Cover It Upholstery Sydney Blog

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10 reasons to make Cover It Upholstery Sydney your Upholsterer
- Attention to detail
- Quality workmanship guaranteed
- We come to you with fabric, leather or vinyl samples
- Free quotes
- Free pick up and delivery (within Sydney Metro – except very difficult access)
- No job too big or small
- We go the extra mile and won’t charge for minor repairs etc
- Customer satisfaction is our number 1 priority
- We cover all suburbs of Sydney
- We always deliver when we say we will
But don’t just take it from me, below are some testimonials from our happy customers.

Hi Marcel

Thanks again for the great job you did on the chairs we are very pleased with the outcome, nice leather, nice look, nice detailing and craftsmanship, comfortable seat – great! It’s been good doing business with you, we will certainly recommend you to anyone who needs upholstery work.

Cheers Rob

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Hello

Marcel , it was great job …looks very good ..everyone liked it .

Thank you

Regards,

Bikash

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Thank you for doing such a great job with our armchair.

When we gave it to you it was a decomposing 1950’s holiday house armchair – but of great sentimental value.

You brought our grandfather’s favourite chair back to life – restoring the frame & doing the upholstery beautifully.

Thanks again,

Cheers,

Caroline

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Marcel

I wanted to say thank you for not only a job well done, but also arriving when you said you would for the quote, pick up and drop off and the courteous way you told us what would be done, and the time you took to explain the options with the leather.
Certainly the finished product met our expectations and the 100 year old lounge is ready for another 30 years! We will call you again then.

Maree and Phil

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Hi Marcel,

Thank you so much for your great work we are delighted with the final product, it looks fantastic!

Great service!

Cheers

Mike

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Hi Marcel

I’ll take some photos of the lounge, hopefully this weekend. I love the way it looks now, even Frank likes it, He admitted it turned out better than he expected!!!

Thanks for doing such a great job, I’ll get the photos to you soon.

Cheers

Marion

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Good morning Marcel

Many thanks for such a great job.

Regards,

Phillip

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Thanks so much for your follow up etc – it’s rare to find efficient people these days so I just wanted to say thank you. Often people only comment when things are bad but I think it’s also good to acknowledge the good people and you are one of those.

Thanks again.

Regards,

Julie

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Hi Marcel,

Thanks for the great job on the sofa bed and lounge chair.

Vanessa Chalker

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Hey Marcel,

Just wanted to send you a quick email to say thank you the benches look awesome!!

So great.

Thanks again.

Cheers
Julie

Dinki Di

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An excellent fairly priced job. First rate help with fabric advice and choice. Everything worked as promised, quoting, pickup, job duration and redelivery. Difficult pick up and delivery effected without a hitch. Marcel is a thouroughly decent man offering a service “as good as it gets!”
Tim

We collected our antique chair from our ancestral house and are delighted with the wonderful job you have done on restoration and recovery. The results speak for themselves because the chair looks wonderful in our living room and we could not be happier with the fabric we chose with your assistance.Thank you, Cover It Upholstery.
Carlos Julian

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Hi Marcel,

just a quick note to thank you for your excellent work on the chairs, very pleased and very impressed.
Best regards

Christian Gostelow

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Hi Marcel,

Jeff and I both want to pass on our thanks for the excellent work you have done on our chairs. They look fantastic, and they are many times more comfortable than when we first inherited them! My extended family is thrilled that we have been able to restore my grandmother’s chairs to their former glory (probably even better than their former glory!) and that they will stay in the family for many more years to come.

I definitely won’t hesitate to recommend you to anyone who I hear is looking for an upholsterer!

Thanks again

Kirstin

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Marcel, a quick note to thank you for the wonderful work you did with recovering our 2 Danish deluxe chairs. They look fantastic in our lounge room and thanks to your advice re fabric choice, have become a real talking point…we no longer sit on our lounge! I am so delighted with your workmanship and service, that I would like you to recover my dining chairs as well. Thanks again for a great job.

Genevieve Palmer

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Dear Marcel,

We collected our antique chair from our daughter in law Susan and are delighted with the wonderful job you have done on restoration and recovering.

Prior to meeting you at Northbridge we both had doubts as to whether it would be possible or worthwhile going through the exercise.

The results speak for themselves, the chair looks wonderful in our bedroom and we could not be happier with the fabric we chose with your assistance.
Many thanks.

Yours sincerely,

Jill & John Livingstone

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Hi Marcel,
Just wanted to say thank you for your work on the chair, you’ve done a beautiful job.

We’re really pleased with it.
Kind Regards,

Emma.

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Dear Marcel,

Thanks so much for a truly fantastic job and for all your help and advice on it!

All the best,

Briony and Nick

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Hi Marcel,

Thanks for everything, you have been absolutely spot on, professional, wonderful!

