REUPHOLSTER SOFA? IS THE COST REALLY WORTH IT?

At first thought, reupholstering a sofa might sound like an excellent idea. You get to keep the sofa you love. You can change the look and feel of your sofa with a new upholstery fabric. You probably save a ton of money on a new sofa purchase. Right?

While reupholstering a sofa sounds good in theory, it rarely makes sense. Why? Because the cost to reupholster a sofa is rather intrusive. The cost is also usually higher than what you will pay for a brand new sofa. Before we get into details about why reupholstering a sofa might not be the best way to go forward, let’s look at situations when it CAN make sense.

WHEN IS REUPHOLSTERING A SOFA A GOOD IDEA?

WHEN YOUR SOFA HAS SENTIMENTAL VALUE

It is not uncommon for furniture items like sofa to be passed down from generation to generation. A sofa is old if it has been around for 50 or more years. But, there are many families in the UK who have antique sofas that have been around for more than a 100 years! If you have such a sofa, throwing it out to bring in a spanking new sofa is not an option at all. In such cases, you can invest in premium sofa reupholster services to keep your family keepsake alive and well in your living room. Antique sofas that have been passed down through family generations were probably handmade and built with premium wood and other materials and are usually capable of withstanding the test of time. That being said, reupholstering a sofa that doesn’t have good bones is never a good idea, whether or not it is a family keepsake. Sometimes, it is just time to let go and embrace something new.

WHEN THE STYLE OF YOUR SOFA IS JUST NOT AVAILABLE ANYMORE

Is the style of your sofa very unique? Maybe it is a regal Chesterfield sofa that doesn’t come around too often these days? Or, your living room just wouldn’t be the same without your very unique sofa. In such cases, it makes sense to reupholster a sofa, even if it will mean that you spend a pretty penny on it.

WHEN YOUR SOFA IS CUSTOM MADE

Did you have your sofa custom made? Maybe you wanted to replicate a style you saw in a magazine, a style that isn’t commercially available? Or, maybe you had a sofa sized and shaped to fit into the unique shape and size of your living room? In such cases, reupholstering it is a no-brainer as the cost to get another sofa custom made is going to be much higher than the cost to reupholster a sofa.

COST TO REUPHOLSTER A SOFA

HOW MUCH FABRIC IS NEEDED TO REUPHOLSTER A SOFA?

Professional sofa upholstering professionals’ use anywhere between 10 to 20 meters of fabric to upholster a small 2 seater sofa to a large corner or chaise sofa. Let’s assume we are talking about a 3 seater sofa here and that it will usually require 15 meters of fabric. Fairly decent sofa fabric will cost about £30 to £40 a meter. Assuming you settle on a fabric that costs £35 a meter, you are looking at £525 in fabric costs.

Remember, for £35 a meter, you are looking at average fabrics. If you want more premium varieties that will feel soft and flush and also last without ripping and tearing, you will have to shell out more, often up to £60 a meter. Also, sofas with patterns require more fabric than sofas with a monotone look. So, with better fabrics and to accommodate creative patterns, you are easily looking at close to £800 to £1,000 in fabric costs alone.

HOW MANY LABOR HOURS ARE REQUIRED TO REUPHOLSTER A SOFA?

A sofa reupholster job is not an easy one. The old sofa needs to be stripped down, prepped and then reupholstered back up. Sometimes, stripping down an old sofa can lead to repairs that become necessary. On average, reupholstering a sofa will require at least about 20 man hours of work. We are talking about professionals of course, who do this day in and out.

If you are going to attempt a DIY sofa upholstery, your man hours will probably stretch out to 40 or even 50 hours, depending on how handy you are with tools and upholstery techniques.

The style of your sofa will also affect the amount of time it will take to upholster a sofa. For example, if you are trying to reupholster a Chesterfield sofa with hundreds of tufts and heavy buttoning, you are looking at about 3-4 times more time than upholstering a regular sofa without such design elements.

IS DIY SOFA UPHOLSTERY A GOOD IDEA?

Generally, we would definitely say no. However, if you are very handy with tools and are good with building things with your own hands, it is something you could possibly attempt. Here’s a quick rundown on what you can expect from a DIY sofa upholstery project. Read a more detailed sofa upholstery guide here.

STEP 1 – BUYING MATERIALS AND TOOLS

Pick up a fabric of your choice. Like mentioned earlier, you will need about 15 meters of fabric for a 3 seater sofa. Tools and materials you will need are usually staple guns, staples, batting, spray glue, zippers, foam, hammer, sewing machines, scissors, measuring tape and a few miscellaneous items that might become necessary as the job progresses. Be prepared to improvise as well, as stripping down a sofa almost always reveals challenges that will require some creative fixing.

STEP 2 – REMOVING OLD FABRIC

Carefully remove the fabric and batting without harming the foam. Foam is expensive to replace. If you damage your sofa’s old foam, you are looking at quite a substantial increase to your upholstery budget.

STEP 3 – REINFORCING FOAM AND BATTING

If you are going to go to the extent of reupholstering your sofa, you might as well replace the foam and batting on the frame of the sofa. This is where the staple gun comes handy. Don’t worry about the staples leaving indentations with every staple. It will fill out when you attach the fabric on top of it. Reinforcing foam and batting will not just give your reupholstered sofa a new look, but a soft and cushiony new feel as well.

STEP 4 – DRAPING THE FABRIC

Here comes the fun part. The trick here is to not staple the fabric into any place where it folds over the frame. Instead, tautly pull it over the folds and only staple areas of the fabric that sit flush against a flat surface. Stapling folds will cause the fabric to rip and tear as the staples move over the folds. Draping the arms is the toughest job of all and will require some finessing. Remember to always staple as you go and to never staple both ends first, as it is usually ends in a disaster.

STEP 5 – UPHOLSTERING THE CUSHIONS

Upholstering cushions and back rests is probably the easiest part of a sofa upholstery. Install some new batting on your sofa cushions and use a simple envelope cover for your cushions. Using an envelope style cushion cover will help you avoid the need for zippers that require quite technical sewing skills.

There you have it, a quick guide on sofa upholstery. To conclude, upholstering a 3 seater sofa with good fabric will set you back at least £800, assuming you are doing it yourself. If you pay to get it done by a professional, you can add on about £500 to even a £1,000 in labor costs. If your sofa doesn’t have sentimental value, buying a new sofa is a much smarter idea. At Abakus Direct, we have a very wide variety of affordable sofas between £349 and £699 to suit your comfort and style needs.