Is reupholstering your sofa worth it? 

If you’re particularly attached to your sofa – especially if it has sentimental value – then reupholstery is probably something you’ll find yourself considering eventually. 

Now, the lifespan of the average sofa can be anywhere between 7 to 15 years, and while high-quality frames can last even longer with the correct care, over that time you can still expect it to endure its fair share of spills, messes and stains. That’s especially true if you’ve got a relatively large family, or even just a few grandchildren (they can make surprisingly large messes in surprisingly short amounts of time)!

When a sofa becomes properly stained and worn out, you’ll probably find yourself with a few options. The first, of course, is simply to get rid of it. But you might consider that a non-starter if it holds special sentimental value, or it was relatively expensive, or even if you just like it.

In that case, you might choose to revitalise it using fitted sofa covers, which are basically removable sofa covers that you can take off and wash any time you’d like. Another option is to have it fully reupholstered instead. (Both of these options are provided by Plumbs, whose experts have 60 years of interiors experience behind them.)

Before you make any final decisions though, you’ll need to properly weigh up your budget. The cost of reupholstery tends to vary depending on a couple of factors, but generally it’s something you’ll need at least a few hundred pounds for. So, you’re probably asking – is reupholstery worth it?

What benefits can you enjoy by reupholstering your sofa? 

Reupholstery has a couple of major advantages right off the bat, especially if you’re dealing with a trusted and well-established company. Here are four of the most universal!

1. Keep the pieces you love

There might be any number of things you love about a particular piece of furniture; it might have certain features or style elements that appeal to you, fit well within your space, or it might have a certain special significance to you. Choosing reupholstery means that you don’t have to bid goodbye to any of that – you can keep everything you love about it, while making it look and feel as good as new.

2. It’s environmentally friendly and saves on waste

Every year in the UK, we throw away about 1.6 million tonnes of bulky waste – 42% of which is furniture – despite about 50% of it being reusable. Now, to save you doing the maths in your head, that’s just short of 340,000 tonnes of unnecessary waste. Choosing reupholstery over buying new is therefore the far more environmentally-friendly choice – the individual impact may be small, but ultimately it’s very significant!

3. Enjoy a choice of reupholstery fabrics

When you choose a trusted supplier like Plumbs, you’ve got the freedom to choose between restoring your piece to its original pristine appearance, or alternatively changing its look and feel entirely. Plumbs alone offers a choice between over 800 fabrics and colours, so you can rest assured you’ll never be short of options!

4. Guaranteed quality and service

Reupholstery is a very skilled craft, and many of the most experienced craftsmen have been in the business for generations. That means when you choose an experienced upholsterer, you can trust them to pour all these years of knowledge and passion into restoring your piece. You won’t be disappointed by the results!

What are you paying for when you reupholster your sofa?

The cost of reupholstery can vary widely, and that’s because it’s calculated on a lot of different factors. First and foremost, you’re paying for the experience and craftsmanship of the experts who’ll be restoring your furniture. It’s a very difficult job, sometimes made even more so depending on the complexity of the piece in question, and so the skill takes years to properly master. When you choose an experienced upholsterer though, you can always trust that you’ll get your money’s worth.

A skilled craftsman will take your sofa through a meticulous multi-stage process, one that’s very easy to describe but a lot more difficult to actually do!

It includes:

• Removing the existing upholstery down to the bare wood
• Inspecting the frame and tightening all joints where necessary
• Replacing webs and springs as required
• Replacing all old padding and stuffing where required
• Cutting the new fabric to fit the sofa
• Reupholstering your chair, sofa or footstool in the fabric of your choice (including any covers, cushions, arms, backs and piping)

So that’s the core process. A couple of other factors that can affect the cost of reupholstery include:

• The time it takes to complete the job
• The complexity or uniqueness of your furniture’s build
• If your furniture is an antique
• Whether or not your piece will be moved (or collected)
• The quality of the fabric used

As long as you’re using a reliable upholsterer, your patience will always be well-rewarded, as at the end of it all you’ll be able to enjoy a comfortable sofa that looks (and feels) simply fantastic. That alone makes reupholstery an excellent option for restoring an old sofa back to its prime. And as an extra bonus, it’s great for supporting traditional British craftsmanship too!

If all that sounds like something that appeals, that’s exactly where the professionals at Plumbs can help. Its team draws on more than six decades of experience with handcrafted reupholstery, made-to-measure fitted curtains and made-to-measure furniture covers, so you can count on their experts to provide as much or as little help as you need. Request a FREE home visit for expert advice in the comfort of your own home and receive a no obligation quotation from one of our friendly consultants.

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