So you want to hire an upholsterer? Inspo and tips on working with an upholsterer to revive your vintage pieces!

Greetings! I am offering up advice so if you have any specific topics you want to pick my brain on, reach out! I may feature your topic in an upcoming post!

One thing I get asked about and have helped friends navigate through is dealing with an upholsterer. There are many in my area and seriously, once you start looking, you will probably find many near you as well. My advice is not to go to the popular or first name that comes to mind. Find someone who has lower expenses and not a big flashy showroom or workspace. The more employees they have, the pricier it will be- and I mean that loosely. Always consider how much your own time is worth, your piece will take many days of work. It won’t be cheap. But you don’t need to pay a premium to get quality work.

I stumbled upon the shop I use as I was walking through our nearby city when my kids were at swim team practice. I had a chair I wanted new foam and straps put in and I literally walked in his door to meet him. He was working at a bench and another gal was at the sewing machine. His shop was in a row home and there were rolls of fabric and other furniture around the edges of the room. He had a gorgeous Victorian couch on the bench in progress. He also was versed in automotive upholstery. He told me to bring the chair in and he’s give me a price, I returned with the chair and he came out to my car and checked it out. I do not remember what for that chair all those years ago, but it may have been around $250. He put new strapping supports and foam in the seat and the wool fabric was perfect so put it all back together. It looked great. I brought him more projects and gradually upped the ante until I was bringing him comfy chairs and sofas that had to be gutted and redone. It’s been a year since I have taken him anything as I like to do small jobs myself and when I invest into large items they take a while to sell so when the 3 pieces I have find homes, I will find something else to do. Here are some tips on saving money or things to be alert to that may cost extra- review this list before you talk to the upholsterer.

  1. Can I bring my own fabric? Most upholsterers will have look books with samples and even in stock rolls of fabric. My guess is most of them have lower quality Textiles because let’s face it, it costs a lot to redo a chair and unless you are into designer Textiles, you will not want to pay for them. MANY will charge you extra if you bring your own fabric! MOST OF THE POPULAR GUYS WITH FANCY SHOPS are on board with this. You seeking out a small shop with a budding upholstery artist will avoid this up charge. My guy has bolts of unused yardage from other projects he would sell cheap or add into his quote. I know my guy is working for NYC designers and I see his bolts and know the brands. He probably has some very expensive fabrics available and I would bet he does not know the value but he does not care, he did not pay for them, his client did, I try to get my excess back from him to use on other projects, but I know he will squirrel it away in his stash sometimes. Ask about excess fabrics they may be able to sell you cheap, especially if you just need a solid or simple tweed.

  2. If the structure of your piece is in good shape, you may just need to redo the fabric. In many cases, mid century pieces will have degraded foam and I opt to have that all rebuilt, Foam is expensive. Look for signs of degradation in your piece: hard, heavy and saggy seat cushions, yellow powder seeping through the fabric, open any zippers and inspect. Opt to redo the foam if you spy any degradation. It is worth paying for and if you have allergies or sensitivities you will be glad you did. You don’t want to do this again. I have a very good working relationship with my upholsterer and we usually discuss what should be done during the quote process. I trust his calls on things.

  3. It’s all in the details. Things like tufting, buttons and welting add to the labor on a piece. Really look at the piece and see, do all those buttons make the piece for you? Is your fabric patterned and adding tufting would just add to the busyness? Maybe you will want to redesign a bit to save on some labor. Your upholsterer can help you navigate through those options and please bring it up and see if you can trim some cost by leaving some of the fancier trims off but still end up with a gorgeous good as new piece.

  4. Services. If your guy offers pick up/delivery, you may want to ask if there would be a discount for you to bring and pick up. Many big shops offer this service but ultimately, you pay for it in an inflated price. Maybe you don’t have a way to transport, then by all means take advantage of it. Just know that the more work they do for you, the higher the cost. No one works for free and gas is expensive.

Overall, reupholstering (and redesigning!) a chair or couch is so rewarding! You can take something that is well built and tired and make it new again. You could probably save money over buying new but also are saving a piece from a landfill which is even better. Reasons people choose to reupholster include:

  1. Sentimental- I have my grandma’s spinning 50’s kitschy chair that I used to spin on as a little girl. It was very tired after living a full life. My mom gave it to me after my grandma passed away. I saved up and let my son pick his favorite fabric in my stash and now it’s on his bedroom, Choosing new fabric lets it please you and your space. Bonus, it’s comfy again and stain free!

  2. Collectible- most of my inventory is collectible mid century modern. Most of us collectors want early examples during the production years. Yes ideally, people want original condition. But there are definitely times when you’d want to make things right again. Investing into a collectible piece gets it ready for another 60 years and it’s clean and stylish as it should be. If it’s your piece, make it your own and save it!

  3. Redecorating- this reason to reupholster a piece definitely depends on your disposable income! The couch in my living room came from a friend of a friend. He told me his mother reupholstered it 5 years after she bought it new because she redecorated! Not only the couch but 3 other lounge chairs that I also bought and sold. They all needed redone again and got their wish. This reason is probably not realistic for most of us, but there are folks who like to change things up!

Have fun with the redesign process! The restored items pictured that I have for sale have a clickable link to my Chairish shop. You can get a reasonable shipping quote there. Message me directly if you are in the region and I can do better on the price for a direct sale! I currently am offering an array of vintage fabrics in my Etsy shop for small and large upholstery projects. It’s hard to fine authentic vintage designer yardage. Come check them out and reach out if you need help. I can provide swatches on some. I also have collectible vintage Knoll Textiles remnants available. Free shipping if you buy on my website, cross listed on Etsy, Buy the best fabric you can afford for all your upholstery projects!!!! XO MALISSA