How to Reupholster Furniture

Contributor

By Erinn Valencich
eHow Contributing Writer

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(10 Ratings)

When you want to add new life or a little excitement to a room in your home, a great and inexpensive way of doing so is by reupholstering. Rather than throwing out old, worn-out furniture and having to go through the hassle of picking out something entirely new, why not freshen up what you’ve got? Reupholstering is easy and can be a lot of fun. It allows you to create something completely unique for any room. Here are some suggestions.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Old furniture pieces
Upholstery fabric

Step 1

Research different upholsterers. You want to get a few different quotes or estimates to find where you can get the best deal. However, you also want to be satisfied with how your furniture is going to look, so in addition to the best rate, you want to get a look at each upholsterer's work. Go and visit each one you are interested in and get a first-hand look at some of the pieces they’ve already done. Choose the one that you like best and that fits in your price range.
Step 2

Have the upholsterer you choose take a look at the piece of furniture you to reupholster. You want them to check out its springs, frame and general condition or reliability. If the piece is in really bad shape, it may be better in the long-run to just buy a new one.
Step 3

Now for the fun part--picking out the fabric! Go to a fabric store that sells upholstery. You are going to be looking for different textures, colors and patterns that match the overall décor of the room where your piece of furniture will be situated. Choose your favorite fabrics and get a swatch of each to bring home and test with the rest of your furniture. You may also want to get your upholsterer’s opinion. The right fabric can give your room character and life.
Step 4

When you bring in your piece of furniture to be reupholstered, also take in the swatch of fabric you have chosen and have them order it for you. This makes things much easier for you because they will know how to better calculate how much to order.

Comments

afeafa said

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on 4/1/2009 You can learn how to reupholster your furniture by hands on by taking some classes in furniture reupholstery where you are allowed to bring a piece of furniture to learn with.The cost is relatively small compared to the wealth of knowledge you get from such classes.There is currently a Furniture reupholstery class in the Washington DC area being taught by Abundant Living Interiors. Visit the website www.abundantlivinginteriors.com for details.

sevillana said

on 9/25/2008 The title should be "How to Get Your Furniture Reupholstered." I was hoping for a DIY version. And I don't know about other cities, but in Phoenix, going through a professional is anything BUT inexpensive!