Reupholstery

[oddslippers]

Has anyone had any experience of getting a suite recovered. I love my sofa it fits the room perfectly but is starting to look a bit tired. Could do with being reupholstered and new foam. Will it cost a fortune and will they laugh because it's far from being posh well built furniture?

I haven't had a whole suite recovered, just a few chairs and have recovered a few easy ones myself. They definitely won't laugh! They'll be glad of the trade I'd imagine. If the size and shape is right for your room then it's a good idea to get it recovered. The cost would depend on the fabric but they'll give you a quote first. Can't suggest the one I used as its a local firm here in NI

Thank you did they supply fabric? And cost wise was it cheaper than buying new or more expensive?

It can be a toss up whether it's cheaper to buy new. Depends on the quality of the original sofa - if it was good quality to start with then it's probably worth doing (and of course there's the green argument). If it was originally a cheap one then it may well be cheaper to buy something new and freecycle the old one.

You can supply your own fabric. A small 2-seater sofa can take upwards of 12m of fabric (more if it's patterned) and you need to buy upholstery grade fabric and either have it treated for fire retardancy or have a fire retardant interliner put on. Both add to the cost.

And if you're having new cushions, don't have foam. Have foam core with feather or fibre wrap, it will be more comfortable. HTH

That's useful thanks will get in touch with some places to ask and then weigh up the pros and cons

We used Lifestyle covers (based SE, but maybe they cover wider area) for an update on a large 3 seater sofa; fitted loose covers, new foam etc. It was about £400 so not a cheap option but it has definitely improved the old sofa which was looking tired and saggy. New one was going to be about £900+

Just read what fresh said. Foam with fibre wrap was what we had originally (from sofa workshop) and that was what was looking lumpy and sad after about 6 years. We have another sofa which we originally bought at the same time with foam which was looking good as new which is why we got foam seat replacements.

We have another sofa with feather seats that are lovely and squashy, but do need a lot of plumping. (also Sofa Workshop) That is now 11+ years old and still good. We also have 'feather' on a sofa bed (I think Sofa to bed) which weighed about a ton and squah out of shape which I detest. Don't know what kind of feathers they must be - I even tried cutting a hole in the cushion to check - I think they must be cut pieces as the cushions are never soft - just feel like a hard lump. So take care - 'feather' can mean different things it seems!

We bought sofas from Sofa Workshop probably about 17 years ago.
About 5 years ago we had them recovered.
The sofas cost originally about £3000 and to have them recovered cost about the same (similar ones were going to cost about £4000 from new).
We reupholsterer came and measured the sofas and told us how much material to buy. We went back to the material shop where we got the recommendation for him and ordered and paid for the material which he picked up direct from the shop. He picked up our 2 large sofas, and two weeks later they came back looking brand new. He did a beautiful job.
He replaced the foam in the seats, on the arms, and we had two lots of seat covers made and two lots of armcap covers as these were always the areas of heaviest use (still haven't used the spares).
The upholsterer told us our sofas were worth recovering as they were very good quality.
It was expensive, but we were really thrilled with the fantastic workmanship.

I am an upholsterer and I think roughly it would cost about £500 to do, although obviously haven't seen the suite! If you love your sofa get it recovered, but you prob could get a new one for the cost of reupholstering if I am honest.

Can only reiterate the warnings about "feather" cushions. We have an M&S Abbey one (bought on Ebay when it was only 2 years old - that should have been a warning) It is the most uncomfortable settee ever. The seat cushions offer no support after one post-plump seating.