Grey’ then the fabric featured on the 20’s American chair and replica miner’s bench was Warwick ‘Mason Denim’.

    The Finished Reupholstered Chairs

    The photographs of the chairs say it all. These refurbished pieces of furniture compliment the room and provide a coordinated finish. We trust our clients enjoy their living area furniture for many years to come.

    Recovered Replica Miners Bench Perth

    • “master craftsmanship and attention to detail”


      The master craftsmanship and attention to detail that the Parker Interiors team used in renovating our two older style chairs and our ‘miner’s bench’ cushion has given our furniture new life.

      The detailed description of the work done was an added insight into the preparation and the upholstery process. The results are outstanding.

       
      Suzanne
      Bentley WA   
       
    Call Us Today So We Can Help You to Have Your Chairs Recovered

  • Refurbished Bridge Chairs: Restoring a Family Treasure in WA

    ByFrank Parker
    Bridge Chairs Quality Reupholstery Perth

    The Origins of Bridge Chairs

    Bridge chairs originated in France in the early 1900’s for playing cards with the fashionable game at the time being bridge. The chairs were designed for comfortable but compact seating at the gaming table. Which was super important for playing bridge. These chairs were popular in Australia from the 1920’s through to the 1950’s. They were mainly constructed from local native hardwoods with the better chairs having mortise and tenon arm joints and coil sprung seating. There were many design variations however most bridge chairs featured bullnosed round arms as displayed.

    A Family’s Bridge Chairs Return for Restoration

    Our clients had previously been to our factory in Canning Vale, dropping off an old family club lounge to be refurbished for their daughter, however now it was their turn. They had four bridge chairs constructed in Jarrah and re-upholstered in the 1980’s but for the last few decades they were located on the farmhouse veranda. 

    How We Restored These Jarrah Bridge Chairs

    Bridge Chairs Before Refurbishment
    Bridge Chairs Before Reupholstery Perth

    The Frame Refurbishment

    1. We started stripping the upholstery cover and materials from the chairs.
    2. Then the arms were given a basic sanding with the frame and arm joints knocked apart.
    3. The internal frame joints were glued with a cross linking PVA and screwed with a two-pack resin used on the arm mortise and tenon joints.
    4. As the Jarrah had bleached due to enduring years of direct sunlight we stained the show-wood components a mid-tone Jarrah before applying three coats of lacquer.

    Our Reupholstery Steps

    1. We started the re-upholstery with fitting jute webbing to the seats and backs
    2. Then laced coil springs into the seats which were tied down.
    3. Synthetic edge trim was then fixed onto the seat front whilst hessian was fitted to the seat and back.
    4. We fabricate high density foam padding with polyester fibre overlays which provides more comfortable seating while equally durable. This is instead of the traditional flock and fibre
    5. Finally the bridge chairs were then upholstered in Wortley ‘Lexington Springtime’ to the original finish and also featured padded and piped outside back panels.
    Bridge Chair After Reupholstery Perth
    Perth Bridge Chair Restored
    Quality Bridge Chair Reupholstery Perth

    Newly Restored Bridge Chairs Return to Geraldton

    The furniture we have re-furbished for this family has served three generations, from farm houses in the mid-west to retirement in Geraldton. We understand there is more furniture to yet refurbish, we feel privileged to undertake this work.

    Bridge Chairs Quality Reupholstery Perth

    • “THEY LOOK BEAUTIFUL”


      Hi Frank, sorry but this email should have been sent some days ago, but . . . . . .

      My apologies please.  I just want to let you know they arrived safely, all in one piece and look beautiful. 
      Well done to you all.

       
      Pam
      Geraldton WA   
       
    Call us Today to Talk About Your Bridge Chairs Being Reupholstered

  • The Reupholstery of the Club Lounge

    ByFrank Parker
    Reupholster Club Lounge Perth

    History Behind Club Lounges

    Club Lounges were made from the late 1920’s through to the mid 1950’s. These art-deco designs ranged from basic square arms with plain panels to intricate fluted backs and round arms featuring timber arm trays with vitrolite inserts. Sectional club lounges were rather rare tending to be very avant garde for time.  

    Our Clients Story

    A previous client approached us regarding her grandparents 1940’s sectional club lounge refurbished. When initially viewing this club lounge I was surprised with the configuration which was very up market for the time. Our client wanted the furniture re upholstered in a superior quality velvet, so we suggested she visit the Zepel Fabrics showroom with ‘Drama Camouflage’ being selected.  

    The Reupholstering of the Club Lounge

    The upholstery covering and materials were removed and the timber frame was repaired. It was Jarrah construction with prime grade timber and like most club lounges from this period, the frames were doweled and nailed. Our standard practise is to remove the nails, re glue the dowels and screw the frame. The base blocks were also nailed to the frame, the nails were removed, the blocks sanded then repaired with resin and pre-drilled then stained and lacquered.  

    The Transformation Process

    1. The process commenced with jute webbing being fitted to the bases, 
    2. Coil springs were then laced into position and tied down
    3. Edge moulding was fitted with hessian overlays.
    4. High-density foam was then fabricated and laminated to the arms and frame bodies with the outside arm and back panels being lined and padded.
    5. Premium foam was laminated to the inside backs with bonded polyester overlays.
    6. Then the seat cushion inserts were fabricated using a core of firm commercial cushioning then laminated with a medium-firm cushioning and encased with bonded polyester fibre.  

    The End Result

    The lounge was reupholstered to the original finish featuring piped detail but as requested the seat cushions were made thicker. The refurbished base blocks screwed into place with new traditional castors fitted. 

    Reupholster Club Lounge Perth

    • “ABSOLUTELY THRILLED”


      WOW! I’m ABSOLUTELY THRILLED!! What an incredible transformation!!
      A HUGE THANK YOU to you and your team for bringing my idea to life. It’s a fantastic blend of modern sophistication with timeless old world glamour. I know Nan would be Super Chuffed to see the modular lounge has been given a new lease of life! And you are right, it does look so very classy.  

       
      Jennifer
      South Perth W.A.  
    Call us Today to Get Your Club Lounge Transformed