COVER IT UPHOLSTERY SYDNEY

We often get asked what the process is when a customer first make contact with Cover It Upholstery Sydney, so thought it would be helpful to post the most frequently asked questions and answers.


FAQ's

Q - HOW DO I GET AN ESTIMATE? - A - Just send an email to marcel@cover-it.com.au explaining the job required and some photo’s attached. An estimate can be given but the final firm quote would depend on the fabric selection.

Q - DO YOU HAVE A SHOWROOM? - A - We have a workshop but this is not a showroom and would come to you to show you fabric samples. We also do not keep furniture there to see as only have the jobs we are currently working on.

Q - DO YOU SUPPLY FABRIC? - A - We can come to you with fabric samples. You can decide then or if you need more time to decide you can narrow down to a few options of which we can then get cutting sent to you from the suppliers.

Q - HOW LONG? - A - Once a job is accepted we would require a deposit to book the job in and order any materials. There is generally around 3 to 4 weeks of work booked in at any time. The time that we need to do the job will depend on the job but to give an idea it’s generally 2 weeks for fabric lounge suites, 3 weeks for leather suites, 1 week for dining settings, 1.5 to 2 weeks for armchairs.

Q - HOW TO CARE FOR FABRIC? - A - Different fabrics require different care and care labels are supplied with the rolls of fabric that come in. We give those to you or you could always just email so we can send to you or visit the fabric suppliers website.

Q - HOW TO CARE FOR LEATHER? - A - Different leather types require different care. Same as fabric care.

Q - DO YOU GUARANTEE YOUR WORK? - A - We guarantee all our workmanship for 10 years, not anything else that was not done by us. Fabric suppliers generally guarantee their fabrics for 2 to 3 years for residential use, 1 for commercial. Although we cannot guarantee the frames etc of furniture that we recover which has not been made by us, we do however ensure that we strengthen any frames that need it and add extra padding etc as required so basically make sure the furniture will last structurally as long as we expect the fabric to last.

Q - DO YOU PICK UP AND DELIVER? - A - We pick up and deliver within Sydney Metro and this is always included in our quotes. If however there is no available parking for a CBD pick up or very difficult access to any residence we use a removalist for those jobs which is at the customer’s cost or the customer can arrange their own transport.

Q - CAN WE MAKE CHANGES TO THE FURNITURE STYLE/DESIGN? - A - Not all furniture will lend itself to modification but where possible we can do and discuss the possible extra costs involved. 

Q - DO YOU MAKE FURNITURE - A - We can make any custom made furniture you require. For residential this can be a little expensive as a lot goes into the design of custom furniture, for commercial where large numbers of items are required this becomes more cost effective. 

Q - DO YOU RE-POLISH WOODWORK? - A - We work closely with our French Polisher and can organise furniture to be stripped and repolished before we recover it. If it’s a dining suite that needs re-polishing we can do just the chairs or also include the table should that need a repolish.

Q - DO YOU DO SMALL FURNITURE REPAIR JOBS? - A - We generally don do small on-site repair jobs unless we are also doing a recover job for you. We can do it but then need to charge a call-out fee of $150 + GST + the cost of the repair.

Q - DO YOU HAVE EXPERIENCE WITH ANTIQUE FURNITURE? - A - At Cover It Upholstery Sydney we can re-upholster any antique furniture you have. We have worked on furniture of over 200 years old. We can upholster any furniture from antiques to today’s modern furniture.

Q - HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN THE TRADE? - A - This is a question that gets asked from time to time and is understandable as people can be a little nervous to whom they are trusting their valued piece of furniture. At the time of writing this post I've been in the trade for 27 years, most of our tradesmen have at least the same experience or longer and therefore there isn't any furniture that we have not come across or cannot upholster. Some furniture is off course more challenging than others but this is actually what make the trade interesting and gives great satisfaction once transformed into the finished piece. We are perfectionists!!.

Below are a few before and after photo's of a recent job where we had to re-spring the seats, re-pad, and we had the metal strips on the arms nickel-plated and cup holders on arms re-polished with black trim as per original.
The 5-seater sofa was far to big for us to carry up and down the customers stairs so the customer organised the pick up and delivery with a removalist he has known for several years and were the ones who got the furniture up to the apartment when first moved in.

