Reupholstering can provide modern look to older pieces
Save cash, planet with new coverings
The two armchairs were on their way to the island of orphaned furniture. This gave me a little sick feeling. I tried to stay clearheaded as I decided which furniture from my home and from DC’s would make the cut in our new blended home.
But I was having a hard time parting with the chairs. I liked them. They were well- made, in good condition and solidly comfortable. The only sin they had committed was that they no longer went with the new home’s decor.
The look DC and I had agreed on for the happy yellow house was transitional, a style that bridges traditional and contemporary. Some traditional items, just like people, move forward better than others. And these gold and blue upholstered chairs looked, well, fusty.
So the chairs sat in my garage awaiting the next bus to the Sharing Center. Maybe it’s my Scottish heritage, but I am frugal to the core — and philosophically opposed to replacing something inherently good, with something likely to be inferior, even if it is more stylish. So I took my own advice for a change.
“I changed my mind,” I said. “Besides, putting a contemporary fabric on a traditional chair is a perfect transitional statement.”
I tried to sound convincing, so my ambivalence wouldn’t seep through.
“We live in such a throwaway society,” says Dean Stills, co- owner of Stills Upholstery, a family business in Longwood, Florida, which has been resurrecting and transforming furniture for 36 years. “People give away a high- quality sofa that their grandparents paid $ 3,500 for in 1975, and buy something that isn’t real wood … because they think
“Not every piece is worth recovering. … If you aren’t sure how wellmade a piece is, pick it up. Heavier usuallymeans better- made.”
it’s cooler.”
As Stills and I talk, I feel better about recovering, instead of replacing, these good, old chairs. And then we hash over all the considerations folks should make before showing a piece of upholstered furniture the door:
Quality. “Not every piece is worth recovering,” Stills says. Much depends on the quality of the frame and the piece’s condition. “If it’s a cheap piece from Costco, throw it away and start over. If you aren’t sure how well- made a piece is, pick it up. Heavier usually means bettermade. Also sit in it and scooch. If it feels rickety, it’s not well- made. Bettermade pieces feel stable and are made of hard wood like oak, ash or maple, not soft material like pine, plastic or composite. Pieces put together with doweled joints hold up better than butted joints.
“Also note age,” he adds. “In this case, older is better. Anything made before 1985 usually has a high- end wooden frame. Wood gets harder as it gets older.”
Connection. Do you have a family attachment? If grandma’s sofa or the chair you sat in with dad isn’t a decorative fit anymore or it’s worn, new upholstery can give it a new life for another generation.
Comfort. If it’s your favorite chair, and no other chair feels quite like it, it might be worth a chairlift.
Cost. If a piece was expensive, re- covering it will be less expensive than replacing it with something equally well- made. Reupholstering is often 50 to 60 percent of the cost of replacing, Stills. My armchairs would cost about $ 800 to $ 1,000 each to replace. Re- covering costs $ 500 per chair ($ 320 for labor, $ 180 for fabric).
Configuration. If the lines are good and the item is integral to your decor, and only the color or fabric pattern are wrong, re- cover.
Customization. If you like choice, you will have more if you reupholster. When buying a chair from a furniture store, fabric selection is limited. Reupholstering lets you choose from literally a million options, and lets youmix fabrics to customize pieces to fit your decor.
Convenience. Shopping for new furniture is time consuming. If you have a piece you know works but needs a refresh, re- covering lets you avoid the hassle of starting from scratch.
Conscience. Repurposing just feels better than replacing, and is better for the planet.