When our new open plan extension was finished, I wanted some statement chairs to complement it but I didn’t have the budget required to buy handcrafted original pieces. I began to search idly through vintage furniture online stores as a creative option.

It was in the back of a very patient Gumtree sellers storage shed that I found what I was looking for. These chairs were in such bad condition I only paid for the frames. But what frames they were….the Tasmanian oak steam bent curves of Tessa T8’s.

Tessa Furniture was started in 1968 by German immigrant Fred Lowen and his friend Howard Lindsey.

Australians saved for ages to buy their furniture because it lasted. They took it from house to house when they moved and handed it down to their children. The soft leather cushions supported by canvas slings enveloped the sitter without dwarfing the rooms of the sixties and seventies much smaller homes.

Sadly, Tessa Furniture closed their doors in June 2019, a victim of peoples’ desire for an instant look and cheap deals. But events have come full circle and now many of us are searching out locally made, well crafted pieces again to grace our homes.

A lot of work was involved in restoring our chairs, and the costs were also significant because we were using quality trades and materials.

However we progessed slowly on this journey, getting each step done as we could afford it. It was actually a much better option than finance or Credit Card purchase of new furniture. They trades we used were also so supportive of us reviving some pieces of true Australian design.

We removed all the original orange toned polish from the lounges. The unique modular design disassembled into small pieces but there was slight panic when everything came back from the polisher as we couldn’t remember how to put it all together! My Gumtree contact came to the rescue again, sending us photos of one he had in his house.

The canvas slings and brass fittings are still being made by a former employer of Tessa and I was able to order them over the internet. It was great to have contact with a person who had a part in the original company.

I didn’t want to replicate the dark blacks and browns of the original styles but opted for a sublime Vera Pelle leather in Dune. I was pretty excited when I took delivery of the hides! The secret when restoring furniture is not to be slavishly faithful to the first design but to use quality trades and materials to make the piece your own. That way, you ensure it remains loved for years to come.