Will contact you for any upholstery jobs in the future, hopefully they wont be as hairy as this one!

Thanks,

Laura

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Hi Marcel,
I just wanted to say thank you for a fantastic job on the dining chairs. We are very happy with the job and appreciate your attention to detail.

regards,

Vlad and Adam

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Dear Marcel

How absolutely refreshing to deal with an artisan who does what he says he will do, right on time with updates along the way and carries out a truly amazing professional job.

My lounges and chairs look utterly fabulous and I could not be happier with your work. Your attention to detail is truly outstanding.

And all this with the greatest courtesy and a smile on your face.

Simply the best!!!

With grateful thanks

Kerri

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I joined TrueLocal just so I could share this review with you. Marcel is a delight to deal with – a real person but a consummate businessman too. After one tricky job I then backed up with another challenge for him almost immediately. The willingness to fit around our busy schedules with emails, texts, pics online etc plus a few home visits made the entire process a pleasure – it felt like he was only working on our projects! Highly recommended and once I find another piece of furniture to recover I will be back in contact with Cover It Upholstery

Nancy Incoll

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Hi Marcel,

I wanted to thankyou for the outstanding job you did reupholstering and polishing our Javi lounge and dining chairs. I couldn’t be any happier with the result. You are obviously passionate about what you do, and your attention to detail makes all the difference! I will certainly recommend you to friends. (I had a few friends call in today, and every one of them commented on the lounge!)
Kylie, Roseville

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Dear Marcel
Thank you the professional job you did with recovering our lounge suite and providing cushions for our dining suite chairs.

We are very pleased with the result and would recommend you to others. We also appreciated your timeliness.
Regards

Janet Chelliah

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Fantastic job on recovering our chairs. I was really impressed with the attention to detail and the customer service. Extremely easy to deal with and very quick service. I would recommend Marcel at Cover It for all your upholstery needs.

Moyra, Surface Art

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I had been carting around this old club chair in its hideous loud brown-and-white velour upholstery for twenty years. I thought I was the only one you could see its promise, but Marcel must have seen it, too, because he’s totally rejuvenated the chair and it has finally realised its potential – it is now a gorgeous-looking, sturdy, beautifully comfortable chair and the new velvet covering feels lovely to sit on. Marcel was very helpful when I was choosing the fabric, and prompt in fitting in with my pickup and delivery times, replying to my email queries etc, and the job was completed with a fast turnaround and an excellent end result. I would totally recommend Cover It!

Yvonne Smythe

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Hi Marcel,

Just want to say thank you for the beautiful job you did on our couches. I absolutely love them and they look perfect in our new home – plus your service was so great.

I will certainly recommend you to any friends who may be needing their couches covered!

Best wishes

Jean

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Hi Marcel

Just tried to call you to tell you what an amazing job you have done with recovering the lounges – the fit is perfect and looks fabulous – thank you so much. It has been so easy dealing with you, nothing was a problem and you accommodated everything we needed – even the packing of the finished product was perfect. Will send you a photo. Will certainly be recommending your work to everyone needing an accomplished upholsterer.

Many thanks from 2 extremely satisfied customers – thanks also to your machinist.

Best wishes

Carmel

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Hi Marcel

Many thanks for the great work you have done with my furniture, I really appreciate it and will highly recommend you to my friends.

Suzane

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Having unpleasant memories of our recent dealings with the trade professions( unreliability, unskilfull work and over pricing practices)I was anxious if I will be able to find a skilfull upholsterer for my antique leather furniture.

Marcel Albert from Cover It Upholstery has returned my trust in trade craftsmanship – courteous, professional, efficient , with great skills and attention for detail, he did an excellent job in realistic price range.

I highly recommend Cover It Upholstery, hoping that in this country, we will have more such skilful and professional tradesman, which take pride in their chosen profession.

Lola Markovic

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cover it is a very professional organisation with highly skilled upholsterers. The advice I was given was great, things were collected and returned on time, the prices were very competitive. I have been thrilled with all three jobs I have contracted them to do. They turned my old fashioned tacky chairs into up to date fashion statements which enhance the decor in my home.

Lesley Graig

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We were delighted with the work done by Cover-it, in particular the attention taken in matching the pattern on a very difficult item. We were also dlighted with the efficiency and the pricing

Brett Courtnay

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I recommend Cover It Upholstery. I was happy with the advice I was given on the daybed i needed to cover. Marcel included features in the upholstering that I hadn’t considered – extra padding and protection where needed and valuable advise on cleaning.

The quote was done in person, and Marcel took into consideration, not only the piece, but how it will be used. Marcel is good to work with, and has a great customer focus, and personal approach

Georgina Andrews

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Dear Marcel,

I am delighted with the lounge suite you re-upholstered for me“It’s better than new”. It’s a 2 seater lounge, chair, footstool all Queen Anne style – all perfect, As is the antique bedroom chair you also re-upholstered.

