Anyone had furniture reupholstered?

[Touring5]

I have a sofa and recliner that are older, but solidly built. They both have damage from use and kitty claws. When I was a kid we had some chairs and a sofa reupholstered and I have been wondering if it is an economical approach today.

Any experience with having thing reupholstered and how the price compares to buying new?

 

[Doog]

I have had really expensive name brand furniture re-done. Usually about 1/2 the price of new or less. Best way I have found is word of mouth to find a shop or someone who does it out of their home.

 

[Touring5]

Thanks for the response. The sofa in question was made by a local (now defunct) furniture maker. It is heavy and built like a tank - I suspect finding similar quality would be expensive.

 

[mcrn]

My parents had their couch redone due to dogs. It was done by a place that wilson leather recommended. So maybe look to see if there is a wilson leather near you?

 

[Recalculating]

My in-laws owned an upholstery business until retirement. The business upholstered furniture, classic boats and automobiles. Upholstery is getting to be a lost skilled trade. Due to the cost of fabrics, labor and overhead, storefronts eith quality turnaround are rare.

My wife has owned since 1989, an interior design/ custom fabric business with seamstress tasks. For a one person home business, it is very busy. She refers some of her clients to upholsters since her parents are retired. Also ask around sewing machine sales and repair shops for reputable upholstery shops. Quality sewing labor is becoming a thing of the past.

 

[Kuato]

Wife has had several antiques pieces done. It can be pricey, but generally a LOT less than a new item.

 

[Shannow]

Parents bought a suite that was light, airy, and versatile...and extraordinarily good for watching F1 and falling asleep on without getting cricks in neck...it lasted through us 3 kids, quite threadbare.

Parents couldn't find anything near it in terms of their utility, and during house renovations, Mum chose a colour, dismantled the old covers to make a pattern, then took the foam to a foam merchant for cutting and prepping.

Now fits with the new decor...funnily doesn't feel as comfortable, but that's why "new" furniture takes wearing in.

 

[slug_bug]

Only worth it for a good quality piece of furniture. A quality job is not cheap. You can probably by a brand new "cheap" piece of furniture for the cost of getting the old one reupholstered. However, if you go the reupholster route you will have a quality piece that will last for many more years than a cheap new one.

 

[donnyj08]

We have had our sofa and large chair recovered. I think material and labor was around $1k but it was worth it as the furniture we have is very well built and was way too expensive to begin with...it just made sense to redo it when we repainted and redecorated rather than buying new.

We found a local talent and it worked out well for us.

 

[rjundi]

We had a couch set redone for $2000 from a company that typically does Funeral homes, lawyers office and state offices. It was two cahirs and coach imported from Italy 70 years ago.

The $2000 included new springs, cushion and upper end fabric. I think the set if you could buy it would approach $5k-$7k due to craftsmanship.

 

[threeputtpar]

First thing you should do is contact the local technical college and talk to the instructor that teaches the upholstery classes. My wife works at a tech college and the instructor there does side jobs out of the home for very reasonable prices. And the work is top notch.

If you're not looking for perfection, then some of the students may be looking for a little extra cash and would do it on the cheap. If you have something really nice, the instructor or class may want to make a project out of it and then you'll just need to provide materials.