Want to reupholster your sofa or chair? Keep reading to find out how much it could cost!
How Much Does It Cost To Reupholster A Sofa or Chair?
The cost of reupholstery depends on how much you want done.
Below are some guesstimated ranges for what you’d pay at most upholsterers if you want the FULL works, i.e., tightening the frame, replacing foam and padding, new fabric, touch-ups, and refinishing.
Sofa
- For a sofa, full professional reupholstery ranges from $2,000 to $4,000.
- Of that, the fabric will cost from $500 to $1,200 on average.
- For a more expensive fabric like leather, you’re looking at $2,200+ in fabric alone, in which case the total project cost will be substantially higher!
Chair
Note: The following is NOT for simple dining room chairs. It is for chairs with padded arms and backs, cushions, springs, and other complex elements.
- For a chair, full professional reupholstery generally starts at $1,000 and can exceed $2,000.
- Of that, the fabric will run anywhere from $200 to $600 on average.
- For a more expensive fabric like leather, you’re looking at upwards of $900 in just fabric, in which case the total project cost will be substantially higher.
What About DIY?
Now, you might be thinking, what about a DIY project? Is it cheaper to do it that way? Well, the cost depends on you. There are so many variables to consider, including your skill level.
Here’s a possible range of what to expect if you go DIY, but again, let’s say, for instance, you screw up and have to start over. Suddenly, your cost doubles! DIY is risky and has more variables.
Here’s a bullet point list of potential DIY reupholstery costs.
Generally:
- Tools (if buying new): $100-$500 for staple gun, pliers, scissors, etc.
- Fabric: $30-$300+ per yd (8-15 yds needed for a sofa, 5-7 yds for a chair)
- Upholstery foam: Varies
- Time investment: 20-40 hours
- Additional costs and time if redos are needed: Could double total investment
Obviously, I suggest the pro route!
Side Note About Costs Fabrics, Pickup, and Delivery
Fabrics: If you want to save money on your fabrics, definitely go with upholstery fabric. There are tons of fabrics out there that AREN’T considered upholstery-grade fabric, and it’s a BIG mistake to buy them when reupholstering. Whether you’re going the DIY route completely or just want to buy your fabric for your upholsterer to use, get upholstery fabric only, unless you have a special reason why you don’t want to do that.
Pickup and Delivery: Some upholsterers might not include pickup and delivery costs (assuming they even offer them) in their quoted total. Fortunately, this isn’t always the case; your upholsterer should quote you all relevant details.
But in case this detail is missed, definitely ask your upholsterer firstly whether they offer these services and secondly how much they charge. For those unfamiliar, pickup just means the upholstery company will pick up your furniture from your house. This does not mean you have to pick the furniture up once it’s done.
Side Note About Foams, Scrim, and Dacron
Foam, scrim, and Dacron are important parts of upholstery. As for foam, keep in mind that high-density is pretty darn hard, so don’t request it unless you test it first! As for scrim, it’s the foam that you use to sow fabric, etc., onto.
The pink scrim is usually low-quality, just a tip. It’s cheaper, but it’s not a good idea to use. Medium-quality scrim is usually a white tan and is about a quarter-inch thick. It’s tougher than the low-quality pink scrim (yuck!). The best-quality scrim is generally black or gray. It has a heavy backing and is usually high-density.
Then there is Dacron pad, which is technically not foam but is often used with foam to help smooth out a sofa or chair’s padding.
Costs vary for each type, and as far as I’m aware, you will have a tough time buying upholstery scrim on Amazon. I suggest contacting a few different local upholsterers with high ratings on Google and asking them what they charge for these elements to get a ballpark of what is being charged in your area.
What Impacts The Price When Reupholstering A Sofa or Chair?
Sofa Price Factors
FACTORS: Frame, complex curves, attached cushions, foam and padding, tufting, woodworking that needs fixing, and size and pattern.
Let’s look at each one.
Sofa Frame
Is your furniture frame loose or in need of repairs? The cool thing is your upholsterer can fix pretty much anything. Moreover, he or she can modify the back, the arms, and other elements or even completely change the design style. The sky’s the limit.