My Daughter, Dr S.A. Wallace was also very pleased with the work you did for her and recommended your work to me, as I would also.
Best Wishes,

Sincerely,

Billie Wallace

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Dear Mr Marcel Albert:
Thank you for doing such a wonderful job on the bucket chair…

You repaired and recovered it so very well – – now comfortable to sit in. My dear husband Jay is pleased too, thank you. We are grateful to you for your fine work, on both chairs.

Sincerely,

Mrs Christine Greco

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Marcel,
Thank you for such a great job on our couch & for your extra service. Please accept our gift voucher for a complementary massage.

Thanks,

Deborah (Shire Chiropractic)

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Marcel has just delivered to me my recovered Tub chair. It is beautiful. From the moment I contacted him by email, I have had nothing less than excellent service. He replied to my emails almost instantly, his price was very competitive & the quality of workmanship is excellent. He arrived at my house, both to pick up & deliver on time & it was a pleasure to deal with him.

Thank you Marcel.

ANN LOGAN

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What a wonderful experience! I have a beautiful leather lounge but I noticed tear in one of the seat cushions some months ago. Repair was not an option as the tear was in a prominent position. I contacted a number of upholsterers in the area to see what could be done. The biggest problem I could see was how to match the colour. I found Cover-it and sent off an enquiry. I received an immediate response and the service from Marcel has been fabulous throughout the whole exercise. Nothing was too much trouble. Marcel replaced the covers on the three cushions and I couldn’t be more pleased with the result! The leather is superb and the craftsmanship is first class. I’m already starting to think about the next jobs I can send his way!

Thanks to you and your team, Marcel for a magnificent job!

Bernie

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Everything went smoothly. Marcel was a pleasure to deal with. Excellent attention to detail, prompt pickup and delivery. Superb restoration work, very good quality. When the revised quote turned out to be quite a bit cheaper than the original, Marcel revised the bill downwards. I have nothing put compliments. Highly recommended.

Stevie Bee

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Thank you Marcel and your team for the wonderful job you did on our late Mum’s rocking chair and footstool. As we explained Mum got them as a wedding present from her own upholsterer father in 1939 and treasured it till she passed away last December. We are thrilled with the work and the price, as well as the prompt and efficient service. I would recommend Cover It to anyone who values furniture and needs a master craftsman.

Carmel Woods

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I will keep it brief – Marcel is a helpful young guy that does fantastic work. He did a 15 y.o Queen Size sofabed for me and the craftsmanship is fantastic. Without charging extra he reinforced the entire frame and straightened out bends in the bed mechanism so it is now better than when it was brand new. To buy a sofabed of this quality and fabric would at least be 50% more than what I paid for Marcel to do.

Basically, nothing is a real hassle, the only issue you will have is that he is so busy because he is so good. Unless you want something done within an unreasonable timeframe you are going to be very satisfied.

He can do anything, fix wood, frames, restore breakages, as well as any fabric from canvas, cotton, delicates and leather. He has done an awesome job with the cushions for me, and basically the cushions are far superior to what they were when the bed was brand new. I would have no hesitation in recommending Marcel to anyone, and I will be sending all my future upholstery work to this guy.

Stephen Alleyn
February 18, 2015
IT’S CHEAPER TO BUY NEW THEN TO RE-UPHOLSTER

IT’S CHEAPER TO BUY NEW THEN TO
RE-UPHOLSTER

There
I said it! Maybe we upholsterers should all go and do something else…

Although
maybe the title should have said it’s cheaper to buy poor quality furniture than to recover.

Below
are a couple of before and after photos taken of a recent job we did for a customer
who bought a new sofa from a well-known furniture retailer because she liked
the sofa but not the fabric and since it cost less than $1000 to buy she had it
recovered in a fabric of her choice.

The
photo of the poorly upholstered beige/brown sofa is the before shot!

We
sometimes recover furniture we are told by customers cost more than what they
paid for it new and the reason they have it covered anyway is because they like
the style or size or comfort which they haven’t been able to find again.

Some
of this furniture is still ok and just needs some minor repairs and/or new
cushion foam, but sometimes you get furniture that needs a lot of repair work
and shows why it was very cheap in the first place as the manufacturer in China
used the poorest quality materials available to make the furniture, from poor
quality pine to poor quality webbing and foam (see below).

Generally
besides the quality of the webbing they have also not used the correct number
of strips (see below).

When
we come across this we repair all the rails and joins in the frame, re-web the
seat, and replace any foam that needs replacing using premium Dunlop Enduro
foam.

The
furniture is now far better than it were when bought new and will last for
years and would be able to be recovered again in the future without any
problems, as is the case with all quality furniture.

If
a quality fabric is chosen it will last for years!

