What do I do with my aging Sofa? Replace or recover?
Questions always come up from Clients and Customers as to Replace or Reupholster my Old Sofa. There are many questions surrounding the choices one has to make. The Cost to recover vs New. Often times the original quality of the Piece doesn’t come into question. If you have made a investment in the original piece or know the manufacturer this can certainly help determine if it is worth the additional investment of recovering.
Most Designer upholstery Lines are originally made to last by using high quality materials and construction techniques. Most budget end upholstery is made of lower quality and adding additional investment to reupholster may not make financial sense. By lower quality I am referring to the construction of the Sofa, the quality of the wood used in the construction, the inner mechanism such as springs and support. Higher Quality are 8-way tied which refers to the number of times the inner springs are tied together to maintain quality and support, a higher end Sofa will have this feature which adds to the original cost of the Upholstered Piece. The quality of the Foam and how the cushions are constructed are also important aspects to review. If you’re bouncing to the ceiling then this is a sign that the quality of the construction may be of lower quality and the cost to reupholster the item probably doesn’t make good sense.
The advantage of recovering a high quality piece is that there are opportunities to first contribute to the Green initiative of keeping waste out of the landfill. It also is a opportunity to revise any issues that you may have had with the original piece, is Sofa is too deep? not supportive enough? Does sofa length needs to be adjusted? Style Revisions? Here is the opportunity to change style of the arms, for example you have a more traditional Sofa with rolled or shaped arms, you can modify the shape of the arms giving the piece a more modern appearance. Eliminate the skirt and have the piece remade with a tight base (without skirt).
The Interior Construction of the Seat Cushions and Back Cushions will need to be evaluated to determine if they can be recovered directly without replacing. If they are a Blended mixture of 10/90 Down Feather the contents crush over the years and the fabric has a untidy appearance and needs to be replaced. The Firmness of the Back Pillows and Seat Cushions can also be addressed with the Upholstery Shop. The Best Quality for comfort and maintenance free is a Seat Cushion that is constructed of a inner spring core, wrapped with medium-firm Density Foam and then a wrap of Down/Feather Combination. This type of cushion gives the cushion loft and will bounce back.
Back Cushions can be also constructed with a variety of materials from Down/Feather Wrapped over a foam core. It is not necessary for inner spring cores for back cushions as they do not experience the weight compression as the Seat Cushions. There are varying degrees of Down & Feather Content available in the back cushion construction.
The approach to determining if this makes financial sense is to obtain a quote from a reputable upholstery shop. The width, length, and depth of the Piece. The number of seat cushions needed as well as back cushions. Modifications to the frame shape size length also should be discussed. The current condition of the Cushions also needs to be determined in order to have a comprehensive quote for labor. The upholstery shop will need to give you the number of yards needed in order to determine how much Fabric will need to be purchased to complete the project. Often the width and repeat of the Materials is necessary. If this is not determined at the time of obtaining the quotethen quote it based on Plain no repeat and then finalize the few yards necessary if the fabric ends up having a repeat.
The Fabric Search
This is the most important aspect of a successful recovering project. This is a opportunity to upgrade significantly the quality of the Fabric used in the Project. Heavy Duty wear for a Sofa used Daily is important. Often there are natural and Synthetic Blends of Fabrics used in Upholstery weight. It is critical to choose the correct weight of fabric necessary. There are many Fabric Mills that have commercial Grade Fabrics that crossover well into Residential applications which have outstanding durability and performance characteristics. These Fabrics are graded based on the construction of the weave, materials used in the fabric, light-fastness to reduce the fading in direct sunlight. Crypto is often a trade name that has entered into the performance arena for residential high quality fabrics. In selection process you are improving over what you had previously, upgrading the original cover of the piece and adding to the original investment.
How Many more years will I gain?
For a Daily use of this process of Fabric and Re-upholstery a good estimate of 10 additional years of use should suffice with the correct fabric and material selections. The average Fabric Retailer may not have these qualities of Fabrics and these need to be selected from either an Interior Designer or if your Upholstery shop has Fabrics have them direct you to the performance fabrics in making your selection.
These are the steps for a DIY project, if your wanting professional assistance then engage the services of a professional Interior Designer. Often multiple considerations are necessary to find the perfect fabric mate for the project. The contribution of the surrounding Fabric patterns, colors, and textures. The opportunity to add Pattern(s). The Designer has access to thousands of Fabrics and retaining their assistance is money well spent. This can also be a comprehensive service which can include all the necessary aspects from obtaining quotes for recovering, fabric selection and coordination of logistics of the upholstered piece. The service is not free, however if time is not your friend and you do not want to make a huge mistake, then it is a valuable asset.
There are so many aspects in making the right decision to replace or reupholster as you can gather from these steps. The gratification of seeing transformation and updating from what you had to reincarnation into a renewed item is very gratifying. Realizing that throwing away a part of your interior comes with a sense of loss, its where you and your family have spent many days and nights in conversation and togetherness, keeping the memory alive and making this a continued part of your life can be very rewarding and well worth the investment of time and money.
Good Luck and most importantly enjoy the process along the way.
