Sofa Biz designs and builds custom furniture and can restore existing pieces --- even antiques! Whether you need a sectional, sofa, love seat, chair or bar stools, Sofa Biz does it all! We would be honored to stretch your leather and stuff your cushions.
Sofa Biz designs and builds custom furniture and can restore existing pieces --- even antiques! Whether you need a sectional, sofa, love seat, chair or bar stools, Sofa Biz does it all! We would be honored to stretch your leather and stuff your cushions.
Upholstering questions, answered by experts
Doing your own upholstery work is possible, but it’s typically a better idea to leave the work to professionals. Without experience and the proper tools, it’s difficult to get a professionally finished appearance for your furniture, and many DIYers end up spending money on tools and materials only to hire a professional when they can’t get the fabric to look right. If you have reupholstery experience, feel free to give it a shot. However, if you’re not confident in your skill level or you’re working with antiques, it’s worth the money to hire a pro.
Ongoing maintenance of your leather furniture is the only way to prevent it from peeling and cracking. Real leather will peel and crack as it dries out. Leather conditioners are a great way to protect your leather furniture from drying out, and you’ll need to apply it about twice each year. It’s also a good idea to keep abrasive materials away from your leather to prevent cracking and peeling, including belt buckles, shoes, and multi-surface cleaners, especially those that contain alcohol.
The average time it takes to reupholster a piece of furniture is around eight hours, but it varies significantly based on the piece. A professional can usually reupholster smaller furniture units like dining chairs or small ottomans in two to three hours, while an entire sofa might take several days or up to a week. Antique furniture tends to take longer to reupholster because greater care needs to be taken to preserve the piece. Your timeline might be a bit longer if you need other repairs done, like sanding and refinishing wood components.
In most cases, it is more affordable to reupholster furniture than it is to replace it, but it depends on the quality and age of the furniture you’re considering getting reupholstered. Antique pieces are always worth reupholstering, as it’s the only way to preserve the piece and extend its life. Newer pieces of furniture are more often made using lower-quality materials like medium-density fiberboard or plywood that don’t have the same lifespan as things like hardwood. For newer pieces, your furniture reupholstery specialist should be able to help you determine the best course of action.
It is usually worth repairing leather furniture, as it tends to retain its value, provided you care for the material. A typical repair for leather furniture will cost about $250, which is significantly more affordable than replacing the furniture entirely. Even if you spend toward the upper end of the typical cost range for a full reupholstering—around $4,000—you’ll still save money over replacing it. Of course, the quality of the leather and the piece of furniture matters. Consult a leather repair professional about whether it’s worth repairing your leather furniture.
The Emigrant, MT homeowners’ guide to upholstering services
From average costs to expert advice, get all the answers you need to get your job done.
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