Reupholstering Furniture

[pcooley]

Hello Everyone,

Our couch is pretty much falling apart. I've been patching cushions for a few years now, but once one patch is in place, the cushion tears somewhere else.

My wife wants to get a new couch, even an new used one. I feel it would be more sustainable to take what we have to a reupholster place.

Is this one of those things that is good in principle, but which will cost more than I am imagining. (I am imagining $200-$250 for a sofa, half that for a chair. Actually, two chairs and two sofas could use some love).

I know I could just call the shop, but I like to be prepared ahead of time, so I don't sound shocked.

We bought the furniture new only about ten or eleven years ago. It has no right to fall apart like this.

[Miss Cellane]

It will probably cost more than $250 to reupholster a sofa.

You have the cost of the labor, and the cost of the fabric. Good quality upholstery fabric isn't cheap. A sofa would probably need at least 12 yards of fabric, maybe more. (There's a handy chart to help you estimate yardage here: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/how-much-fabric-do-i-need-to-reupholster-this-172797) You'd want a good, sturdy fabric, and that will cost money. If there is a pattern in the fabric, then more fabric will be needed to match the pattern. If the fabric has a pattern that needs to be "railroaded," that is, used sideways, then more fabric will be needed.

I'm not sure, but I think upholstery fabric starts around $15 a yard, and goes up into the hundreds of dollars a yard. You can buy the cheap stuff, but don't be surprised if it rips/tears/wears out faster than you would like. You'll need to do some research on fabric and fabric content.

Then there's the labor. The more cushions you have, the more labor. Piping adds to the cost, too, but can help to extend the life of the cushions. You'll probably also need new foam in the seat and back cushions, and the upholstery shop will also fix any loose springs.

Whether or not re-upholstering the furniture is worth it depends on how well built the furniture is. If you have solid wood frames and 8-way hand-tired springs, I'd say go for it. If you have Ikea, probably not. And there's a huge gray area in between those two extremes.

I just had a chair re-upholstered. It's over 70 years old and still going strong. It's a big chair, with a high back and deep seat. It cost $400 to get it done, including new foam in the seat cushion. I could easily buy a new chair for that, but this is an extremely comfortable chair and I haven't found a new chair I like as well.

The cost of reupholstering is often very little less than buying new. But if you are reupholstering good, solid, quality furniture, it is probably a better deal than buying something new.

There is also the possibility that your wife just doesn't like the existing furniture very much, and would still not like it even if it is recovered. Maybe she just wants something new. You'll have to ask her why she wants to get new furniture.

[mschrisgo2]

I'd say if you really love the piece, go for the reupholstering, but it will cost as much or more than buying something new. The fabrics on the lower end are either rayon, which does not wear well, fades and rips easily, or polyester, which is uncomfortable and does not wear well, either. Nylon fabrics are best, because they look nice, keep their color, wear very well, and can easily be cleaned, but they are the $30 and up per-yard range.

Don't know where you live, but if you are in a major metro area, take a look on craigslist. You will find lots of couches listed that people need to get rid of, don't want to pay to move, etc. & the prices are usually excellent.

[razz]

Buy new, the cost of upholstering will cost as much as new if not more. Been there, done that, so unless you really love an old piece, be prepared to buy new. Above all, no used since you want to avoid the problem of bedbugs.

[Jilly]

The only economical way to reupholster furniture is to do it yourself. Since you are already patching, you might be able to redo the whole thing.

I knew nothing when I did my first chair, but just took it all apart and used the pieces to make patterns and approximate the amount of fabric I needed. Depending on the style of the sofa, you might get lucky and have only straight lines to sew. It really is not all that difficult, and since it is in your house, you can take your time.

Decent fabric, as others have mentioned, is at least double $15.00 per yard, unless you can find a way to buy it wholesale (not easy for small yardages) and are willing to settle for a small range of choices.

[pcooley]

Thanks everyone. That answers my main question. I wish it were not so easy to play into the hands of a throwaway culture. None of our furniture is valuable, or well loved, so I guess we'll keep looking for replacements.

