Bergère Suites: Celebrating Caning

The Bergère Suite is a unique piece of furniture consisting of a mix of exposed wood and caning and upholstery. This wood is commonly walnut, oak, or mahogany.

The seat is usually upholstered in place and they sometimes have loose cushions as well. They are a visually striking piece of furniture that can be personalised to fit most styles of décor.

Gorgeous Bergère Sofa with refurbished circular caning, traditional upholstery, and vibrant mustard woolen fabric. — A gorgeous Bergère Sofa, with refurbished circular caning. It has been upholstered traditionally and covered with a vibrant mustard woollen fabric.

The first caned chairs in Britain were introduced in the mid-1600s. The Bergère style then originated from a type of armchair in France in the eighteenth century, during the reign of King Louis XV.

The name Bergère translates to ‘shepherdess’ and is symbolic of the ‘pastoral lifestyle and the idyllic countryside settings’[1] of the nineteenth century in France.

[1] Decorative Collective, ‘An Introduction to Bergère Chairs’, https://www.decorativecollective.com/blog/an-introduction-to-bergere-chairs, Accessed 15.11.23

Decadent Bergère Sofa and Armchair set with black wood and golden detailing, upholstered in yellow luxury fabric. — A decadent Bergère Sofa and Armchair set. The black wood has intricate golden detailing and the sofa and chairs are upholstered in a sunshine yellow luxury fabric.

We have upholstered three different Bergère Suites over the last few years; the pictures are all featured in this post. A trend we’ve noticed is that our customers have all chosen to have the sofas and chairs upholstered in yellow fabric! The colour lends itself beautifully to the Bergère Suite, contrasting the exposed wood and intricate caning with a bright simplicity.

Bergère Sofa upholstered in yellow fabric with William Morris Strawberry Thief complementary cushions. — Bergère Sofa upholstered in yellow fabric with patterned complementary cushions.

One of our customers chose to pair the delightful ‘Honey’ coloured chenille fabric from Cristina Marrone’s ‘Finesse’ collection with round back cushions and bolsters made from William Morris’ ‘Strawberry Thief‘ in blue.

This Bergère Suite is for sale!

Bergère Suite for sale. Painted black wood.

The wood of the sofa has been painted black and, once upholstered, this piece could add an air of elegance to your home!

We will be upholstering this Bergère sofa in ‘Finesse’ from Cristina Marrone in ‘Honey’ – just like the previous sofa – and the round cushions for the back will be in ‘Strawberry Thief’ in ‘Plum’.

If you are interested in owning your own Bergère Sofa or have one you want upholstered then contact us!

A nursing chair is a chair that’s comfortable when nursing an infant. In Victorian times the nursing chair was a low seated partially upholstered chair. Nursing included caring for children as well as breastfeeding. The low seat of the chair allowed the mother, who would have been wearing a stiff corset, to interact with small children without bending over. This chair form was particularly popular in England and found primarily in upper class homes. Nursing Chair. The types of wood most frequently used were oak, rosewood or walnut. The seat was often sprung and could be button decorated or adorned with a circumferential braid or pair of braids. The chair legs were frequently of a cabriole style or a straight-legged spindle design. Needle Rock upholstery repair refurbish new vintage period piece.