Are you sitting comfortably? Then I’ll begin….

When it comes to seating, as important as the frames is the fabric that’s put on them. The Farley workshops are currently restoring many of the suites of furniture and runs of chairs that make up our extensive seating collection.Fabrics are carefully selected to best suit the periods of each with no expense spared to get just the right look. All upholstery work is traditionally and expertly carried out using horsehair and flame retardant first covers, no foam is used.  During many hours of careful work the frames are conserved including any carving, gilding and re-polishing necessary to return them to their former glory. 

Set of four Venetian throne chairs

Blue Genoa cut velvet upholstered Louis XIII sofa

And complimentary pair of chairs

 
On a movie or TV set there is of course a place for the dusty and distressed, of which we have a few. Inevitably though the restorative cycle will continue. The forlorn chair will start life anew in a fresh set of clothes after it has been dressed into its final run down set.

The suite below for example had pink fabric that had been in place for over thirty years. It stood the test of time but was looking a little worse for wear so we decided to recover it to match another Louis XVI suite which now work together as a larger set.

Armchairs en suite

These small Louis XVI style sofas sourced in a Paris flea market have gone from tired brown velvet to sumptuous gold silk

These unusual pieces of furniture are from a suite of four Swedish armchairs and a sofa, in Louis XVI style.  They recently underwent a full Farley renovation. The frames were repainted and aged and complimented with this wonderful celadon green silk upholstery.

Complimenting the four chairs above this petite two seat sofa.

French Henri II circa 1560

With 134 sofas in stock the workshop are never short of work, with three sets on their way back to us ready for another round of staring roles, who knows which movie stars will be the first to sit back and wait for the director to call, “action”.

It’s not just the suites, many of the chairs are re-covered too, including this leather 17^th century armchair covered in beautiful gold decorated leather which shimmers atmospherically under candlelight.

Maintaining the high standard of our collection is of the utmost importance and refreshing upholstery is a large part of this. It’s also a wonderful way to breathe new life in to existing stock and keep pieces working for the next thirty years!