Parker Knoll chairs

The latest project to hit the Reloved workshop was a pair of Parker Knoll chairs, model number 1016/8/9 from Walthamstow. The chairs belong to Will and Sarah, but had belonged to Will’s parents since the 70’s. They had been sat in the loft for many years, and have now been restored and are in use, once again.
The chairs needed a bit of TLC and new upholstery to bring them up to date. The Reloved Upholstery team stripped the chairs of the original upholstery, restoring the frames by stripping off the old lacquer. Finally, waxing them to really show off the wood grain.
The fabrics used were ocean and charcoal, from Kirkby Design’s Leaf collection.  A Leaf collection of recycled wool fabric, that is not only ethical, but beautiful too. The collection uses salvaged yarns from the fashion industry and is made with reconstituted wool from Italy, meaning it has limited impact on the environment.

Parker Knoll chairs: the original owners’ comments:

“We originally bought a white two-seater Parker Knoll ladder back sofa from John Lewis in 1970 for, I believe, £25 pounds. It was the very first piece of new furniture we ever bought. To match it, we bought the two varnished high back Parker Knoll chairs in about 1974. They cost around £50 each, a fortune to us in those days!

“Originally the chairs had magenta coloured woollen upholstery. For many years they really were part of the furniture.  When the original covers got a bit old and grubby we had them recovered – sometime in the 1990s – in a kind of seaside-style stripe to match their location. The arms had become very bashed about, so when we changed the upholstery I stripped the original varnish and recoated the chair frames with yacht varnish.

“Since 2007 the chairs have been stored in an attic. With their new upholstery, they will probably last Will and Sarah forever.”