Understanding High-Performance Upholstery

Given the tough conditions it needs to withstand, upholstery can be a challenging material for outdoor furniture. To meet the functional requirements, it’s critical that textiles are purpose-designed for high performance in all-weather conditions. Quality materials, along with proper care and maintenance, and the ability to refurbish, extend a piece of furniture’s lifespan.

We hear from Creative Director Susan Tait how ‘buy once, buy well’ is embedded into Tait’s outdoor fabric collection and upholstery service.

Why do we upholster?

Over the last 30+ years, upholstery has been an important part of our journey designing and crafting outdoor furniture.

‘In the mid-nineties, we offered upholstered cushions for timber bench seats and sunlounges for comfort,’ recalls Creative Director Susan Tait. ‘We also developed neoprene (wet suit material) seat pads for a sheet metal outdoor collection called Huski, for protection from heat and cold.’

In the 2010s, outdoor fabric offerings began to improve, as high-performance materials that looked and felt more like indoor fabric became available. In 2017, we launched our first fully upholstered collection, Trace. With Voom following in 2023, upholstered collections became an increasingly important part of our range.

In 2023 we brought this part of the manufacturing stage in-house. ‘Like many other processes, we decided to introduce an upholstery department to our factory capabilities to ensure control of quality and lead times. It is easier to prototype and experiment with direct access to these skills,’ Susan explains.

 

Our powder coating process
Who does our upholstery, and how?

At Tait HQ in Thomastown, a separate room is dedicated to upholstery, to ensure it is clean and dry. The upholstery room includes 2 cutting benches and 4 sewing machines: a top stitcher, overlocker an 2 walking feet machines. Our main upholsterer is Carl Kirchhoff, who has been with us just over 2 years and is assisted by 3 others in the team. Carl brings prior experience as a high-end car upholsterer, so has expert eyes and hands that help bring our collections to life.

Upholstering furniture is a complex task that requires specific skills including pattern-making, foam-cutting, preparation of foam, cut and sew, fit and custom designs. ‘We use specific outdoor foams, which sometimes have to be carved and sculpted to create the desired cushion shape’, explains Susan. Layers of different density foam and Dacron (a synthetic fibre with high strength, durability, and resistance) are first built up. Then, the fabric is cut to a pattern and sewn together to create a cover, which slips over the foamed cushioning and zipped closed. Importantly, this makes the covers removable for cleaning.

It’s a very specialised skillset, as ‘The upholstery for products like Trace, and particularly Voom, are very difficult to make,’ Susan continues, who particularly loves Voom’s curvaceous, comfortable and clever detailing. ‘They need to be self-supported to hold the shape of the cushion without a frame. Indoor upholstery is often stapled or nailed to a timber frame, while our upholstery is on separate, removable cushions.’

 

Meet our welder
02:38
Which fabrics do we use?

We source our outdoor upholstery fabrics from a range of suppliers, ensuring they are of the same high standards as our other materials. Most are milled in Europe or America (unfortunately, there aren’t many textile mills left in Australia). Thanks to our partners, including Mokum, Kvadrat, Maharam, Westbury, Willie Weston and Sunbrella, we have access to some of the best. ‘Over the last 5 years there has been a growth in the offering of recycled outdoor fabrics which is super exciting,’ Susan enthuses.

Most of the styles we use are commercial-grade or have high rub rates (either Martindale or Wyzenbeek depending on which test was carried out). Outdoor fabrics undergo vigorous testing for UV light fastness and fibre degradation to ensure they can withstand extended exposure to the elements. They’re also tested to ensure easy care, so that consumers and business tenants can extend the life of their products.

Through our partners, we can access most of the outdoor fabrics available on the Australian market. However, if someone wishes to use a fabric that is not part of our standard offering, we accept Customer’s Own Material (COM). In this case, we ask for a large fabric sample to be provided first, so we can test its suitability with our patterns before production.

 

A collab with Willie Weston
Refurbishing & Recycling

Like all our collections, our upholstered products are designed for refurbishing.

Because the upholstery isn’t attached to the frame, it is fairly straightforward to replace. Clients submit a Refurbishment Request form which is received by the Tait Support Team. The form requires photos and details of the product for the Assessment Team to evaluate. At this point they consider whether the foam also needs to be replaced – oftentimes, not required.

A refurbishment quotation is provided for approval, including any upholstery, fabric, delivery and onsite installation costs. We can also make arrangements to have the old fabric covers recycled via our textile waste recycling initiative in partnership with After.

Refurbishing is a smart, sustainable and cost-effective solution for updating outdoor spaces. Though there are several variables with re-upholstering (design, fabric, foam, delivery), it generally translates to a significant saving, costing roughly 30-40% of a new product. For commercial projects, the process can also be staged so that business operations can continue without pausing.

 

If you’re a design professional interested in arranging a factory tour with your colleagues, please contact your sales representative. We also provide a custom upholstery service via TaitForm – contact us to find out more. 

 

 

QT Hotel Refurbishment
Published 30 June 2025
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