We Had Our Chairs Professionally Re-Upholstered and Here’s What I Learned
Earlier in the Fall, I came across a matching set of cane-backed armchairs on our local buy-and-sell. They were well-made and barely used, but there was one problem with them - the upholstery was really dated. Despite my dislike for the fabric, I knew these chairs would be the perfect addition to our main living room. I had been looking for a set of matching chairs that could float in the space between our living room and dining room, offering more seating and anchoring the console table I had made over for this very spot a few months back.
I paid $50/chair and decided that since they were a fairly affordable price, I would look into having them professionally reupholstered. The upholstery craft is something I have always admired, seeing how the pros can completely transform a piece of furniture by changing out the fabric with excellent precision and skill. I’ve always wanted to try having something reupholstered and I figured this was as good of time as any.
Before
Before
The entire transformation process - from the initial idea to the final chairs finding their spot in my living room - took about 3 months. Of course, this timeline was completely dependent on how quickly I made decisions and the availability of the professional upholsterers in my area. I wanted to walk you through my entire experience and share some of the tips and tricks I learned along the way, in case it’s helpful for anyone else who feels intimidated by the process. I’m so thrilled with how they turned out and strongly believe that a little upholstery update can go a long way in extending the life of an old piece of furniture. I hope you’ll feel the same by the end of this post.
The first thing I had to do was figure out what I wanted these chairs to be. Which leads me straight to my first lesson.
Tip 01: Gather Inspiration
This may seem obvious, but I think it often gets overlooked. When we have something in front of us in a particular form, it’s easy to maintain a singular focus on what its potential is. Having a piece of furniture reupholstered can get pricey (depending on what is involved), so it’s important to have a clear vision of what you want the final piece to be before even sourcing a professional, let alone the finishes.
With my own chairs, I really didn’t like the back cushions. The tufting didn’t feel right for our home’s style and they covered up so much of the beautiful caning. After I dug in to some inspiration images, I realized that I much preferred a throw cushion as the back cushion in a fabric that was different from the seat to establish some contrast and interest. I didn’t like the matchy-matchy look, but a throw cushion with a removable cover could solve that. I also knew that I wanted my final fabric choice to be something light, neutral, and simple. By browsing inspiration images, I realized that I loved how crisp a light neutral fabric would look against the dark wooden chair frames, so that helped me narrow down my final vision by eliminating any fabrics that were too dark or too patterned.
If I can offer some advice, take a bit of time to search Pinterest or the websites of popular furniture stores to see if anything catches your eye. If there is an element to your piece of furniture that can’t be changed (like, say, the caning), include that keyword in your search (ex. caned-back armchair) to keep your vision clear. But otherwise, keep your mind open. You never know where you could find the inspiration you need to break that singular focus you have going into it. Give yourself some direction and set some expectations for the process.
Inspiration image via Anthropologie
Inspiration image via Tiffany Leigh Interior Design
Once I had a vision about what I wanted my chairs to look like, I was able to start my search for a professional to do the work. I live in a fairly metropolitan area, so a simple Google search turned out a lot of results. How would I know which service to choose?
Tip 02: Call a Few Professionals and Get Quotes
It’s really hard to filter through a search engine list of professionals and know who is reputable and going to do a good job. This part of the process was definitely the hardest for me because I don’t like making phone calls and asking tough questions. But ultimately, that’s what I recommend you do. This is definitely a day and age when a lot of professional services have an online presence with portfolio images to show and reviews to highlight, but there’s more to it than that.
The professional upholster I settled on only had a Google listing - no website, no social media presence. But he came highly recommend by numerous people I spoke to. He has been in business for over 30 years, a true expert, and has worked really hard to build up his reputation. I gave him a call to talk through a few details and he invited me to his shop to talk more and explore fabric swatches. From the moment I met him, I had a sense that my chairs would be in good hands. I showed him pictures of the chairs and explained my idea to remove the back cushion. He gave me a general quote and idea about a timeline. But most importantly, by meeting him, I realized that he was really genuine and very knowledgeable.
