Reupholster existing suite or replace?

We bought a 1960s Scandinavian style suite in a charity shop as it was just the right size for our sitting room. I got a local upholster to reupholster the sofa and one chair and it looks great. He said that the frame was far superior to anything in modern furniture. I can't remember how much it cost to have it done but nothing like as much as some of the prices mentioned here.

We had our Errol suite reupholstered by the company that advertises all the times and we are delighted with it. they checked that the wooden frame was in good condition. we could have put a sofa for less but we like the furniture and its every bit as comfortable as it was before they took it away.

Had parker Knoll armchairs reupholstered years ago - well worth it. Sadly DH doesn't like them so they are waiting in the stables until I have my own home (he's likely to pre-decease me!) when I shall get them redone again!

Our suite has sleep woven into it. As soon as I sit in it... I'm gone...
I think it was Furniture Village.

Similar experience here. We bought our 3 piece suite 39 years ago for £25 from fellow students. Very solid frame. Have had it recovered 3 times by local firms. Still going strong and has survived the antics of 5 sons! Good to avoid sending it to landfill.

We had our old suite with a solid beech frame completely reupholstered and recovered by a local company with a good reputation. Our experience was similar to Greenmeadow's; the total cost turned out to be a third of the price quoted by thumbs and we have been very happy with the work done. Also happy that we have not sent the old suite to landfill, and have suppported a small, local business which we would definitely recommend to others.

above should say re upholstered

Due to lack of funds 20 years ago I made a template of my suite covers and recovered them myself on a hand sewing machine, It's been so many colours over the years and its now time I recovered it again. The 2 settee cushions were also becoming flattened so I purchased two high density foam ones from a supplier for £85 so in total it cost £200 including zips ...

I had my mums old suite, it was fabulously made... but it was green and didn't go with anything, so we bought new.

Regret, regret, regret. The new suite is about as comfortable to lay down on as a bed of nails ( not that i have laid upon a bed of nails )

Obviously we sat on it in the shop, but to lay prostrate in a busy shop was off the radar, we just presumed if it was comfy enough for our derriere then job done.

Now i wish i had my mums old suite back and had recovered it.

whilst talking about the cost it is worth considering that small upholstery firms are not working in a factory, they often have more to do than what would happen in factory. They have to strip down and repair and then rebuild and often only 1 or 2 people will work there. I don't know any upholsterers or craftspeople who would try and rip anyone off.

My advice would be to get other quotes. I found a local lady who did the job at a third of the price quoted by the well known company I think you mean. And it was a fantastic job!

We have had our 3 piece approx 30 years recovered twice. It was expensive when we bought it and yes we could have bought a new one.It was covered by the company I think you mean and we were pleased with the result.

Paid £1,000 to recover a sofa and chair recently - bought 26 years ago. Hoping it will last another 26 now. Looks beautiful and I love it. Hate things going to landfill but yes it would have been about the same price to buy a new suite. Matter of personal choice

I run a furniture shop selling good quality, British made upholstery. Yes, recovering is a good idea if your frame will take it. The industry standard is that it costs 85% of a new equivalent one to recover. There is loads of work in recovering a suite and the skilled person who takes this on deserves to make a living out of it. Ask around for recommendations for local firms. A furniture shop is a good place to ask. If they have a fabric department you can get fabric off them and just pay the upholsterer for their labour. Any reduction in land fill is worthwhile.

When mum passed, I could only save her favourite MultiYork winged back chair - the sofa was just too big but it was so well made. The chair is also still in excellent condition but the cover was too old fashioned for us. I first took the cover off and went to a local shop who do blinds, curtains and loose covers. Didn't feel very welcome. I am a sewer and knew it would be around 9m of fabric, I said they could take apart the old cover and use it as a pattern but no, they insisted they would have to come out and measure the chair, all adding onto the price. (If only I had an industrial machine.) Now seeing as this was shortly after everything opened up last year, and customers were still scarce, I thought they would be more customer orientated and chomping at the bit! Nope they pointed me over to fabrics and left me for 50 mins, not a word. I eventually I went back to the counter and left with some ridiculous price even though the fabric was about £135. They have lost my business for fabrics now too, and I've told my friend who recommended them. Disappointed I found an online company after keying in "loose cover for MY chair" - there is a company you have all the multiyork patterns and even some of their ex-employees working for them. I emailed them, they sent lots of fabric samples as I wanted to feel them, then they asked me to confirm name of chair, and to send pictures of the original labels and fire retardant warnings (must be a H&S requirement). They do have a long waiting list due to COVID closing the factory last year and they are still catching up but I am prepared to wait as the chair is so well made. Local shopping didn't pay on this occasion:-(

