Not every couch is Upcycle worthy!

We have all seen the Pinterest boards dedicated to soft furnishing upcycles…Simply have a chair or sofa re-upholstered and voila – the whole vibe changes, your home is suddenly an oasis, your hair life changes, you find true love, flowers spontaneously bloom in your garden and your neighbour stops being annoying. According to these makeover magicians, re-upholstery is a cure-all and rolls and rolls of bougie upholstery fabrics make this look like a homemakers dream…

But is it?

The truth is: re-upholstery, if done properly and by a professional, is expensive. So, if you have the money and you love the piece, then yes – by all means, do it, and enjoy the fruits of your spending.

Professional re-upholstery is, however, NOT a cheap solution to your newest decorating whim.

We have come up with a couple of guidelines to help you decide whether that chair needs DIY love, Get-A-Guy levels of professional care, or simply merits a New Buy.

Your gogo’s sturdy but outdated loveseat.

If the frame and structure is still intact, antique furniture is usually worth the cost of re-upholstery. It sounds like a cliché – but they simply don’t make furniture like this anymore. Heavy solid wooden soft furnishings can find a whole second life if you simply re-do it in a more contemporary material.

Verdict: Splurge and Get-A-Guy.

Your first dining room chairs

Unless you inherited them from the same gogo, or you were a very rich student – these might not be worth it. If you really like the chairs and simply hate the fabric, why not give it a DIY go? As long as they don’t have intricate patterns and pleating that you’ll have to recreate, a couple of metres of fabric a staple gun and hot glue might be just what the doctor ordered. For inspiration, head over to the internet and get lost in DIY upholstery How-To videos…

https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/diy-upholstery-tips-and-tricks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTDiDiwU-ZQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGtfZgNNSOI

Verdict: Try DIY.

Modern budget buy sofa that’s a bit pet/kid stained:

Sofas are tricky, and the amount of time and materials it will take to get the right look and feel might not merit even DIY’ing it. If you end up spending R 10 000 rands and multiple days to fix-up a sofa that will cost R12 000 if you buy a replacement, you should think long and hard about the value of your time and the cost of the materials before you decide to DIY it.

Verdict: New Buy, OR – get a temporary solution like a sofa wrap or slipcover.

A time and a place for everything.

We are by no means saying that re-upholstery isn’t a valid option for many antique or heirloom pieces that are structurally sound AND have sentimental value, but in these times of rising living costs and rushed lives, we just suggest you take a minute and calculate the true cost of your project.