Just keep in mind that any frame repairs or modifications will add to your final bill, but if you love your furniture and want to preserve it, it’ll be worth it.
Complex Sofa Curves
Things like rolled arms, curved backs, and serpentine fronts can be pretty tricky to work with. If your sofa has these elements, your upholsterer will need extra time to properly wrap the fabric around these curves without creating wrinkles or puckers.
Plus, pattern matching gets more complicated when you’re dealing with curves instead of straight lines.
The rule of thumb is: The more curves your piece has, the more fabric and labor it’ll need, which definitely bumps up the final cost. But hey, those curves are often what make your piece stand out!
Attached Sofa Cushions
While they might look neater and stay in place better, attached cushions tend to be trickier when it comes to repairs. If they tear at the seams (which happens more often than you’d think), you’re looking at a more complex repair job.
The good news? They typically require less fabric, which can lower the repair cost if the damage isn’t too extensive. I disagree that attached cushion repairs are always more expensive to repair. It depends on the situation, either way.
Sofa Foam and Padding
Good quality foam is pretty expensive. Yes, you can get cheap foam, but it’s not nearly as durable or as comfortable. Simple as that.
The good news is you usually don’t need to replace foam in the back of your seat…usually. The potentially bad news is seat foam wears out a lot faster, and the quality of your sofa and its comfort level will be a LOT worse off if you go with cheap foam.
When it comes to foam and padding for your seats (and the arms), the higher quality option is almost always better, but again, that costs money. A good estimate for what you will pay for high-quality sofa foam and padding is $200 to $600.
You might consider using cotton batting or bonded Dacron to improve your existing padding and to wrap around your sofa’s edges. If you’re looking to add a layer of softness to, let’s say, the arm of your sofa, the good thing about cotton is it can last a very long time. Cotton upholstery batting or bonded Dacron should be factored into the cost. Ask your upholsterer about this.
Sofa Tufting
Tufting will impact the price of your sofa because making that fancy diamond pattern with buttons or studs requires extra effort. It also requires extra fabric (since the fabric gets pulled into those deep buttons), and it needs some serious skill to pull off.
You’ll spend more when you add tufting to your project. If you love the classic, sophisticated look, then it’s worth the investment.
Sofa Woodwork
Woodworking issues, such as exposed wood on legs, finished trims, and bases, can range from mild to severe enough to warrant professional repair. The question is, what kind?
For a simple fix, you could do some color fixes with a touch-up, which will cost you about $100 at most upholsterers, although the price will vary depending on who you pick. Some upholsterers charge more for touch-ups.
To refinish your woodwork, which includes stripping, sanding, staining, and applying new protective finishes, prices usually range from $250 to $700.
Sofa Size and Pattern
The size of the sofa or chair will also have an impact. Naturally, this is a bigger deal with sofas than chairs as you require much more fabric. Some sofas are quite large and require substantial fabric to cover. As mentioned above, fabric has a wide price range because there is so much available out there.
Moreover, the size of your fabric pattern makes a difference….As a general rule, the larger your fabric pattern, the more it’ll cost. This is because you need to “pattern match,” which means carefully aligning repeated designs at corners, curves, and edges.
When you’re matching patterns, you’ll need extra fabric to make sure those stripes, florals, or medallions line up perfectly, and that means more yardage and higher costs. Fabric can run from $30 to $300+ per yard.
Chair Price Factors
Note: The following is NOT for simple dining room chairs. It is for chairs with padded arms and backs, cushions, springs, and other complex elements.
FACTORS: Frame, complex curves, attached cushions, foam and padding, tufting, woodworking that needs fixing, and size and pattern.
Chair Frame
Fixing the frame of a chair usually isn’t as difficult as that of a sofa, but it CAN be, especially if you have a chair that is heavily damaged.
Plus, if you’ve got springs that need re-tying or a sagging seat base that needs rebuilding, you’re looking at additional labor costs.
Complex Chair Curves
Chairs, like sofas, pose their challenges, including rolled arms and curved backs, intricate tufting patterns, and serpentine edges, which can drive up the costs of the final product substantially.
