Description

WRITTEN in May 2026…

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LOCATION- Eagle Junction, BRISBANE. But can be sent to Sydney for about $270.

Listed price is for the swivel chair only (as pictured). We also have a matching T21 footstool (as pictured)- KEEP READING!

The investment appeal of this suite is a NO-BRAINER. The Tessa swivel chair with one footstool retailed NEW for about $6,500 before Tessa went out of business in 2019. Now that NEITHER of these pieces are still being made, the Tessa T21 swivel WITH THE MATCHING PEDESTAL OTTOMAN is the most elusive out of ANY Tessa T21 piece to be found.

Here you have a rare opportunity for a matching set, if that’s what you’re after … and a lot of people are! This is the most asked-for combination out of all possible Tessa T21 configurations AND the most asked-for item on the entire iNVISeDGE website. I have someone ask me for this combination every fortnight (on average) and it’s been that way for about 5 years. But this is probably the HARDEST out of all Tessa T21 configurations to actually get. I went back over my records for this listing. The last time I had a Tessa T21 swivel with the matching footstool was back in February / March 2022. Over 4 years ago! And after 26 years in this business and with having 8 regular sellers Australia-wide, this is only the 2nd time I’ve ever had a Tessa T21 swivel chair AND footstool. That suite sold quickly in 2022 (to an interior designer)- $2,500 for both pieces. BUT!!! The set I had over 4 years ago was in dark colours. That’s the most common colour-combination out of every possible colour combo for T21 furniture- Tessa did a lot of T21’s in dark chocolate with very dark timber frames. The chair here has the lighter colour combo- caramel / camel-coloured leather with blonde timber (which is the more popular- AND RARE- colour combo. As shown, the footstool isn’t a match in colouring but could be easily and cheaply changed if this is your overall goal (and you don’t want to wait another 4 years or more to find this again!). The leather is VINTAGE FULL-GRAIN leather on BOTH pieces (this is the BEST leather ever made in Australia). The footstool cushion could easily and cheaply be re-coloured with leather paint to match the chair. (PRICES FOR THE FOOTSTOOL. AS IS- $600. IF THE LEATHER IS RE-COLOURED & TIDIED UP BY ME to match the chair- $750. We consistently sell these footstools in excellent condition for $1,000. They retailed new from Tessa before they closed in 2019 for $2,200 EACH. (There’s not many around- most buyers didn’t opt to pay the extra to get one.) The timber on the base section along the floor has been STAINED darker. It would be the same blonde colour as the chair under this stain. Get and orbital sander on it, a matching lacquer and viola! It will then match your chair PLUS you’d be saving HEAPS. NOTE- the scuff on the star-base has a small amount of the timber stain scuffed off. This verifies that the timber underneath is light in tone. To get close and personal with this ensemble click on the Magnifying Tool in the top corner. Then click on the enlarged image to Supersize it and scroll over the entire Super-sized image. (Any further questions and advice with what to do with footstool, call me on the number in the ABOUT section of the Home Page.)

Look at the frame underneath T21’s … especially the steel sub-structure underneath (the timber base-pieces are clad onto steel). This suite was built to last GENERATIONS (… forever???). Proof in that comment is in the condition of this suite after 40 YEARS of family use. Marvel at this craftsmanship. It’s no wonder Tessa T21’s have held up so well to use over the years- these pieces were built to last generations!

Background Info and Provenance

(This section about Tessa T21 chairs was written in 2020 with some adaptions made for these pieces on offer. These chairs are technically called the Tessa Executive Chair (not the T21- the cushions here are more streamlined compared to the Tessa T21. These streamlined cushions are more desirable compared to the standard T21).

This is arguably the most sought-after chair design to ever come out of Australia. The Contour range by Grant Featherston is probably the most collectable in terms of dollar-value; this one, the T21 swivel chair, released by Tessa in the early 1970’s, is easily the most asked-for vintage chair through the iNVISeDGE website. When I experienced sitting in a Tessa T21 / Executive swivel chair for the first time, I instantly knew why so many people ask me to buy them. The quality just jumps out at you but it’s the comfort that everyone is after! … OMG … after sitting in a T21, I didn’t want to ever get up! During lock-downs (especially around April 2020) I had phone calls from people almost on a daily basis asking for T21 swivel chairs, T21 swivel chairs WITH MATCHING FOOTSTOOLS or full T21 lounge suites.

I can picture these swivel chairs in a small library nook (or even in front of a fireplace). The footprint of these chairs is not big but visually they’re stunning- they have a bold, confident look. This suite is in the most popular colours Tessa ever did for these. These pieces are upholstered in 100% FULL-GRAIN BOVINE LEATHER- the real deal. There is now a blog in the iNVISeDGE NEWLY LISTED section describing the differences between Top-Grain and Full-Grain leather (use the SEACH box and type in “HOWE LEATHER BROCHURE” to find it on our website). Be aware that Top-Grain leather is NOT TOP-GRADE leather- it’s the inferior modern-day leather that usually disintegrates within about 20 years of use.

You’ll sometimes see second-hand Tessa suites where the leather has completely ripped at the seams or cracked all the way through after about 10 years of use- this is always MODERN Top-Grain Leather. This leather is VINTAGE (from the early 1980’s)- it’s NOT the cheaper leather we see around today. This suite retains various labels on the underside of the cushions to verify the age of the pieces.

After a 50-year stint in the Australian Marketplace, making virtually ALL their furniture in AUSTRALIA, Tessa Furniture died in 2019. It’s a sad state of affairs when an Australian business can no longer do what they do so well because of cheap imports destined to end up as landfill. And this is the very reason why Tessa eventually died. Their designs are so well-made that vintage second-hand Tessa pieces ended up becoming more sought-after than new Tessa Furniture. And who can blame people going straight to the second-hand market for designs such as this? The QUALITY of this design is so exceptional that second-hand pieces (in quality upholstery / leather) often still look basically new after 10, 20, 30, 40 … and even 50 years of use. In this listing you’re getting chairs that present extremely well but there’s REAL investment appeal on offer here because these are VINTAGE pieces with irrefutable proof of the age (because of these labels)!

Today in 2026, I believe this design- the T21 swivel chair by Tessa- is THE best investment in the furniture marketplace. Everyone seems to want them (they are now even being EXPORTED TO EUROPE!)- they are NO LONGER in production so more people will hang onto theirs for a lifetime of enjoyment. Therefore, less and less will be coming onto the secondary market. T21 chairs retailed NEW for about $4,400 EACH (in FULL-GRAIN leather) just before Tessa went under- at this price (at about 1/4 retail) it should be obvious to anybody that the only way the value of these chairs can go … is up.

This furniture is about 40 years old and just look at it! No guessing the quality on offer here. After much of the world’s furniture ends up as landfill, this furniture will be passed onto another user and eventually a new generation. Now that Tessa Furniture is not made anymore, I can’t see any reason why the swivel chairs (made in AUSTRALIA) won’t slowly increase to the value they were selling for new (ie. $4.400 EACH). There’s no better way I can think of to invest in your home, the future of our environment and local community.

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