Cheap
fabrics used by a lot of manufacturers won’t last very long at all and will
pill or wear through very quickly and unfortunately combined with a poor
quality frame and padding means that every year thousands of tons of this
rubbish ends up in land-fill

Retailers
also use a lot of misleading language in their description of furniture; an
example of this is a very common one where P leather or PU leather is used to
describe vinyl, making it sound like a higher quality product than it is.

There
are very high quality commercial grade vinyl’s available that feel and look
very “leather-like” but due to the cost of these you won’t find these used to
cover any furniture you’ll find in your average furniture store.

This
is also the case when terms like “Bonded Leather” or “By-Cast Leather” are used
to describe a very poor quality product that will peel (de-laminate) after
around 2 to 3 years of use (see below). This should never be sold as leather as it has
absolutely nothing to do with genuine leather. Genuine leather will NEVER peel!
Quality vinyl will NEVER peel!

Below are a few before and after photos to help us all feel better after what we’ve just seen.

This fabric was supplied to us by the customer and unfortunately there was not enough to also match the bottom of the front border with the top half, there was no more of it available.
Considering the state this furniture was in prior to the re-upholstery work it wasn’t a disappointment for her.

Custom made stool

February 7, 2015
Recovering your furniture? Choose your upholsterer carefully

When you furniture is looking tired and out of date, you can
give it a new lease on life with re-upholstery.

Re-upholstery is the technique of repairing old furniture
like recovering a chair, replacing the springs and or foam inside a seat or
repairing the joints etc.

Re-upholstery means extensive reworking of all the springing
and padding, recover means the furniture is generally in good condition and
just needs the fabric changed.

To see your furniture restored to its former glory can be
very satisfying and can be cost effective when the furniture is of a quality
worth recovering.

Cheaper furniture is generally not worth recovering because
the frames and padding are rubbish so would have cost less to buy new then it
would to recover, good quality furniture however is very much worth the effort
because to replace such furniture would cost more than to recover it and
another advantage is that you have far more fabric choices available when you
recover as opposed to buying new.

It is very rare that a piece cannot be restored, whether
modern or antique.

Recovering your furniture is often the way to go as you’re
not going to have to compromise on the style of furniture because of limited
choices on offer when buying retail. It allows you to keep the furniture you love
and know works well in your house and make it as new again.

Reupholstering gives you the opportunity to personalise your
furniture using quality materials and perfected trade techniques that will give
you a piece that will last a lifetime.

At Cover It Upholstery Sydney when we recover any furniture
we also make sure that all the necessary repairs are done and padding added or
replaced where needed, this is all part of the service when you have your
furniture recovered by Cover It.

When the furniture is in a fairy poor state we would need to
re-upholster it first before covering it and this would be at an added cost but
is always determined at the time of quoting and there are never any surprises
at the end, what’s quoted is what’s paid.

There are big differences in what upholsterers consider part
of the job when recovering a customers furniture and many will not do anything
extra in terms of springing or padding etc and will just recover it as they
find it.

At Cover It Upholstery Sydney it goes without saying that we
make sure everything underneath the fabric is sound and will last the expected
time you should get from your recovered furniture.

So when getting quotes to have your furniture recovered,
offcourse you’re going to find cheaper quotes, and if you keep on looking will
find ones even cheaper than that, but you must ask yourself why that is, why
are they willing to do the same job for less? We all have the same overheads in
terms of factory space, utilities, staff, advertising etc etc, so therefore need
the same amount of money each month to survive. The only way you’re going to be
able to do jobs for cheap is if you do them twice as fast… Do you want your job
to be completed twice as fast??

Below are a few before and after photo’s of recent jobs, for more visit www.cover-it.com.au

June 6, 2014
Quality Workmanship… goes without saying

At Cover It Upholstery Sydney we don’t need the below instructions from fabric suppliers.
Having been in the industry as long as we have and seen the workmanship offered by many others, it’s no wonder the suppliers feel the need to include these with their rolls of fabric…

Seam Slippage
Prevention

It is the
responsibility of the furniture

manufacturer/upholsterer
to employ a

seam construction,
needle type and

sewing thread which
is appropriate for

the fabric and
furniture design. Different

fabrics for the
same design of furniture

may result in varied seam
constructions,

different seam
tension areas also require

different seam
strengths. The rupture of

a seam due to seam
slippage is generally

not a fabric fault.
A minimum of 10 to

12 seam stitches
per inch (25mm) is

required along with
a minimum of

13mm seam
allowance. It is

recommended that
the seam of any

woven fabric, which
is liable to fraying

be overlocked or
otherwise secured.

In some instances
additional

strengthening of
high load seams may

be required. This
must be done at the

manufacturers
discretion after testing

individual fabrics.
The fabric supplier cannot

be held responsible
for manufacturers/upholsterers

oversights.

Pile Loss

It is recommended
that pile fabrics such

as velvets and some
chenille’s are not

upholstered
directly on to foam surfaces.

