Reupholster Your Furniture Or Buy New?

By Donna Urciuoli       

Have you recently redecorated a room in your home and can't decide whether to reupholster your furniture or buy new? Have you found the new furniture to be too large for your space and too soft for your comfort? Let’s consider some information that may help you in making the best decision for your particular situation.

 4 Good Reasons to Reupholster Rather Than Buy New

1.      Hardwood Frame Construction – Determine how heavy the piece of furniture is. If you can lift it up on one side with one hand easily, chances are it is not, but if it seems to have some weight to it, the frame is most likely made from hardwood.  Even if the frame is in need of repair; that can usually be taken care of as long as it is a hardwood frame.

2.      You Like the Size and Basic Style – Many customers recently have expressed the fact that when they look for new furniture, they can’t seem to find pieces that will fit in their space. They are finding that a great deal of the furniture for sale today is too large and to soft for their comfort. If the size and style is right for you, it is better to reupholster it. After all, it has served you well so far, and even if you would like some minor changes in style, these changes can usually be done.

3.     Large Selection of Fabrics – When reupholstering, there is a large selection of designer fabrics to choose from which makes this much easier than if you bought a new piece of furniture where the selection of fabrics is limited.  

4.     Sentimental Value - This piece of furniture may have some sentimental value to you. Maybe it belonged to your grandmother or grandfather whom you have very fond memories of. The age of the piece may give it some value as it was passed on from generation to generation within your family. Whatever the sentimental reason is, this makes a good argument for reupholstering rather than buying new.

 These are 4 reasons for you to consider when deciding whether to reupholster a selected piece of furniture rather than replace it with a new piece. You may personally find other reasons as well, but in any event, if you do decide to reupholster, there are a few things to look for when shopping for an upholsterer to do the job. Here’s some information that may be helpful.

When custom work is done, for example, sofa reupholstering or reupholstering chairs; including reupholstering antique chairs, the proper way to do it is to tear it down to the frame, repairing, re-padding, and sometimes restyling when needed. Antique chairs may need special additional attention in order to keep their value, but that is information for a whole new article. High quality materials should be used and areas getting the most wear, like the inside pieces and cushions, should be muslin covered first, before the final cover is applied.

The final covering fabric should be chosen to coordinate with the colors and prints already in the room, and should be the type of fabric to be able to withstand the amount of usage put onto it. As mentioned before, there should be a large selection of designer fabrics to choose from. If all these criteria are met, the finished piece should be a brand new custom upholstered piece of furniture that fits properly and adds beauty and warmth to your room design setting.