We recently restored an antique fireside chair in this leather hide. There was just enough leather to cover this footstool also. So here it is about completed waiting on the bench for the finishing touches of upholstery round headed pins in each corner. See the ‘Rolls Royce’ corner stitch in the detailed photo – Lovely!
This is restoration. As you can see in the photos below; we strip the furniture back and remove the, in this case 200 year old, padding and reconstruct using modern variations of horse hair and modern wadding. Checking and fixing the frame then we re-fit/replace and tie-in with twine the coil springs.
Modern furniture is not built this way. And this type of furniture was an expensive luxury in its day, therefor it was built to a very high standard. The comfort is something else.
We have a 1904 chair in our shop – come and sit in it, you wont want to leave – remember we close at 5!
Really popular in the 1960s and 1970’s Parker Knoll chairs have often visited our workshop for 30 years. Easily recognised by the clean lines with small rolled arms and wings. To check, look under the seat cushion to find round springs covered in a canvas material. Then look under the frame base to see the stamp ‘Parker Knoll’. Always super quality, almost bulletproof, it’s rare to have to repair a Parker Knoll frame. We love them!
Started in the 1930’s Parker Knoll is a British furniture manufacturing company, originally formed by Frederick Parker and Willi Knoll, a German inventor of the distinctive form of springs under the seat. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1950, but taken private in 2004. After financial problems, it was acquired out of administration by Sofa Brands International. In recent years, the brand has moved back to the higher-quality end of the domestic furniture market.
Prices for new Parker Knoll furniture are still a great value, chairs about £1000 for example. They are quite plain but have clean lines, quite small therefore fit well in modern houses. I like them as they are not ‘flash’ but a recognised quality that can be used for generations -, good value style that can be used every day.
Here is a delightful restored Parker Knoll chair we recently completed. Isn’t she lovely!
It was in bad condition but the frame structure was good and most importantly the owner found it so very comfortable. Indeed we had to wait till after a comfortable Christmas to collect and start the restoration.
Many of us have modern leather chairs – we repair and reupholster a lot of them. Sometimes the ‘leather’ is not actually leather though. Modern factory produced leather furniture can sometimes be a treatment cover to look, feels and smell like leather but its not. Sometimes the leather is only on the parts you touch and sometimes it is very thin rolled leather.
The ‘leather tanned hide’ we use is about 1/4 cm thick, tanned from a genuine hide and will last as long as Sherlock Holmes leather library chair.
Buy quality furniture and it will last a lifetime, actually better value than buying new. We reupholstered this fine Wesley and Barrell chair which was purchased over 20 years ago – maybe more. Wesley-Barrell, a British company since 1895 makes traditional and contemporary furniture. Restored and reupholstered furniture is returned to our customers in ‘as new’ condition, to last another 20 years – now that is good value!
We reupholster all high-end soft furnishings. Exceptionally crafted furniture repairs, alterations, restoration and reupholstery completed – nationwide service – contact us for details. Free Estimates | Reupholstery Experts.
As leather chairs and sofa’s can be expensive to buy it is cost effective to repair, restore and reupholster. This pair of large very contemporary leather chairs came in to be revitalised. We took the opportunity to complete one first and took a Before and After photo.
A sad before and a happy after!
We work for ‘Toby Carvery’ through the North East and many of our amazing Pubs, Bars, Hotels and Restaurants. Commercial work is completed as and when required to fit with the business schedules. Nearly all jobs will need to be uplifted to our workshop and in some cases we can provide loan chairs – for a hotel for example so you can keep on trading.
Here is an example of a restaurant where the designer included some upholstered button back walls – quite effective.
We striped back to the frame this Wood framed wing chair. Replaced the frame padding and the seat foams, cleaned and waxed the frame – see the before photo below.
Older furniture really is great quality. Often not seen is the frame construction and spring setup under the upholstery. Hardwood frames and dowel joints are fantastic structures to restore, re-pad and reupholster to make a chair that will last forever with a modern quality fabric. Here is a recently completed Wing Back Chair we restored for a customer.
Detail Photos
And the Wood framed wing chair before restoration, photo…
Some dining chairs have a ‘pop-out’ seat pads, you can drop these into our shop in Darlington – we can pick up if required. Others are the same but with fixing screws underneath, we can call and remove for you. And then there are the fixed seat and sometimes fixed back dining chairs, we will collect.
Dining chairs seem to not go out of style and always are useful. We clean and wax the wood areas if requested while in the workshop and nearly always replace the foam padding, returned to you in almost as-new, comfortable condition – you will be surprised how hard those old dining chairs have got.
A nursing chair is a chair that’s comfortable when nursing an infant, set low with a deep seat.
In Victorian times the nursing chair was a low seated partially upholstered chair, comfortable and easy to move to where best and warmest, often by the low fire in days of old. We find them often from old houses that ‘back in the day’ actually had a nursery.
This chair form was particularly popular in England and found primarily in upper class homes. The types of wood most frequently used were oak, rosewood or walnut,this example is fully upholstered. Often passed down through the family, a nursing chair can hold those lovely memories of nursing the child in the middle of the night.
Always a magical chair and now used mostly as a bedroom occasional chair or dressing table chair or something to throw clothes on! Always pretty and a popular restoration.
Edwardian chair fully restored and upholstered in fabric supplied by customer.
Footstools are really popular at the moment, can be used as a coffee table, magazine and book table, seat and indeed as a ‘footstool’.
Our customer purchased this set of a Three Seater Sofa and a Love-seat some 12 years ago, the fabric was tiring and a change of colour was required.
Originally upholstered in a light beige now restored and reupholstered in light grey chenille fabric.
The Kingston Chair High Back Dining Chair features clean contours and a scrolled back. The Kingston is an elegant design that is suited to most homes. The quality of this style of chair varies by manufacturer, indeed low price copies of the original can be found online. The better levels of quality are worth reupholstering. We strip to the frame, check and repair, re-web and spring, re-foam/pad and upholster as required.
Great to work on an original.
Our customer designed the large pleated skirt that hides the legs to produce a very stylish looking chair. The fabric chosen was a ‘Linen Look’ Aqua Clean fabric that can be cleaned with just water. I want some just like this!
See the button detail and the very 1960’s / 70’s original colour – Dark lime green.
