Furniture that has been around for a while but still has great bones sometimes needs a refresh and not a replacement. Hmm…I wonder if the same holds true for me?

My reupholstered chairs solution was the perfect answer for my clients living room. Their two wing chairs held special heart memories for these clients and were in great structural shape. Good reasons not to replace them and reupholster instead for the fresh new look they were looking for.

Cameron living room before 2.jpg — The living room before but with the new layout configured during the consultation

Is It Worth Reupholstering A Chair?

A few things that will affect the cost of a reupholstering job will include -

the fabric you choose and how much it costs per meter/yard
any repairs the furniture might need
the cost of new padding and other related supplies
the labour costs to remove the existing fabric, do any necessary repairs, rebuild the supports as needed, retie the springs, and finally put on the new padding and fabric

It might not always be the least expensive route to take. Weighing all of the above factors in, it could be just as costly to purchase something new.

However, you might not find really well made furniture much these days. And if there is any sentimental value to the piece, these are good reasons to say yes to the reuphostered chairs solution, just like we did for this project.

It can also be a sustainable solution that is keeping something out of the landfill site.

Furniture Layout

This space started with a request to help choose new chair fabric, but it wasn’t long before we were into a correction to the furniture layout, creating a conversation area grouping that suited the awkward layout of the room itself. A room with three doorways leading off of it and a corner fireplace is always a challenge.

Chairs and tables were repositioned opposite the pretty curved sofa to create a tighter sitting area. Careful thought was given to traffic flow so that all the doors could be easily accessed. The fireplace became the secondary focal point in the room. That’s a rare experience when decorating, but it does happen. Most fireplaces become the main focal point of a living or family room.

Decor Accessories

Layers of blue tones were introduced with the addition of a pretty couch throw blanket, various pieces of artwork that were brought in from other rooms to here, and even the set of candles for the glass coffee table that came out when my client remembered she had them when we were putting things together for dressing the room.

Suggestions were made for new glass table lamps that would keep the open feel and repeat the glass candle holder grouping on the coffee table. Choosing drum shades would make for a nice little update.

Showing Off The Reupholstered Chairs

Time to say goodbye to the raspberry fabric on the timeless wing back chairs and welcome a beautiful robins egg blue graphic fabric instead.

Notice the tones in the stretched canvas artwork beside the fireplace. Again, a piece that was relocated to here and became a strong influencer for the fabric colour choice that also worked so well with the existing sofa. The warm brown graphic against that pretty soft blue, complemented the hardwood flooring beautifully.

We hope the landlord will consent to the fireplace brick getting a fresh coat of paint - we’ll have to wait and see on that one.

Here’s a glimpse of the room showing the new lamps doing their job beautifully. We get a tiny (sorry about that - I’ve lost my full-room after shot somehow) bit of the existing toss cushions on the couch that really pulled together with our new reupholstery fabric as well.

The framed and matted artwork print of the dancers was found in another part of the house. Here the beautiful blue tones enrich the space and it celebrates this couples love of dancing. Their absolute elegant strides across the dance floor are a delight to watch. They’re almost professionals! I know this from experience when they took Jim and I dancing one night. We were a sad, fumbling contrast as we watched them in jaw-dropping awe.

The reupholstered chairs solution was definitely the right choice for this project. My clients were delighted to keep these investment pieces to enjoy for years to come. They love the subtle palette and new layout that they’re enjoying so much more. That means I’ve done my job!