Where to donate a Parker Knoll Sofa for refurbishment/reupholstering

[LindaDawn]

Have a Parker Knoll sofa in which sunlight from our conservatory has faded and in the centre some disintegration of fabric. It’s a really comfortable sofa that has hardly been used and it would be a shame to just throw away. We have decided against the expense of getting it reupholstered as in view of new grandkids that might wreck it. Any ideas of where to donate it to please. Tried facebook marketplace but no luck so far.

Forgot to add that I am in the southeast. Tried the charity Thames Valley furniture but they don’t upholster.

As long as it has fire certification, British heart Foundation will likely take it. They restore but don’t know up the upholstery. Worth giving them a call.

Have you tried Freecycle and also looking to see if your area has a local recycle (essentially Freecycle for Facebook) group?

yes I will get in touch with BHF, hav3 t so far although used them previously. Haven’t tried freecycle so will try that. So annoyed with myself as I should have covered it once I noticed the fading. It’s hardly been used.

Could you contact Betel? I cant comment on them as a charity, but part of the recovery work they do with addicts is teach them how to up cycle furniture.

EBay. Sell it. You might find it gets snapped up. Some of their designs are favoured by some. Since you ruined it to the extent that you now want to give it away, do you actually think grandchildren would treat it worse than you? I’ve had decent sofas with children and they respected the furniture. And they were living here every day.

Not heard of Betel. Thanks, will look it up. Hate just to dump it.

Didn’t really want to incur any selling costs re e.bay. Maybe I should wait until they do one of their cheap rates for listing. Re grandchildren, I have been quoted a very rough estimate of approx £1500 to refurbish and I have seen an IKEA sofa that I think would be suitable which i assume is much much cheaper.

Yes it will be but I assume not the same build quality. Comparing apples and pears. That will fade and disintegrate too.

You can buy covers instead for whilst you have young grandchildren

The sofa is in a conservatory which we are now demolishing and replacing with an extension so hopefully the sunlight and subsequent fading won’t be a problem. I get what you are saying with the build quality. Don’t really want to add to the landfill if I can’t get rid of it.

May have a rethink and look into covers for it. At the moment we have covered it with a throw.

I’ve had two expensive sofas recovered. I liked them but we extended the house and the fabrics weren’t right for the new space. So we changed the fabrics and they are definitely a cut or ten above ikea.

You can also get fabric dye for furniture.

Sorry,but I can't remember the brand.

That would be a good idea but the fabric has started to disintegrate in the centre. It’s only approx 6/7cm so it means a complete reupholster.

Some retailers are offering to take furniture back from customers. They strip it down and recycle each component correctly, reusing anything that can legally be reused without compromising safety and quality.
look into some of the big retailers or ask wherever you bought it from

Always had decent sofas, and bought an IKEA sofa 4 years ago to fit into a difficult space. I regret it - foam is sticking out through the cover, and it’s just no longer comfortable. I would stick with the Parker Knoll if you can…

When we found out the cost of replacing our 20 year old 3 sofas with similar quality we nearly fell over! Reupholstering was much cheaper. I would definitely reupholster the sofa.

Only 1500/2000 to recover I’d do
that! Good sofas are expensive. Ours is falling apart and I’m tempted by a cheap ikea but can’t bring myself to do it.

gumtree

If the fabric has disintegrated (ie there's a hole in it) might that void the fire safety rating, as the filling could be more easily exposed to flame? I might be wrong though.

If you just want rid of it rather than selling, Freecycle or equivalent on Facebook, or try asking local upholsterers if they'd like it for free. Sound like it needs recovering rather than reupholstering.

There is a Facebook group for buying and selling mid century furniture. If you put it on there it would get snapped up. There are dealers and individuals who restore vintage furniture. I’ve. APK 70 s chair reupholstered and it’s really comfortable.

@SmiteTheeWithThunderbolts When you get a sofa recovered, there’s an obligation to make it fire retardant to current standards. You don’t reuse old seat cushions if they are not up to standard . You also must have fire guarded material that meets current fire standards.

I would love it! ButI live in NZ and it’s rather a long way away.😂😂

I will try some retailers but sadly the independent shop I bought from has now closed down.