So-Long Oslo

Some of you may remember a post earlier this year about this commission, 'The Oslo Settee'. Well, it's finally finished and was delivered to its new home overlooking Sydney harbour yesterday. Here it is being tested by its happy owner, John. 

The new cover is a Warwick fabric called Chai Atoll - a modern linen-composite which is a gorgeous bluey-green and delightful to work with. The original upholstery was kept, but the springs re-tied, webbing and padding replaced and legs re-finished (originally they were a dark mahogany). 

A few scatter cushions will be added, in the same Warwick Anthropology fabric as shown.

 Here's what it looked like before work:


This 5 piece modular setting has an interesting provenance. John's parents lived in Oslo in the early days of their marriage, and bought this shortly before moving to Australia in the early 1950's. John's mum says that it was the bees-knees of modern furniture at the time - real cutting edge stuff. The covering was a mossy-green carpet-like fabric (very heavy) and the seams were covered by a glued-on gimp, which as you can see, had largely fallen off. It spent its whole life in the family home at Fairlight (just up the road from its new home) and apart from the cover, was in excellent condition. They don't make frames like this anymore! Nor does meadow-hay get used very often these days as a filling - when I stripped it the smell of a Norwegian summer day 60 years ago spilled out into the studio.

Thanks John, for entrusting me with this - and I hope this re-upholstery job lasts as long as the first!