Description

LOCATION- being sold by a private seller in Newcastle, near SYDNEY. I travelled to Newcastle to specifically work with this suite. (If that doesn’t say anything about how hard it is to get these suites, nothing will!) These photos belong to iNVISeDGE and can not be used without our prior approval. Delivery Australia-wide is possible. I’d say it’d cost about $330 to get this sofa down to Melbourne.

At the time of writing, we have a matching pair of FLER Narvik armchairs also available from the same suite (priced SEPARATELY). The armchairs will be listed in our NEWLY LISTED Category within the next few months. If you want the full suite or just the pair of chairs, contact me now to avoid the disappointment of missing out. FULL SUITES and pairs of Narvik chairs very rarely come up!

These DAY / NIGHT sofas (that fold back into a bed) sit at the pinnacle as far as Australian mid-century design is concerned. Some people consider Parker suites the best in this style and others, this design by Fred Lowen with its Danish mid-century aesthetic. It’s obviously personal preference but as far as quality, workmanship, design and style is concerned you can’t really invest in anything better. I’ve seen these sofas priced over  AU$4,000 in the trendy upmarket stores. iNVISeDGE price- $2,095 for the 3-seater day / night sofa ONLY.

Background Info and Provenance

(THIS DESCRIPTION WAS WRITTEN IN 2020 AND REVISED IN 2024)

A FLER Narvik Day/Night sofa made in AUSTRALIA (Melbourne) in the early-1960’s. These sofas are coveted pieces of design- I get requests from people wanting to buy this design more than any other sofa. They’re popular for their practicality and looks. This stylish sculptural frame piece folds back effortlessly into a bed similar to a queen-size bed. The Narvik designs were released by Fler in the very early-1960’s or even late-1950’s. There’s NO modern equivalent I’ve ever noticed since- they’re a special VINTAGE design, made in the 1950’s / 60’s. (I’d say a new one like this would cost at least $6,000 to produce in Australia.)

Adding to the practicality is the fact that the cushions are loose and sit on top of this beautiful timber frame. This is a great design feature allowing the covers to be machine-washed when needed (just replace them whilst still damp to prevent shrinkage). Equally as attractive is re-upholstery of these pieces. Simply take the covers with your new fabric to anyone with a sewing machine and voila- a new lounge without shelling out a fortune. This FLER sofa was refurbished back in the early-1990’s and had very little use since then. The current fabric is in brilliant condition (as is the timber frame). We’ve taken $200 off the price of the last one of these we sold because the fabric is dated but this one is more sought-after compared to the previous one we had- the previous one was an earlier model (the fold-back mechanism wasn’t as good as this one and the woven cane on the back here is also more sought-after compared to the timber slats.) The cushions on these sofas are reversible- great if they’re looking a bit grubby and visitors are due- just flip them over!

This is also another example of furniture design that has increased noticeably in value in the last 15 – 20 years. In 2005, I sold one of these for $1,095 re-upholstered. The last one of these iNVISeDGE had sold in 2023 for $2,295 (re-upholstered) within the first two weeks of being listed. It is VERY likely these will only continue to increase in value in future years (in line with inflation at least, I’d say). I’ve never seen new lounges like this ever in the shops. To my knowledge the only ones of these that were ever made were produced in the 1960’s (written in 2024).

Modern furniture (and replicas in similar styles) may be cheap but what are you really getting? Something that’s doubtful to last like this piece has, a piece that exploits the people and earth to produce it and has no investment appeal (buy it and lose hundreds or even thousands of dollars instantly). Vintage furniture, like this 1960’s FLER Narvik day / night sofa bed and in fact any furniture built to stand the test of time that carefully considers both function and durability is our only way out of this mess. There’s no better way to invest in your home and reduce landfill. (I believe that throw-away furniture should have a “landfill tax” applied to it as we all have to pay a price for these items to be disposed of- if that was done (and made clear what the tax was for, I believe people would re-consider how they buy items for their home.)

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