I will note that I made an effort to contact other professionals in my area too. If you’re reading this, like me, you’ve likely never had something reupholstered, so it’s important to gather a few different quotes to be able to compare. I’m not going to share the numerical value of my final quote here because there are so many factors that went into it (geographical area, experience of the professional, availability and demand of the professional, the fabric you choose, your timeline, etc), but the quotes I received were all relatively consistent and so I was able to confidently proceed with the professional I felt the best about, knowing that I was paying a fair price. This point actually conveniently leads me in to my next tip.
Tip 03: Ask For Professional Suggestions and Ideas
When I visited the upholstery shop for a quote, my upholsterer let me loose in a room full of fabric swatch books. There were maybe 400 books of fabric swatches in there! It didn’t take much time of flipping through the first book to feel completely frozen with overwhelm. I definitely enjoy home decorating and have a basic understanding about fabrics, but I had no clue where to start when it came time to make a material choice. I decided to just ask - what would be a good option for my chairs?
Take the time to explain to your upholsterer what you are looking for so he/she can help you narrow your search. In my case, I told him that I had cats with a bad habit of scratching furniture and a young child in the house. I wanted a fabric that wouldn’t attract cat hair and was durable and wipeable. I also showed him my original inspiration images, noting that I wanted something light, neutral, and simple. He pulled 3-4 swatch books for me - way less intimidating to look through than 400! From there, I was able to eliminate two of the four because I didn’t like the cool tones or the texture, and that ultimately left me with two. There were still 20-40 fabrics to choose between within each book, so there was definitely plenty of option, but having him narrow down my search made the decision feel much more approachable.
Sometimes we think that more options are helpful, but in this case, let the professional do what they do best. They know exactly what would work for your piece of furniture and can offer a lot of insight into your decision. By asking a few questions upfront, I saved myself hours of research and was able to keep the process moving along in a timely manner.
Once I had narrowed my choices down to a few different fabrics, I once again felt overwhelmed about which option would be the one. My upholsterer actually recommended my next and final tip and I’m so glad he did because it made a huge difference in my final decision.
Tip 04: Take The Swatches Home
What a difference this made! I’m sure you’ve heard this said with paint chips plenty of times, but the same concept applies to fabric. There are many variables affecting how we perceive colour in our actual space, like lightness and darkness, the other decor in the room, and paint and furniture undertones. When I left the upholstery shop with my swatches, I had a pretty good idea about the fabric I wanted to go with. It was a really beautiful linen blend with a subtle ticking stripe. However, when I got it home and set it in our living room, the undertone looked too brown next to our grey sofa and the stripe competed with another striped fabric I had in our adjoining dining room. I flipped through the swatch book again and actually settled on a fabric that wasn’t originally on my radar. It had a mixture of grey and beige fibres that pulled from our fireplace stone and I liked that it would complement, not compete with, our grey couch.
I’m not sure how standard of a practice this is, but if your chosen upholsterer will allow you to borrow one or two swatch books, take them up on it. Take the time to compare the subtle differences in fabric colours and then compare them against the other elements in your room. Look at them in the morning, at noon, and again at night. You will be amazed at how different they look in your own space.
After humming over it for a few days at home, I was finally able to make a decision. I felt confident in my choice and I am so grateful that I took the time to bring the swatch books home before rushing the decision.
The rest of the process was out of my hands. From the day I selected my fabric, it took 3 weeks for the material to come in. Once it arrived, my upholsterer called me to bring in the chairs, and then he took an additional 3-4 weeks to complete the work. It was such a pleasant experience and I know that I will likely do this again in the future whenever a secondhand treasure calls for an update.
I’m on the hunt for the perfect throw pillows to live on these babies. I threw a couple of old cream ones on there for the time being, but these makeshift placeholders have only confirmed that the throw cushions will be a good opportunity to pull in some texture and pattern. I’m not rushing to find the perfect solution, though. If this entire process has taught me anything, it’s that good things take time. Although it’s sometimes hard to not rush towards the final result, I’ve come to appreciate slow decorating. It’s the little things, like finally finding the perfect set of chairs after a long hunt or patiently waiting to source (and afford) the perfect throw pillows, that make our home feel so collected and special. The best things are always worth the wait.
If you have any questions about the reupholstery process, don’t hesitate to reach out or ask in the comments below. I’m happy to share more about my experience if it helps you feel more confident in yours. Until next time!