It is advised all high
wear areas are

covered by Dacron
or calico to prevent

pile loss due to
friction between the

foam and the
fabric.

Manufacturers

Responsibility

All care is taken
when selecting fabric

qualities for the Australian
market.

To eliminate
problems such as seam

slippage and loss
of fibres from pile

fabrics, the fabric
supplier request the

following to be
taken into account

and be carried out where required.

May 30, 2014
FABRICSLEATHER

FABRICS
LEATHER

Everyone
visualizes the transforming effect of the fabric on a re-created sofa or chair.
You could say the fabric “is part of the fun” of reupholstering.
Fabric has character and personality. It speaks for your taste, your style. And
in your own home, it can be as personal and individual as your signature.

Fabric is
also one of the two big costs in Re-upholstery (the other is labour). So it’s
important to get good value as well as good fashion. The bigger the choice, the
better the chance of finding a fabric that suits both your decor and your
budget. This is where Re-upholstery gives you the benefit of rich variety and enormous
volume. The selection is practically endless.

There are literally thousands of samples to choose from,
imported and domestic, when combining the resources of all the fabric
suppliers, all in different grades of quality.

How do you judge for wear?

As a general rule, tightly-woven fabrics and fabrics that
are heavy will stand up to wear and tear better, as will leather. Fabrics such
as satins, brocades or damasks are more delicate, and should be reserved for
places where they’ll get less use or for soft furnishings such as scatters.

For example, one square inch of fabric with 8 or 10 thick
threads doesn’t have the strength of one square inch densely packed with 30 to
40 thin threads. To check a fabric yourself, hold it up to the light. The less
light that shows through, the tighter the weave.

The Australian standard for
measuring the durability of fabrics uses the Martindale Rub Test to recommend
the end-use of the fabric.

Fibres also make a difference in wear. Natural fibres, like
cotton, take colour differently from man-made fibbers. They can be richer, more
subtle. While the man-mades have resilience and strength. That’s how the blends
came into use. So cotton with polyester, for example, gives you the best
attributes of both. Other blends will use nylon, acrylic, and rayon. And
man-made fibres alone (far advanced over the earlier versions) make many
attractive long wearing pieces.

The appearance of certain textures will vary with use.
Fabrics with a nap, like velvets, corduroys and faux suedes look different in
different lights, and show wear where they’ve been sat upon. Silks are more
delicate, but many are fortified with man-made fibres. And fabrics with highly
textured surfaces like loopy tweeds and homespun’s can “pull” after a
while. For cleanability, each fibre has its compensating feature. Natural
fibres absorb soil faster than man-made fibres, but clean better. While
man-made fibres are more soil resistant, but don’t always clean as well. Many
fabrics are treated with soil-resistant finishes, but the finish doesn’t last
forever, so be prepared after a time, to have the upholstery cleaned and the
stain repellent reapplied.

Full grain leather

Full/Pure Aniline Leather that’s been drum dyed without
pigment applied to the surface. A light protective coating is sometimes added
to enhance appearance and offer some protection against wear and soiling. It
will exhibit all natural features such as scars, growth marks, fat wrinkles and
brands.

·
The most
natural leather exhibiting all natural markings and colour variations within
the hide and from hide to hide

·     Will breathe and be warm in winter and
cooler in summer

·
Soft to
handle

·
Lower light
fastness and if
not protected will potentially
fade more quickly than more highly processed
leathers

·     Susceptible to soiling if used in high traffic areas.

·     Suitable for formal
living areas. Requires regular care.

Pull! Up Aniline Drum dyed aniline leather
with a topcoat of oil and wax effects, designed to exhibit a ‘distressed look’.

·
Will breathe
and be warm in winter and cooler in summer

·
Lightens in
colour when stretched to produce a distressed effect, particularly in seating
areas

·
Wax or oil
effects can be evened out in appearance by hand rubbing the surface.

·
Suitable for
formal living areas. Requires regular care!

Nubuck (leather suede) Drum dyed aniline
leather where the surface grain has been buffed to give a fine, suede-like nap.

Nubuck requires a clear protective coating
to provide liquid repellence. Suede-like finish

·Requires specific care products

·Suitable for formal living areas.

·Requires regular care with Nubuck specific
care products.

Semi-Aniline Drum dyed leather,
incorporating a small amount of pigment and protective finish so as not to
conceal the natural characteristics of the hide. High light fastness

·
Soft, but not
as soft as Pure Aniline

·
Durable

·
Retains natural grain appearance • Easy to clean.

·
Suitable for formal, family and dining areas. Requires regular care.

Pigmented Drum dyed with a thicker layer of pigment
and protective finish applied to create an even colour and texture. Higher
light fastness

·
More durable

·
Easier to
clean

·
Easier to
care for

·
Surface
covered with pigment

·     Not as soft as Pure Aniline or Semi Aniline

·     No
natural appearance or characteristics.

