Hand built and built to last.
If your furniture has seen better days you may have thoughts of replacing it with new. As exciting as that prospect can be most furniture nowadays is not made in the same way and with the same standard of frame as before. Therefore, if the piece has served you well for many years it is advisable to restore the old than buying new. Furniture restoration, when done well will return the piece to its new state, in some cases better than new, and can achieve another 20 years of use.
Taken back to the frame
We strip a piece to the frame then re-build it by hand, layer by layer.
Built to last
Solid frames, hand tied springs, natural layers and stitching that will stand the test of time.
Every stage overseen by Simon
Four upholsterers, one workshop, one standard. Nothing is subcontracted.
Drag any one of these across.
A pair of deep-buttoned chairs, stripped and finished
A chaise, from bare frame to finished piece
An egg chair, stripped to its shell and rebuilt
A wing chair, worn through and recovered
A sofa, worn through and rebuilt
A wooden-armed wing chair, before and after
A family room, before and after
The right cloth for the job.
Your chosen fabric, cut, fitted and finished to the showroom standard. Browse the Osborne & Little library and build a board before you commit.
Fabric collections and photography courtesy of the fabric houses we hold.
Why it is built to last.
Beauty is only skin deep on much of today's furniture. Mass-produced pieces are often built from inferior materials that age fast, and the new-sofa feel does not last. A quality frame is the skeleton, its strength holds everything else in shape. We build ours from solid beech: a straight-grained hardwood with a long, unbending trunk and no tendency to warp or twist, so the frame keeps its shape for decades, not seasons.
The frame alone is not enough; what is built into it matters just as much. Hand-tied coil springs, individually tied and cushioned with natural fibres and horse hair, are the traditional method we still use on the antiques that come through the workshop, and the standard behind every new piece too. It remains the most effective method there is for comfort that lasts, not just comfort on day one.
Look past the fabric to the people who made the piece. Most mass-produced furniture is assembled from parts made by an unskilled, disconnected workforce, each person covering one piece with no view of the whole. A trained upholsterer builds a piece from frame to finish, understanding how every part works together so there is no weak link. It takes years to learn the craft properly. It is the difference between a sofa that looks tired within a couple of years and one that still looks and feels right after fifteen or more.
Send a photo of your piece.
A photo and a few words is all we need to quote properly. Aftercare that does not end when the van leaves.
Questions, answered.
Yes. Generally, older furniture has the best quality frames. We strip everything back to the wood and rebuild using traditional upholstery techniques and materials such as hand tying the springs and using fibre and horsehair. This keeps the furniture true to its age and allows many more years of use.
The cost of reupholstery is comparable to buying new of a similar quality. Send us a photo and a brief overview and we will send you a personal reply quoting your project using an average price fabric. Once approved we will arrange an appointment either at our showroom or in your home.
Most reupholstery runs a few weeks once the fabric is in. You get a clear timeline with every quote.
Yes. It takes around a thousand times more carbon to build a piece from new than to restore a good one. Reupholstery is the considered choice.