Upholstery in
Hawthorn East

Hawthorn East shares its quieter streets with plenty of the same solid, well made furniture found across Hawthorn itself: antique pieces held onto for generations, and quality furniture from more recent decades that was built properly the first time and deserves the same care rather than replacement.

Because we are already out in Hawthorn several times most weeks for other jobs, a pickup or drop off in Hawthorn East usually just becomes another stop on a run we are making anyway, rather than something needing its own trip from Eltham North.

It tends to be a quieter pocket than the streets right on the Hawthorn boundary, with the same mix of established houses and the furniture that comes with them, just a smaller and steadier trickle of it into the workshop.

What comes in from Hawthorn East is nearly always older or well made furniture that has simply worn out where it is used, not furniture that was ever badly built. A hardwood frame that has held for decades, sitting under springs, webbing or stuffing that has finally given up. The frame is rarely the problem, the insides usually are.

We strip each piece back to see exactly what is there before quoting, then rebuild it the way it was meant to be built: springs retied or replaced, webbing renewed, and where the original horsehair is still sound, carded and kept rather than swapped out for something quicker.

Dining chairs and armchairs are the most common jobs, usually a small number from a household at a time, and it is not unusual for the same family to send through a second piece once they have seen how the first one came back.

Most faults in furniture from Hawthorn East sit underneath the cover, not on top of it. Webbing perishes quietly, springs drop just enough to feel but not see, and stuffing thins exactly where someone sits. A fresh cover over any of that only hides the problem for a while.

We deal with the cause: hand tied springs retied where a piece calls for it, webbing replaced rather than patched, and Dunlop HR35 foam used where the piece has moved on from horsehair, 200 density for a firmer seat or 165 for something softer.

Our workshop runs on three people who have done this a long time: fifty years of French polishing, thirty of machining, twenty two of upholstery, roughly a hundred years combined. Hardwood frames we build carry a thirty year guarantee, and we are fully insured. You are welcome to visit and see fabric in person, just call ahead first since it is a residential workshop.

A proper quote accounts for the frame, springs, webbing and stuffing, not just the fabric on top. We price the work with quality materials and aim for a high-end finish at a mid-tier price, so sometimes we come in cheaper and sometimes we do not. A quote well under what proper materials and hand tied springs cost at wholesale has usually left something out.