·     Suitable for formal, family and dining areas.
Requires regular care!

Corrected Grain Drum dyed with the natural grain removed; a
layer of pigment or protective finish is applied. The leather is then embossed
with an artificial grain to provide a uniform appearance.

·
Higher light
fastness

·
More durable

·
Easier to
clean

·
Easier to
care for

·
Surface
covered with pigment

·
Not as soft
as Pure Aniline or Semi Aniline

·     Grain pattern is stamped onto the surface
leaving no natural appearance or characteristics.

·     Suitable for formal,
family and dining areas. Requires regular care.

B. Reconstructed
Leather

Finished splits Re-coated corrected grain pigmented leather
made from the more porous under layers of hide.

·
Embossed to mimic grain leather

·
Less durable than grain leather

·
Firm feel

·
Easy to dean

·
Suitable for small section office furniture such as office chairs and
stools, dining chairs and carcass (frame and surrounds) of lounge suites.
Requires regular care.

Note: There are many examples
of leather advertised as “By
Cast” or “Bonded”.

This is where a laminate is applied to the
more porous under layers of the hide.

Although this type of product is often
advertised as By Cast leather or Bonded leather, it is not considered to be leather and should not be sold as such. This rubbish will peel and flake after around 2 years of domestic use.

May 15, 2014
Why Recover or Re-Upholster your furniture

WHY RECOVER

If you like your old furniture why not recover it.

There are several factors to keep in mind when considering
recovering your furniture.

The main ones to consider are: recover v new, the frame
quality, the advantage of fabric choice, whether to recover or re-upholster.

Recover v new

It is often cheaper to recover an existing piece than to buy
a new one of comparable quality. A quality piece of furniture would be
more expensive to replace than to recover, therefore if buying new or custom
made furniture you should buy the best quality that is affordable because your
purchase is amortised across many years and will have good enough “bones” to
have it recovered from time to time. Inexpensive furniture can break, pop
springs (although cheap furniture wouldn’t have those), and look worn and out of
shape within a couple of years due not only to poor quality frames but also
because the foam padding and fabric generally won’t stand up to frequent
use.

A lot of retailers will guarantee the frames for 10 years, which sounds great but should there be a problem it will often be claimed to be due to the furniture not being treated right and the other 2 main components that make up your furniture, the padding and fabric are not guaranteed for very long at all.

High quality foams such as Dunlop Enduro are guaranteed for life or 10 years for domestic use. Retailers of cheap furniture will not use this foam.

Workmanship, foam and fabric is generally guaranteed for a year when buying a new lounge suite. When you have your furniture recovered by Cover It Upholstery Sydney we guarantee workmanship for 10 years, and only use Dunlop Enduro foam for all extra padding or for when we replace seat, back or arm cushions. Fabric companies will give a maximum of 3 years warantee for domestic use which is standard but good quality fabrics can easily last 15 to 20 years. Cover It Upholstery Sydney can recommend and advise you on the right fabrics to suit the kind of wear your furniture can expect to get over it’s lifetime.

Repeatedly buying cheap new furniture might seem like a good idea in the short term but in the long term will actually cost you more.

With our planet’s resources already stretched due to our throw-away society it will not only save you money, but may also help save our planet!

Quality frame construction

Good frames are made from hardwood or a quality plywood at
least 25mm thick, or a combination of both. They should be joined with double
dowels and support blocks and screws. A quick way to test the quality of the
frame in your furniture is to lift it, if made from hardwood it will be heavy,
and if the furniture is 10 or more years old and has very minimal or no
movement it is also an indication of a well constructed frame.

Frames made with metal braces, and those where staples are
used without dowels are generally not the best. The wood used in such frames is
usually of a lesser quality and doesn’t wear well.

If however you have such a piece and are fond of it because
it has a style you like and couldn’t find again, or it fits a particular space
etc, it can be repaired and strengthened so that it will last as long as any other hardwood frame.

The advantage of fabric choice

The choices of fabrics available are practically endless and
you will be able to find exactly the right fabric to suit your decor and your
budget.

When selecting fabric it is important to take into
consideration the amount of wear it will need to withstand. There are natural
and synthetic fabrics, and off course leather.

As a general rule synthetic fabrics are more durable,
colourfast and soil resistant than natural fabrics but once stained also harder
to clean. Natural fabrics absorb stains easier but are also easier to clean
than synthetics. Natural fabrics take to dyes differently and can be richer,
more subtle. Therefore a combination of synthetic and natural gives you the
best of both. Fabrics can be treated with soil-resistant finishes but the
finish doesn’t last forever so the fabric should be cleaned from time to time
and the treatment re-applied.

Recover or Re-Upholster

If your furniture is in good condition and the springs and
padding are still in good shape, a recover is all that would be required.