                                                  5-SEATER CLUB LOUNGE BEFORE

                                                               
                                                            CLUB CHAIR BEFORE

                                                  3-PC CLUB LOUNGE SUITE AFTER

TYPES OF WOOD USED IN  ANTIQUE FURNITURE

Our customers sometimes ask what type of wood is used in a particular piece of furniture they may have so figured it may be a good idea for a blog post to give a quick over-view of the different types of wood used to make what is now antique furniture, whether it be for chairs, settees, dining chairs or cabinets and tables etc.

Below are some of the main wood types used:

Sycamore

Sycamore is a European wood related to the North American maple, and is as strong as oak. It is hard, milky-white, with a fine even grain with natural lustre. In medieval times furniture was made in solid sycamore, and from the late 17th century it was used in floral marquetry on walnut furniture.

When quarter-sawn the figuring is known as fiddleback, as it was often used in the manufacture of violins. Sycamore treated with iron oxide or stained green or grey was known as harewood.

Burr Walnut

Burr walnut is the term used for walnut with knotty whorls in the grain where injuries occured on the trunk or roots of the tree. It was often used in decorative veneers. Walnut is a close-grained hardwood, the colour varying between light golden brown to dark grey-brown in colour with dark streaks, often with a rich grain pattern.

Oak

Oak is a slow-growing tree, taking between 150 and 200 years to reach maturity. The wood is hard and pale in colour, but darkens to a rich brown with age and polishing. Furniture made from oak is usually heavy and solid, and simple in design. From the middle of the 17th century oak was used mainly for the carcases of furniture and drawer linings, but became popular again in the late 19th century with the Arts and Crafts movement.

Kingwood

Kingwood is related to rosewood, which was first imported to Britain from Brazil in the late 17th century. It is a rich brown with purplish tones, giving it an alternative name of violet wood. Also known as princewood,

it was used as a veneer or for parquetry decoration, particularly in France.

From c1770 it was used for crossbanding and borders.

Mahogany

Mahogany is a close grained hardwood, native to northern and central South America and the West Indies. It varies in colour from dark brown to red, and sometimes has a spotted effect. As the girth of the tree is broad, furniture makers were able to use a single cut of wood for a table-top. Furniture made from mahogany became very popular with cabinet-makers in Britain from the middle of the 18th century, followed by France and the rest of Europe. African mahogany, which is lighter in weight, was used from the 1800s onwards.

Elm

The English variety of elm is hard and durable, but liable to warp, and prone to woodworm. Chairs were made from elm from the Georgian period, and the seats of Windsor chairs were elm from the 18th century. The wych elm has a particularly attractive grain and polishes well. Burr elm was used for veneers and cabinet-work in the early 18th century.

Bird's-eye Maple

Bird's-eye maple, or American sugar maple, describes the very attractive figuring in maple. It was popular for veneers during the Regency period, and was also used in Victorian and Edwardian bedroom suites. The wood of the maple is whitish, and responds well to polishing. Bird's-eye maple is also popular today for picture frames.

Calamander

Calamander is a member of the ebony family and derives from Ceylon. Popular in the Regency period, it is light brown in colour, striped and mottled with black, and was used for veneers and banding. Calamander was also used in the manufacture of small decorative boxes. Ebony is close-grained, black in colour, and is resistant to decay.

Satinwood

West Indian satinwood was widely used c1770, and the paler East Indian variety became popular in the early 19th century. It was used widely for veneers and inlaid decoration, and the pale colour made it particularly suitable for painting. The grain varies from plain to rich figuring, the latter having a more transparent grain under polish or varnish. Cabinet makers of the 19th century preferred the West Indian variety, which was imported from Guyana some years before the East Indian variety, and was used as veneer in fine furniture from c1765. It was rarely used in the solid, and not for chairs until c1800. The Eastern type, imported from Ceylon late in the 18th century, was pale yellow and used mainly for crossbanding.

Rosewood

Rosewood is a hardwood native to South-East Asia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Sabah, Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. Some trees of the species grow very highly figured burrs, which are given the name 'Ambonya wood' from the Indonesian island of Ambon, and in veneer form are used in the making of furniture. Other uses of the wood include turnery, paneling, guitar-making, and knife handles. 

IMAGES OF THE ABOVE WOOD'S

                             Rosewood

Whilst on the subject of antique furniture it may also interest you to learn about their periods and styles.

See the two images below:

Hopefully you have found this useful

Visit www.cover-it.com.au for any antique furniture re-upholstery you require.

