To Re-Upholstery Or Not?
We get a lot of questions like, “Is this piece of furniture worth reupholstering?” ”. “We also hear, too,” I can buy a new sofa at the expense of reupholstering an old one! ”. Although the latter may be accurate, the quality of the furniture you purchase would probably be inferior to what you already own to replace your current furniture. Although furniture purchased 10-20 + years ago was mostly made with hardwood frames, newer designs are mostly made with woods of lower quality and wood-like materials, rendering the quality of the piece of furniture lower.
Study the frame and the overall design before asking yourself if a piece is worth reupholstering. Although the inner workings of the piece can be difficult to inspect, many older pieces of furniture would have a tag from the manufacturer specifying when and where the piece was made. It’s a good place to get started. You will learn a lot about the design depending on the age of the piece. Furniture used to be handmade with hardwoods, often using materials that are deemed too costly to be used by many mass producers in today’s competitive market. For example, joints were hand made and strengthened back then. It is likely that some seams were hand sewn. It is likely that some legs or exposed wood have been hand carved. In the product line of big box retailers, these qualities are seldom seen today.
Many design options used on older pieces of furniture, such as tufting or channelling, are a unique detail that mass producers today prefer to ignore because of the expense of the labour involved. It is just as important to consider these information, carried out with care, as the frames. These antique style details make the furniture more distinctive. It can be the ideal piece for a modern home by combining these well made, hand-crafted pieces of furniture with a contemporary fabric.
While the fine details add to every piece that additional wow factor, simple furniture can also be just as special. Often it is possible to pass on furniture or just carry some form of sentimental value to its owner. If this is the case, it might be worth considering after all aspects are taken into account.
So, it take us to the main issue of reupholstering or not re-upholstering? Now that we have learned the comparison between construction and fine details, it is important to also consider the following when determining whether or not re-upholstery is right for your piece of furniture:
When it comes to the final decision, you want to ensure that all repairs / re-upholstery meets your final standards, though the choice is essentially yours. Check for the specifics of your furniture, perhaps get a second opinion, and then you can always ask for a rough quote to see if it is within a budget that you are comfortable with to offer the extra assistance in the deciding factor.