Hi Jules29….. I had mine done 15 years ago by that well known company beginning with P…. and they were excellent and did a wonderful job. I didn’t want it done…. I wanted to replace. Husband being more pragmatic wanted it recovered. It was very expensive and I could’ve got the sofa replaced for same price…. so it all depends if you like the shape/style of your existing one or are looking for something completely different! I would recommend them. There rep was extremely professional.

Have you had a look at new ones to see if anything tempts you?
You might see a suite that you love, or alternatively nothing may jump out at you.

That’s what I would do, as well as making enquiries about re-upholstering as you have done.

The trouble is cc, if the cost of reupholstering is more than buying new, the new sofa/chair is unlikely to be of such good quality as the existing one.

I’ve done a few myself over the years and also made loose covers. These days there is much more information on doing this sort of thing available for free. Just before Christmas I spent the grand sum of £40 on a roll of fabric that has more than done two sofas. Done be afraid to give things like this a go, often you have very little to lose.

If it just needs recovering (as opposed to completely reupholstering) then it’s probably going to be cheaper. As someone else has said, if you have a solid frame I would hold onto it and get it done. I’ve had a few old chairs reupholstered and
I remember picking one up from the workshop where a newer sofa was being recovered and had been stripped down, the frame was very flimsy thin strips of wood with padding on the arms covered by cardboard, no comparison with the old (but battered) Victorian armchairs that I had taken in

I'd say that almost any recovering choice is more expensive than buying new. We've looked into this recently for two armchairs and the cost was prohibitive.
You don't have to send it to landfill, you can advertise it (Facebook) locally and give it away. There are lots of charities that will take furniture, though it has to have to have a "fire resistance" label.
We recently moved house with a sofa which is a bit too big for our new place, but the colour is lovely and I plan to reduce the leg length to make it look smaller. Wish me luck!

My husband was over six foot tall and I was five foot tall with a bad back so we got rid of the sofa which suited neither of us and went to the furniture shop and sat in the armchairs until we found different ones which suited us each. Since then have never had a sofa
A lot of people buy sofas because of the look of them. Some time ago I and a friend had to spend an uncomfortable evening sitting on a neighbours posh new sofa .
My son has three leather sofas in his living room and five in the cinema room. Last time I was there I had to get a chair out of the dining room in order to be comfortable.

Evironmentally it makes sense to have your present suite re-upholstered, but to me the price would be a consideration.

If the suite is still comfortable, I suppose that might just be the thing that would induce you to keep it and have it re-upholstered.

Personally, I would scrap it and buy an Ikea suite with loose covers that can be replaced at need, or as the loose covers are getting quite dear, you might when the time comes choose to sew a set of loose covers youself.

vegansrock

I have a 1970s Parker Knoll swivel egg shaped armchair which I had reupholstered by a firm called Reloved upholstery which is based in Manchester, it cost £700 but a similar new chair would be £1200. I also have a Danish 1960s sofa which had been reupholstered when I bought it from 20th Century Vintage, much better quality than a new sofa I would have got for the same money. Maybe ask Reloved for a quote.

Thank you for the recommendation for Reloved - I inherited my parents Ercol Jubilee suite and the covers were in excellent condition, thanks to my Mum's careful care.

I also have an Ercol Windsor suite in a different pattern...I will defiantly be looking at Reloved for quotes to reupholster them in the same fabric
when the time comes.

I used Thumbs, they had a half price offer and the loose covers I had were a lot less expensive than the local company. I would recommend as long as you can get one of their offers.