If you find the springs and/or padding is in bad shape it is
best to fully re-upholster the furniture, which means, repairing/replacing
springs and to re-pad with new quality padding, whether traditionally or with
modern materials such as foam.

It is best to use the top quality “High Resilience” foams
rather than the standard type if the furniture is to be in a frequent use
situation.

Below
is an extract from an article describing the benefits of having a traditional
Club lounge recovered.

… she has a good eye for a bargain; so she was very
excited when she found a fantastic 1930s-era Club lounge suite by the side of
the road in a recent council clean up. Although the suite had seen better days,
she thought it would be a crime for such a treasure to go to the tip. Instead,
she decided to have it restored by a professional upholsterer. It was recovered
with Gosh Australian leather in ‘Glenrowan Bark’, which has a soft, suede-like
finish.

She
found an upholsterer and accepted a quote, making sure it included all the work
to be done. One company may be cheaper than another, but this usually means
they’re not listing hidden extras such as casters or wooden detailing or other
materials, or doing the job right.

You
can choose from a range of fabrics and vinyls, but the most luxurious covering
has to be leather!

The
three-piece suite cost $5800 to restore. This sounds expensive, but buying a
new quality modern lounge suite can cost in excess of $8000, and you’d never be
able to buy a classic 1930s Club lounge for that price. The reconditioned
lounge suite was independently valued at $12000.

Original
cost: free

Cost
to restore: $5800

Valued
at: $12000

Profit:
$6200

May 8, 2014
The History Of Upholstered Furniture Part 5

5

LINTERS.

Is actually compressed flock, and can be procured in rolls.
The

approximate weight of one roll 24″ wide is
approximately ll lbs. Linters like coconut pads are used mostly on double and
single action beds. It is also a very popular stuffing material for spring unit
cushions. The advantage of using linters is that it does not have to be teased,
and like the fibre pad, can be cut to various shapes and sizes. In the motor
industry it is sewn-to hessian, and is known as “Batt”.

FOAM RUBBER
Using
Latex Foam
Latex foam is made from Latex, which comes from the rubber
tree, most of which are grown in the Far East. The greater proportion of rubber
leaves the country in which it is produced, in solid sheet form, but for Latex
foam manufacture it is shipped in its natural form as a liquid.

At the manufacturing plants, very small quantities of
stabilisers,

falcanizing agents, and setting fluids are added to the
Latex, and the compound whipped to a creamy froth in large whisking machines.
The whipping results in the formation of the interconnecting cell structure.

The texture and firmness of the finished material are
controlled by

this whisking process, and the more air bubbles there are,
the lighter and softer the finished products. When the foamed mass has reached
the consistency required it is poured into metal moulds of the desired shape
and heated under controlled conditions to give it its final shape and
resilience. The Latex foam is then stripped from the mould, washed and dried.

Latex foam must be stored away from the direct rays of the
sun as it perishes and crumbles when subjected to this treatment.

Since Latex foam came onto the market during the 1930’s it
made rapid strides as a cushioning material for upholstery, and more and more
each year was being incorporated in settees, chairs, stools etc.

The main reason for this phenomenal growth was:

That it does not sag or lose its shape.

That the shape interpreted by the upholsterer and required
by the designer will remain the same throughout the years. No longer is it
necessary for the upholsterer to allow for sinking after use.

There is nothing to wear out or go wrong.

Latex foam does not make dust.

It has a fine tailored appearance when upholstered.

Methods of using latex foam.

Mock cushion seats in chairs or settees.

Most chairs and settees are made so that stock sizes of
rubber

cushioning will fit without cutting and shutting, and gluing
together, and

the most common sizes used at 20”x20”x2”or4” and
20”x23”x2”or4”. On mock cushion seats these rubbers are generally used on top
of the conventional web sprung and canvas seats, and are taped with strips of
tape specially manufactured for sticking to rubber or strips of calico glued to
the rubber with special solution. These tapes are used for the purpose of holding
the rubber in place by tacking to the sides of the frames.

POLYURETHANE FOAM

In today’s furniture polyurethane foam is used. There are many
different grades and qualities available.

Today’s premium quality foams are a superior alternative to
the old types of padding when used correctly and in the appropriate densities.

May 3, 2014
The History of Upholstered Furniture Part 4

4

PADDING

MATERIALS.

