Extend your style with upholstery
Choosing new fabric for your furniture can be a lot of fun. Not only are you guaranteed comfort by updating an existing item, you also get to play interior designer as you pore over fabulous bold colours, beautiful prints and patterns, chic neutral tones or glorious leathers.
McDonald & Hartshorne Upholstery help people through the process on a daily basis, but every so often a piece comes through whose makeover surprises even them.
Last month, it was recliner covered in a plush, vibrant purple.
‘‘Wow. It was such a brilliant colour you couldn’t help but look at it,’’ says office manager Neke Simeonidis McDonald. ‘‘We loved it. A piece of furniture like that can really make a room pop.’’
Neke says greys and egg-shell blue are the trendiest colours of late, although most people want a burst of colour in their rooms too. Art is one way to do this, but so too are furnishings.
McDonald & Hartshorne Upholstery co-owner Keith Hartshorne makes it easy for people by visiting them in their home or workplace, where together then can go over a large selection of the latest fabrics and leathers.
Having been in the industry more than 50 years, Keith is a rich source of advice on what will suit a particular item or location.
McDonald & Hartshorne often provide new upholstery for antique, vintage and retro furniture, although nothing is offlimits. Scatter cushions can be created to add colour, and wood pieces stained and polished.
Repairs can also be made, along with adjustments to the firmness of seats and padding. Styles can be modernised at the same time, such as by removing skirting
they on a sofa or changing the piping.
Neke says the frames in older furniture were usually constructed much more durably than today’s imported suites. As a result, McDonald & Hartshorne sometimes get people who have bought secondhand items specifically to update with a new fabric.
The business regularly works with family heirlooms, too, restoring and upholstering them for future generations to enjoy.
There is a further feel-good factor in that saving old furniture is better for the environment than buying new, Neke says.
‘‘The frame is the most expensive and important part so that’s really where the decision should be made. If you can keep something out of landfill and avoid items being shipped around the world, that’s something you can feel quite positive about,’’ she says.
Colour and material choices are for clients to make, although Neke advises people to take their time and talk through their options with Keith.
She says her own lounge suite – in purple, amber and lime – would be more dashing if done again. ‘‘It’s not such a vibrant colour but I see it now and wish it was.’’
McDonald & Hartshorne Upholstery is taking a break from December 20 until mid-January but people can still leave messages for a consultation or email across photos for a free quote on reupholstery. Emailed photos should show the front, side and back of the item to be recovered.
❚ To find out more, call McDonald & Hartshorne Upholstery on 03 371 7500, email sales@qualityfurniture.co.nz or visit the website at qualityfurniture.co.nz.