Carved Diwan in Gold Leaf Teak with Plain Velvet Upholstery

Plain upholstery is harder than buttoned upholstery, which is the opposite of what most people assume.

Buttoning is forgiving. Each button pulls the covering down to a fixed point and the fullness between them becomes part of the design - any small variation in the stuffing underneath disappears into the diamond pattern. That is one of the reasons the technique became popular.

A plain surface has none of that. There is nothing to break it up, so it is read as a single plane, and any lump, hollow or thin patch in the wadding beneath shows immediately - particularly in velvet, which changes tone with the angle it lies at and so exaggerates every dip.

So the stuffing under a plain surface is built up in layers and then regulated: worked through from above with a long needle, teasing material from where it is proud into where it is thin, a little at a time. It is checked with a straightedge laid across the surface and looked at in raking light from the side, which is the only way an unevenness of any consequence shows itself.

Only when the plane is right does the velvet go on - once, in one piece, and eased rather than pulled.

Frame: solid teak throughout, hand-carved, with hand-applied gold leaf over the whole show frame.

Carving: continuous running laurel band along the head, back rail, arm scroll and apron, with carved rosettes at the leg heads.

Upholstery: plain velvet with no buttoning, over regulated and straightedged stuffing.

Back: rolled and scrolled head falling in a long sweep to a low foot.

Seat: full-length domed cushion with rounded front and end, on a sprung and webbed platform.

Legs: hand-shaped cabriole legs, carved and gilded.

Handing: built with the high end to the left or the right, to your requirement.

Made to order: length, back height, seat depth, handing, finish and covering are all customisable. Custom sizes made to order - final measurements confirmed in writing before production.

Plain velvet is the least forgiving surface to transport, because a single crush mark shows across an unbroken plane.

The upholstery is wrapped in breathable cloth laid with the pile, then in soft polythene, loosely, with all strapping taken around the frame rails and never across a covered surface. No tape touches the velvet at any point.

The gilded frame takes acid-free tissue directly against the gold, then foam padding shaped along the laurel carving - which is raised along its whole length and needs support rather than pressure - then bubble wrap.

The scrolled head and the carved leg rosettes are given individual foam blocking.

Legs are detached where the design allows, sleeved in foam and boxed with blocking at the ankle.

Everything travels in a hardwood crate with corner protection and orientation marking. Multi-layer protective packaging is included on every order at no extra cost.

Delivery is free anywhere in India, with guaranteed dent-free arrival. No distance charge, no size charge and no handling fee.

Production begins once your length, handing and covering are confirmed in writing. We photograph your actual diwan through the build - the frame in the white, the laurel carving, the gold leaf, the stuffing regulated and checked flat, and the finished piece covered.

Our team carries the diwan in, fits the legs if they have travelled separately, and sets and levels it in position.

Send us lift dimensions, stair turns and doorway widths ahead of dispatch so the route can be planned before the piece leaves us. Every photograph on this page is of the actual product, not a render.

The solid teak frame and joinery carry a 20-year warranty - the seat rails, the back frame, the scrolled head, the apron and the leg joints, along with every joint between them.

A lifetime warranty against termite damage runs with the diwan and never expires. Teak's natural oils are its own defence and our warranty stands behind them.

The sprung and webbed platform and the upholstery work are covered against manufacturing defect - which on a plain-covered piece includes the flatness of the surfaces, since that is the whole standard the piece is built to.

The covering and the gilding materials used on your diwan are recorded against your order number for future matching. Contact us with your order number and we will arrange it.