Has Anyone Had a Couch/loveseat Reupholstered Professionally?

We had a chair reupholstered once.
It was a high end chair. With down stuffing.
When we got it back, well, the down was not there anymore. They took it and re-stuffed the chair with cheap foam.
We told them, to keep the structure of the chair and the stuffing.
They did not.
We did not pay them. And took our chair.
They played dumb.

So, beware. Especially if your furniture is of an older type or collectible or high end value.

1 mom found this helpful

My mom used to re-upholster furniture and in the old days, it was reasonably priced. These days, it is generally less expensive to buy new furniture. Most shops sell upholstery fabric and give you a better deal on re-upholstery labor. If you buy your fabric from another vendor, they charge a cutting fee. My mom never advertised, her referrals were all by word of mouth. Check some of the fabric stores in your area, they might have a list of people who re-upholster. Another aveneue to look into are trade schools who teach upholstry. Students often need furniture to practice on. There were some really good directions on Pinterest just yesterday on re-upholstering a chair. This isn't the link that I saw yesterday, but it is pretty thorough if you want to tackle it yourself.
http://www.bhg.com/decorating/do-it-yourself/fabric-paper...

Most stores that sell drapery/upholstery fabric will have a chart with yardage estimates. Always round up and if you choose a fabric with a pattern you will need even more to match things up.

I know how to do it, just don't like doing it. It is hard and often dirty work. My brother and I used to pull tacks and staples for mom and always got to keep the money that fell down inside. Several times we even found dead mice!

1 mom found this helpful

I don't live in your area, so I can't tell you what to expect for cost.

I can tell you that, at least here, upholsterers want to sell you the fabric as well as do the work, and they will give you a better deal on the work if you buy the fabric from them.

In addition, they know about the fabrics they sell, and you can pick their brains about how long-wearing this or that fabric is and how it stands up to children, pets, and snack-eating television watchers.

There used to be women who worked out of their homes doing upholstery, but that's almost nonexistent around here any more.

Check with your neighbors - word of mouth is important in this sort of business. Check online, and see if the upholsterer has good reviews from prior customers. If you know any women who are decorators by profession or hobby, ask them for suggestions.

Whoever you talk to about doing the job, get references!

In many cases, it's actually cheaper to buy a new piece of furniture, because most modern furniture is made to be disposable. However, that doesn't mean you would *always* be ill-advised to have the work done.

We live in an old house with a very narrow staircase, and a store-bought sofa literally would not have gone down it into our family room. I waited for a long time - saving up money as I waited - before I found somebody with an old (probably '60s or '70s), free, full-sized sofa narrow enough to fit down those stairs. It was in good shape except for the fabric, which was dreadful.

The work did cost several hundred dollars, but the upholstery men said that the sofa's "bones" were excellent and that it was definitely worth doing. The result is wonderful to see (I had it done in a good quality, dark red microfiber) and to sit on, and one of our kids has already put dibs on it for when my husband and I are six feet under.

1 mom found this helpful

I just reupholstered 2 chairs (fabric) and a couch (leather) and I couldn't be happier with it! All told, it cost about $4000. Considering what we paid for it 12 years ago, we feel that we got a good deal. The company that we use is called Bruski upholstery in Mt. Prospect. His # is ###-###-####.
Hope this helps!

1 mom found this helpful

Its likely more than the couch cost to begin with, or its not worth the amount of usage you will get afterwards. It has to do with the people doing it, and if they are worth the snuff. Then its expensive. I have a couch and love seat that are in excellent shape, except the marks and pee stains from the kiddos. I thought oh I will just have it re-covered. It was too expensive after estimates.
My mother, when she was alive, used to do it for cheap. She wouldn't replace stuffing just fabric. Or if the stuffing was compromised or ruined, she asked what they wanted and they had to buy it for her. So that no bad feelings happened. I think of the 100's she did, she had one person un happy... and it was cause the wife picked the fabric and he thought my mom did.

1 mom found this helpful

Pretty expensive because it's a ton of work and the fabric isn't cheap either. I make really nice slipcovers that are front room worthy, except I don't usually do couches because of the cost, and don't have the space. It can be worth it if you have a special piece of furniture, but usually youre better off just getting new, and selling or donating the old.

1 mom found this helpful

Oooh I wish I could remember! I had a CHAIR reupholstered a decade ago, I remember it was pretty costly (but that was probably only costly to me, I was 18)... but it was SO WORTH IT! It was like a brand new chair!!

Price around, and I'm with you, slip covers are junk!

Good luck :)

1 mom found this helpful

When I looked into doing it for a couch that was a reclining sofa with a recliner on each end, they wantd around 800 dollars! I figured that's too much money when we can get a new one on sale for not much more.

1 mom found this helpful

I used to work at a custom upholstery shop in my younger days (geez I sound old!) - and a couch was generally $1,500 on the cheap side and $3,000ish on the normal side (nice, but modest priced fabric). $10,000 would be something with all down feathers with some fancy fabric.

1 mom found this helpful

I had a chair reupholstered (it was an oversized chair for the family room, like a "chair and a half") a few years ago by a nice man. At the time he lived in Addison, didn't speak a lot of English but his son came with him who did speak it well. He was referred to me by a local specialty fabric store. I believe he does upholstery full time with a company and does these side jobs. He was VERY reasonable and did a beautiful job. I provided him with the fabric and I believe I paid around $250-ish plus I tipped him. I couldn't believe how cheap it was and it was good quality work.

Angel's Upholstery in Addison
Miguel Garcia ###-###-####
It would be worth a call to have him come out and see it.