Reupholstering old furniture is a great, environmentally friendly way to update your interior while keeping perfectly usable furniture out of landfills. It allows you to express your style and personality while breathing new life into that wingback chair with great bones that nobody in the family is willing to part with. Restoring vintage furniture allows us to connect to a nostalgic time or place and honor quality craftsmanship while keeping true to our design aesthetic.
Save Time, Money and Waste
We’ve all heard the saying “reduce, reuse, recycle” but which of those is the most important? Arguably, it’s reducing. Reducing material consumption, waste, and resources used in production are all things that make a huge difference in scaling down the amount of waste that ends up in landfills. The Environmental Protections Agency estimates that some 9.69 million tons of furniture and furnishings are sent to the landfill each year, and that number is on the rise.* Upholstering a used furniture piece also doesn’t take as long to produce so you save some time if you’re looking for a quicker turnaround, and you also save money as reupholstering furniture uses fewer materials and requires less labor than building a new piece of custom furniture.
Keep It In the Family
Sentimental treasures are one of the things that make a house special. Those passed down items that carry with them the memories of time spent with loved ones, like your grandpa’s chair that reminds you summers spent perched on his lap or that footstool your great grandma used to prop her feet on to knit. Items like these can possess powerful memories and evoke strong emotions. The thought of getting rid of these sentimental items can be painful, but refinishing and reupholstering those items allows you to keep the memories and the item itself while updating it to reflect modern design styles. It also provides many more years of enjoyment by repairing any damage to the internal structure of the piece.
What Is Included in the Cost of Reupholstering Furniture
When a professional upholsterer provides a quote for the cost for reupholstering a piece of furniture, you may wonder what all is included in that price?
Generally this price reflects three things: fabric, supplies and labor.
The cost of fabric can vary greatly as it is dependent on the material’s quality and the price per yard. Supplies may include new foam padding, springs or down feathers for filling cushions or pillows. Labor often includes the cost of tear down, frame repair, support systems and installing the new springs and adding the new padding and fabric. Your quote may also include the cost of finishing the item with professional strength Scotch Guard to create a water and stain resistant seal on your newly upholstered furniture.
If Reupholstering Still Isn’t Right for You
Perhaps you’re looking to completely change your interior style, and that style may not be able to be accomplished through simply reupholstering your sofa and accent chairs. You can change arm shape, you can add or remove tufting and even turn a sofa into a sectional, but you may find that creative ingenuity and an unlimited budget still may not be enough to change a silk brocade camel back sofa into a contemporary cube sectional with a low profile and sleek lines. The choice on whether to reupholster or buy all new furniture is your preference, but whatever you choose we are here for you and ready to talk inspiration, design and pricing.
*Statistic from 2015
