Description
SOLD for significantly MORE than our reserve price! (June 2022).
The price of this AUTHENTIC Parker lounge sofa made in 1964 is offers over $x. If you’re interested in the full suite, express your interest early to avoid disappointment. (We are prepared to break up the full suite as there has been very strong interest in just the pair of chairs.)
The matching PAIR of PARKER chairs is priced SEPARATELY.
This suite is being sold UNDER CONSIGNMENT by a private seller in the SUNSHINE COAST but can be sent to anywhere in Australia. Freight of this sofa to Sydney would be around $280.
Provenance and Background Information
(Written in 2022. Some information such as values will be time-sensitive and may no longer be current.)
An AUTHENTIC Parker 3-seater lounge sofa made in 1964. I believe this design is from the “Nordic” range. (The matching PAIR of chairs are available in a SEPARATE listing.) ONE OWNER only- an elderly couple who are now in their mid-80’s. This suite has had 58 years of family use- the frame is 100% original- it has never been restored in any way. The timber (which I think is teak) hasn’t even been sanded back or re-finished over this time- just look at the condition! No guessing the QUALITY of what’s on offer here. This suite has been built to last and has. No second-guessing the quality here. Parker has long been regarded as one of the best furniture makers in Australian history. Their designs in the 1950’s and 1960’s are responsible for them being held up on a pedestal that no other Australian furniture maker ever has. This design- made in the early 1960’s (from around 1961 through to around 1966)- is one of the most sought-after Australian VINTAGE furniture offerings ever. One glance at these photos is enough to show you why- look at those graceful curves! The refined elegance is just stunning. These minimalist sculpted frames are one of the most beautiful man-made things you’ll ever see. You’ll find yourself ogling the craftsmanship every time you walk past them!
But it’s not the look that’s most impressive. It’s the craftsmanship you can’t see that’s even more amazing. This suite is 100% rock-solid and sturdy after almost 60 years of family use. Why? Because the joint areas have been perfectly crafted to lock together at each corner so the suite will last generations. Modern offerings that look similar are not made this way. I’ve seen various similar items out ready for council pick-up / landfill in as little as a couple of years. One of my customers has shown me photos of a similar-looking, modern, lounge-suite she bought from a new chain-store that collapsed under her after just 3 months of use! She has sent iNVISeDGE photos of this suite (this suite cost her AU$4400 NEW). After 3 months of use by ONE average-sized adult she ended up on the floor! (Only one person ever used this sofa- in just 3 MONTHS it was ready for landfill.) The joint areas were ridiculous- when I saw them I just laughed (you could only laugh or cry). I couldn’t believe that anyone would think that such a flimsy joint would ever work in a timber sofa (and then charge customers AU$4400 for a 3-piece lounge suite- just laughable!) Keep following iNVISeDGE as I’ll be writing a story about that modern, broken lounge suite when I have a chance.
This AUTHENTIC Parker lounge suite gets every tick and resoundingly so- especially COMFORT. Look at the seat section- it slants back 15 degrees. The backrest is also set at an angle. This sofa is designed to hold you in a perfect seating position. All the stress is taken off your back- this sofa holds you confidently and properly. The support is perfect- the cushions are also soft and plush, adding further comfort. Lounge furniture like this where the seat section is parallel to the floor doesn’t support you properly (they make them this way because it’s much cheaper!). This Parker lounge suite was made back in the day when craftspeople had pride in their work- when brands stood proudly behind what they made. These days much of the furniture flooding our market from developing economies has NO brands on them at all so NO-ONE has to take accountability for the landfill they are creating. It’s all a very sad state of affairs.
COMFORT, QUALITY, STYLE and LOOKS all get a big tick here but one of the biggest selling points are the loose cushions sitting on the exposed timber frame. This makes this Parker lounge suite one of the most practical lounge sofas on the market. Re-upholstery and cleaning the covers is the easiest out of ANY sofa you can buy. The covers can be removed and put through the GENTLE cycle of your washing machine at ANY time. (Just return the covers whilst still damp to prevent shrinkage! DON’T HANG LOUNGE COVERS OUT TO DRY ON YOUR CLOTHES LINE OR WORSE, PUT THEM THROUGH THE DRYER- THEY WILL SHRINK!!!)
In my eyes the biggest selling point here is the investment appeal- this is GENUINE VINTAGE Parker Furniture (from 1964). VINTAGE Parker lounges enjoy a formidable reputation today. It is this type of work that’s the reason why. Parker Furniture started “fading” in the mid-1970’s and 80’s. By the 1990’s Parker- after about 55 YEARS- died like virtually every other Australian furniture brand has. Cheap Chinese imports that are destined for landfill reign supreme in Australia now. Anything that displays HONEST craftsmanship and a brand that PEOPLE are proud to stand behind is a dime-a-dozen. This is the first AUTHENTIC PARKER suite iNVISeDGE has had in this design. (And we’ve been in business now for 20 YEARS.). That comment alone verifies how rare this design is. A quick trawl of the internet verifies this without repute. The only Parker lounge suite I saw on the net in this design is priced at MORE THAN DOUBLE our price here. On Gumtree at the moment, this exact same design (restored) is priced at AU$12,000 (in Sydney). There’s also a 2-seater Parker sofa (where the frame has been stained an ugly dark colour) on Gumtree for AU$4,500. At our price this INVESTMENT is a NO-BRAINER.
Values of Parker lounge furniture have steadily increased since around 1995. iNVISeDGE sold a 2-seater sofa in this design back in 2005 for just $795. These days I’d price the exact same sofa at more than $1800! Not a bad earner for something you get to sit on and enjoy having in your home. Because of the increasing values of vintage Parker Furniture, they started back up around 2008 and re-released this design. The SINGLE-SEATER chairs in this exact design were being sold through David Jones for $7000 THE PAIR a couple of years ago. (If they’re still making them today they’d most likely be more- all furniture has increased noticeably in value since COVID.)
Why throw your money away buying furniture that’s questionable in quality? The QUALITY of this lounge suite (crafted in the 1960’s) is irrefutable. No-one could possibly argue that this furniture hasn’t been built to last- just look at it after 58 years of family use! After similar-looking offerings have collapsed and the owners have ended up on the floor (after just 3 months of use!) this suite will be passed onto a new owner and then eventually another new generation. I can’t think of any better way to invest in your home and help preserve our environment for future generations. “Recycling furniture” is one of your best ways to reduce your carbon footprint. Bravo to quality vintage furniture!
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