Reupholstering
Why break the bank on all new furniture and items when you can give your existing pieces a second life at a fraction of the cost; you should give reupholstering some serious thought.
Outdated, neglected furniture can look like new unique pieces. But before reupholstering, learn the basics of the craft with an inexpensive thrift-store find. A smaller, less time-intensive piece such as an armchair is a great place to begin.
Most of the time, people will start a large project, such as a sofa head-on, and often get discouraged with progress and quite. Don’t fall into that trap. It’s easy to get overwhelmed. Good starter or practice projects if you will are a window cornice, or perhaps reupholstering a small seat back, using only a staple gun, foam batting and fabric. You don’t want to waste a significant amount of time, fabric and materials for an unsatisfying project.
Usually, old piece of furniture made with wood rather than particleboard or melamine is worth a try, but if you’re feeling confident, you can take on other materials. Try the end of a chair or sofa to gauge its weight. Hefty is good. Check the armrests and legs: Are they sturdy or do they wiggle? The focus should be on the fabric, not the structural integrity; woodworking repairs are difficult and can blow the makeover budget easily.
Start the upholstery process with deconstruction, carefully removing fabric, underside dust cover and all parts — batting or foam padding, welting and tack strips — down to the wooden frame. Documenting each step makes reassembly easier. Try not to tear the fabric, dust cover or welting, the fabric-covered cords that cover staples, tacks and seams, these are your patterns.
You will require some tools for your reupholster project, but they’re easy to come by and inexpensive. You might even have all the necessary items. A pair of gloves, goggles, pliers, a staple remover, a staple gun and scissors is all you need.
The fun part is textile selection and searching for out-of-the-ordinary fabrics. Curtain panels, tablecloths and embroidery can all be used for re-upholstery. Stop by one our 3 locations to discuss your project and have a look at our enormous selection of fabrics and textiles.