[SiouzQ.]

What about getting a semi-fitted cover to drape over it? I think Ikea sells those. It could extend the life of the furniture while you are and looking for a deal.

[early morning]

Yeah, I'm a fan of slipcovers, myself. They need adjusted frequently - depending on how people sit, their fabric, the sofa or chair original fabric (how slippy is it?) etc but the ones I have work and wear great! They are Surefit, and I got one on sale, and the second at a yard sale. They make chair covers too. I have several from thrift stores - they aren't really for the chair types I have them on, but for the price I don't mind making some adjustments. You can also make - or have made - custom slipcovers cheaper than reupholstering. Cost seems to vary wildly by area -around here tailoring/sewing work is fairly inexpensive. And - slipcovers come off to wash, a real plus in my book!

[Miss Cellane]

If you do get slipcovers, make sure to get ones that have separate covers for the seat cushions. The one-piece slipcovers get messy the second someone sits down. With the separate cushion covers, while the slipcover may need some readjusting now and then, the whole thing stays neater.

Another option, if it is just the seat and back cushions that need recovering, is to have new covers made for them. If your sofa is a solid color, get new cushion covers in a matching print. If the sofa is a print, get cushions in a matching solid.

[iris lilies]

Paying to reupholster is insanely expensive and so not worth it. Custom slip covers are just as expensive if not more. The not-custom ones don't work IMHO.

You probably already do this, but we use throws over the sofas and chairs to keep dog damage down. I think that they are easier, and certainly cheaper, than any kind of permanent or semi-permanent covers. And you can use anything for a throw--I buy used bedspreads on ebay.

You could ease your conscience by making sure that your old sofa goes to someone who will use it. A guaranteed bug-free sofa is a good freebie these days. I am 59 years old and just for the first time last year bought a new sofa. I had been dragging them in from the alley for decades, not even buying them at a thrift store. Got some decent sofas that way including the most comfortable one I have EVER had OMG I could totally sleep on t hat thing every night. But it was unfashionable and besides the dogs did their number on it, so it had to go. At least we kept it out of the landfill for some years.

[Gardenarian]

Hmm. There are so many free or nearly free living room sets on craigslist that I would go that route, and put mine to freecycle.

[pcooley]

I thought I would post an update to this thread. My wife has been wanting a leather sofa to replace the decrepit one mentioned in this post. I did end up buying a slipcover on Amazon for around $60, but the slipcover itself is not too nice.

My wife has been volunteering at a thrift store that benefits the animal shelter. A couple of weeks ago, she took me in back and showed me a leather sofa that was terribly faded. It looked like it had been sitting out in the sun, and there were some dark stains. I jokingly said that she should tell them we would take it off their hands for $75.

Last Saturday she called to tell me to come on down with our big bicycle trailer. They accepted the $75 offer.

We polished it up with various bottles of leather treatment we had (Obenauf's, Lexol). The color came back almost to the original, and the stains that looked so bad on it are almost invisible now. It also feels like good, thick, leather jacket leather, and now that it's been treated it feels soft and supple again. (It's a Cibola Leather Couch -- I'm not familiar with the brand).

So everyone is happy. Except so far no one has responded to our Freecycle post to give away the old, slipcover covered couch.

[fidgiegirl]

What a great solution! I wish you luck in getting rid of your old one - I suppose others have the bedbug concern as well. Not sure if your area has a furniture bank like our local Bridging (http://bridging.org/) in your area, but I'm sure they would appreciate the couch if so.

[JaneV2.0]

"Founded in 1993 in Hickory, North Carolina, Cibola Leather was a small but high-quality leather company that had 300 dealers selling its furniture. In 2004, L. & J.G. Stickley -- a company known for its high-class furniture -- purchased the assets of Cibola Leather and changed the named to Craftsman Leather by Stickley. Made with the finest leather materials, Cibola -- or Craftsman -- leather will last a lifetime with the proper care. "

Good score!

[fidgiegirl]

Ooh, looks you REALLY did well then!