Since
the advent of upholstered furniture some 400 years ago the

upholsterer
has been constantly striving to improve the comfort of the

various
pieces of upholstered furniture designed during his own particular

lifetime,
and for many years the comfort of the upholstered product depended entirely on
the ability of the craftsman. However, with the discovery of foam rubber and
synthetics during the last thirty years the work of the tradesman upholsterer
has been made much easier. It cannot be denied that although many synthetics
have made much headway into the upholstering industry, many of the stuffing
materials used during the last 400 years are still being used in the upholstery
industry. This has been brought about by the reproduction periods of many of
the antique pieces of furniture made by craftsmen in previous periods. This
type of furniture calls for first and second stuffing’s stitched edges, and
cushions filled with stuffing materials, which have been used as cushion
filling materials for many years, and are still in demand, by a big section of
the upholstery buying public. We also find that many of these materials are
used in conjunction with the synthetics of today, let us therefore study some
of these stuffing materials and see what influence they have

had
on the trends of upholstery design.

Flock

Until
the advent of Latex rubber, flock was perhaps the most sought after stuffing
material on the market. As a filling on its own it was not satisfactory as it
has a tendency to go hard and flatten out. However, when used in conjunction
with a seat sprung with spiral springs, and if applied evenly and expertly by a
craftsman, could be moulded into quite a comfortable seat or back. This
material is made from fumigated rags, which are in turn teased in special
teasing machines. Care must be taken when applying this stuffing material to an
upholstered piece of furniture to ensure that all foreign matter is removed,
and that the flock is completely free from lumps. Most upholsterers tease the
flock in boxes with a stick before applying it to the actual job.

One
of the disadvantages of using flock is that should the outside

covering
material need cleaning, and cleaning fluids be applied then there is a
possibility that the dye from the flock could be drawn through the cover thus
ruining perhaps an expensive piece of material. This has often been the case
when people have used shampoos to clean various pieces of upholstered
furniture.

Horse Hair

An
old timer that ruled supreme as a stuffing material for many years
was horsehair. It is very resilient, and is still used by many upholsterers
as a first stuffing for many types of upholstered furniture.

However,
as in most things there are numerous qualities. The cheaper varieties consist
of short hair with little resilience. Owing to the scarcity of horsehair, quite
a lot of it, which is used at present, is reconditioned, and re-teased. It is
often procured from old unwanted chairs and settees, and if washed sterilized
and re-teased, can be used, irrespective of age, on fully upholstered furniture
without any loss of its former resilience.

Horse
hair is washed and sterilized by various methods, and after these
processes it is twisted into rope, forming the curl, which is retained throughout
its life, thus supplying the resilience and springiness so

essential.
A large proportion is dyed black, whilst some is left its natural colour.
These are called black and grey hair, but the colour is not so important
as the length and curl. The shorter the hair the less the curl, and therefore
the less resilience, and the greater the quantity required to obtain good
results. Care must be taken when using horsehair as a stuffing material to
ensure that it is completely covered with flock or linters, and should there be
a laxity in this operation; the hair finds its way through the cover to the
discomfort of the person sitting on it.

April 16, 2014
The History of Upholstered Furniture Part 3

3

Today
our love of comfort is as great as that of’ the Victorians

but
our way of life has changed, so that in the designing of chairs for today we
must assess these needs, and find the best way of solving them. Our rooms are
smaller than those of the past, and the

amount
of time required in running a home reduced to a minimum.

furniture
therefore should take up minimum of space without

Sacrificing
any of its usefulness and comfort.

SEE WWW.COVER-IT.COM.AU FOR MORE

April 11, 2014
The history of upholstered furniture PART 2

2
Chairs became more elegant and graceful and were designed to enable the ladies and gentleman of the age to the up the elegant posing attitudes that were so popular.
There was en elegance about the whole of this latter half
the 18th century, with its finely proportioned streets, buildings, costumes and furniture.
The coming of the19th century saw the beginning of many change that were to alter not only the face of Briton, but the way of life of
millions of people. machines were to bring a new wealth, as well as
new methods of manufacture; the population was to double in less than
50 years, and the demand for cheap food, clothes and furniture, and
homes were to reach heights previously undreamed of. The first year of
the century Saw the need for more, and more inexpensive furniture being met by simplification of style, and construction without much depreciation in quality; later the fine traditions of the 18th century lost in the fight for cheaper goods .
Although we may condemn 19th century furniture as lacking in refinement, and reflecting the materialistic outlook of the Victorians
towards their leisure, as well as their work, it is difficult to find fault with the comfort of their chairs. The introduction of the coil spring for the first time at the beginning of the 19th century was to open up wide possibilities in the design of comfortable chairs, Improvements in artificial lighting must have done much to encourage people to sit and read or do some hobby rather then retire to bed. By the 1830’s the idea that relaxing was not quite the thing was dying fast.
The first deep spring chairs seem to have been installed in the men’s clubs round St.James and Piccadilly, but quickly found their way into the Victorian home. The Victorians were well aware of the fact that comfort in chairs tends to be s personal matter, and that there
Should be specially designed chairs for women as well as men. A study of Victorian furniture catalogues reveals the enormous range of styles and sizes in upholstered furniture in fact the Victorian Age can be called the Age of the upholsterer.

April 1, 2014