WE SERVICE THE FOLLOWING AREAS:

Inner West (2037-2050)

Lower North Shore (2060 – 2090)

Upper North Shore (2070-2087)

Northern Beaches (2092-2107)

Gladesville-Ryde-Eastwood (2110-2126)

Western Suburbs (2127-2148)

Parramatta-Hills District (2150 – 2159)

South Western Suburbs (2160-2214)

St George (2216-2227)

Sutherland Shire (2228-2234)

Sydney CBD (2000-2016)

Cover It Upholstery Sydney – recent testimonials

Hi Marcel - thanks so much for the beautiful job on our lounge, we're both thrilled with how it looks and with the professional service you provided. We spent so long looking to buy a new lounge but we reckon our re-upholstered lounge is far better than any new lounge.

thanks again

Kind regards

Pauline and Doug.

Dear Marcel,

Just wanted to thank you for a fantastic job with the cushion and the great turn around for the job. Definitely be passing on your contact to colleagues.

cheers

Lena Teo

Hi Marcel!

Thank you so much for the work! My clients love it!!!!

Cross fingers they will also want to do their couches!

Best wishes!

Ann

Below are a couple of things fabric suppliers point out to the upholsterer to be aware of. 

The seam allowance stuff is standard and most upholsterers would adhere to this, although overlocking may not always be done where it should. The point about a layer of Dacron or calico however is where a lot of upholsterers would not bother, even though this is a crucial step that does not take a lot more time and effort to do but will make a huge difference in the wear of the fabric. There is another type of seating where we do this for a different reason as explained below the bench photo's.

At Cover It Upholstery Sydney we always make sure the work is done the best way possible to maximize quality and wear.

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.

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 (we suggest to follow these steps).

COMMERCIAL UPHOLSTERY

By putting a layer of calico around the foam on the above bench seating we ensure that when a person gets up off the seat the vinyl springs back to shape, rather than leaving a wrinkled area due to the foam gripping the vinyl backing. 

DOMESTIC UPHOLSTERY

Bonded or By-Cast “Leather” vs. Genuine Leather - What's the Difference?

Having a nice-looking sofa gives one a feeling of pride and accomplishment, and nothing is a better example of a grown-up piece of furniture than a new leather lounge suite

But you should know that not all leather couches are created equal, and sofas made of bonded or by-cast leather are a prime example of true furniture inequality.

What's the difference between these leathers and genuine leather you ask?

Bonded or by-cast leather is not the whole skin of an animal, but left-over pieces of hide blended together to form a seamless piece of leather material and coated with a thin man-made layer which will peel off (de-laminate).

Genuine leather is made from entire pieces of animal hide and costs much more than items made with the bonded material. It's hard to tell the difference between the two, as once an item is made with bonded leather the appearance and smell are nearly identical.

Manufacturers will use many types of coats and permanent polishes to make bonded leather appear to be the real deal.

Bonded leather can be quite useful though. It gives books a fancier appearance, it makes cheap belts look expensive, and it adds a sophisticated touch to any piece of office furniture. The bad part is that bonded leather is horrible for home sofas. It's also inexpensive and is often made of recycled materials.

Plenty of consumers are attracted to the lower cost of a bonded leather couch and they're not scared away because bonded leather seems like real leather, but should in fact not be sold as such, but unfortunately often is.

Another trick by the manufacturers is to only use it on the cushion and arm tops, basically all the surfaces that to touch when sitting, the rest is often vinyl.

Durability difference

Many are sadly surprised when they realize the true difference between bonded and genuine leather is its durability, and plenty of retailers leave this important detail out just to close the sale.

Although the entire couch isn't made of bonded material, one could easily mistake it for a leather sofa.

You're better off buying good leather furniture. Don’t buy one. It's a leather backing with a man-made vinyl surface which WILL peel.

Many furniture companies fail to tell consumers their bonded leather sofas actually contain very small amounts of real leather, as the percentage of actual animal hide can differ depending on the retailer or manufacturer.

Many people say they have been duped by purchasing bonded leather furniture. 

Bonded leather or reconstituted leather is not really a true leather but a man-made material.

Couches that are made of bonded leather are harder and more expensive to repair and because they were so cheap to buy would cost more than the purchase price if it were to be recovered with genuine leather.

It may not be worth fixing a bonded leather sofa.

If you're able to be patient and save the necessary funds for a genuine leather couch do so, especially if a leather sofa is what your heart truly desires. Don’t waste your money on this type of rubbish, it will only look good for a short time.

Below are just a few of the countless pictures we get emailed by peopleenquiring to restore their furniture they were lead to believe was covered with leather.