These curves require extra fabric for proper pattern matching, more time for precise fitting, and advanced upholstery skills to achieve a smooth, professional finish. Each curve needs careful attention to avoid puckering or stretching of the fabric, making these pieces more labor-intensive than furniture with straight lines.
Attached Chair Cushions
Just like with sofas, attached chair cushions come with their own set of challenges. They tend to tear at the stress points where they connect to the chair and can’t be flipped over to extend their life when they start losing shape.
However, detached cushions require more fabric, so which one is more expensive to repair depends on the situation and what you want to do.
Chair Foam and Padding
Chair padding usually costs from $100 to $350 total, depending on the quality of the padding and whether you’re doing the entire chair or the seat only.
Cotton batting is an excellent choice for chairs, whether in the seating or other parts of the chair.
Chair Tufting
While tufting on chairs follows the same process as sofas and adds more to your costs, chairs typically need less of it since they’re smaller pieces. You might only need tufting on the back or seat rather than multiple large surfaces like you would on a sofa.
Still, it requires extra fabric for those deep folds and skilled labor to execute properly – but the smaller scale means you’ll pay less overall compared to a fully tufted sofa!
Chair Woodwork
Like sofas, chairs often need some woodwork done. For a simple touch-up of exposed wood on legs or trim, expect to pay around $100.
But if you need a full refinishing job, which includes stripping the old finish, sanding, staining, and applying new protective coatings, you’re looking at $250-700.
The good news is that chair woodwork usually involves smaller areas than sofas, so it might cost less overall – unless you’ve got some fancy carved details that need extra attention!
Chair Size and Pattern
Like sofas, the size of your chair determines how much fabric you need, but on a smaller scale. Most chairs need 5-7 yards of fabric, but larger patterns can bump up your yardage needs significantly. This is because you’ll need extra fabric to line up those designs perfectly across the chair.
Here’s a quick guide on pattern size and the extra fabric that is needed:
- 3-14 inch pattern repeat: add 10% more fabric
- 15-19 inch repeat: add 15% more
- 20-27 inch repeat: add 20% more
- Larger repeats can require up to 35% more fabric
Note: The fabric width will also determine the extra fabric you need. Lower width requires more fabric.
When Should Reupholster A Sofa or Chair?
If you’ve got a piece with a good build and a good frame, it would be worth it. Or if you have sentimental value attached to the piece. Even if your sofa or chair has problems, if it holds special meaning, it’s usually possible to overcome those issues.
Cost comparison is also a big factor. Sometimes reupholstery is, in fact, cheaper than buying new, though sometimes it’s not. It all depends on your situation. With high-end furniture being extremely expensive to buy new, you’d probably be better off reupholstering it so that it will last. On the other hand, lower-end furniture is often cheaper and faster to buy new.
Comfort is another consideration. Your furniture might not fit your body type or simply might not be comfortable for you anymore. It may have been at one point, but age can make a difference.
Style and size changes matter too. You might like the furniture and want to keep it, but you need the style updated. Or if your furniture is too big or small but you want to keep it, reupholstering would be a good decision.
For example, if you have a small sofa and then have kids, you might need more room for people to sit. If you have an attachment to the sofa, you could make it larger, though keep in mind this would be a complex modification that might not be possible with all designs.
The best advice is to speak with an upholsterer who has a lot of happy clients. Contact Redesign Upholstery for more information.
Reupholster Your Sofa or Chair with Redesign Upholstery
Whether you’re looking to preserve a cherished piece of furniture or update your space with a fresh look, professional reupholstery can give your furniture new life. At Redesign Upholstery, we handle everything from simple fabric updates to complex frame modifications, ensuring your piece gets the expert care it deserves.
Ready to transform your furniture? Contact Redesign Upholstery today for a personalized quote and discover how we can help bring your vision to life. Our team of skilled craftsmen will guide you through every step of the reupholstery process, from fabric selection to final delivery.
See Redesign Upholstery’s Gallery for inspiration!
