John sent in a good question: "I find a lot of the modern upholstered seating to be very bold and appealing. The only concern I have is how it holds up over time.... I don't want to be paranoid about food or pets, or have disposable furniture.
With say an Arts&Crafts-style settee, the oak and joinery is very durable, and the upholstery is limited to rectangular cushions that can be rotated, and are not expensive to re-cover. However, with say a Noguchi sofa, reupholstery looks like a very expensive job. Anyone have any first-hand experience?"
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I recently had a vintage 1950's couch reupholstered after getting it off CL for $ 75.00. The upholstery shop basically told me that the majority of the price is for the fabric itself. I am sure that they made a cut on the price of the fabric, but I now think it is a great way to go. The hard part is deciding on a fabric or style and then not second guessing yourself. All things said and done, I think the labor cost on the job was less than $ 200 so I do recommend the process.
view allsid's profile
The labor on a Noguchi Sofa is going to be alot less than that for a typical 50's sofa with all the welts, button tufting, etc...
...but why be "paranoid"? Teach the dog not to get on the furniture, don't eat in the living room and take your shoes off before laying on the sofa.
(Yes, all the things your Mother told you not to do in her Living Room...)
view bepsf's profile
hey bepsf,
can you come teach MY dog to stay off the couch? and to not bark incessantly at my wife?
Thanks!
view rdml's profile
Well, I'm not a pro, but I've done some reupholstery on my own and there's certainly a relationship between the complexity of the piece and the time it takes that would be reflected in your labor charge. But while curves like in the sofa above require more time and skill than straight lines, every other aspect of it seems pretty streamlined. If I were to compare this to the very traditional styled wingback sofa my mother purchased in the 80's (and still has! the construction's held up, if the styling hasn't) there would be no doubt that the Noguchi sofa would be a simpler and faster project.
I would be sure to find someone with experience in unusual modern furniture; for the sake of the piece and because the experience will make them faster and therefore also keep labor costs down.
view lurker2209's profile
Cost should not be any more than with a traditional sofa, most likely it should be less since there aren't any box cushions to sew, etc. As a matter of fact, I have recovered odd shaped sofas without a problem (just not Noguchi!) I am an upholsterer with only 3 yrs. experience and yet I'd jump to recover that sofa pictured in the photo; it would be a fairly simple job!
As to durability, the key would be to get a good resilient fabric (Maharam, Sina Pearson, Carnegie). I have pets and teenagers, so I always keep my club chairs and sofa covered with washable throws (I have three different "sets") and bannish them for guests.
Another thing to keep in mind regarding fabric: get one that has some give and can be 'molded'... you want to avoid 'pleating' where the sofa rounds out, and achieve a clean crisp look. You have no idea how I've toiled almost endlessly when I've reupholstered Steelcase Criterion chairs (your regular task/office chair) with fabric that's as stiff as cardboard! Ugh & double Ugh!
Hope this helps!
view martita's profile
When I said "bannish them for guests" I meant the throws ...
(well, maybe the teenagers too...)
view martita's profile
upholstery really is easy if you just take the time to take out staples one at a time , just follow the upholstery on it, use only solid colored materials, and staple away. take pictures as you take off the material . believe me it is easy. save lots of $.
view antonietta's profile
this has nothing to do with the thread...but damn does that sebastian wrong lamp look nice with that eero saarinen table.
view eightdouble's profile
I would think it would be easier to cover and less expensive, as it's just a length of fabric. As everyone has already said.
I'd also consider having them make some slipcovers while they have the sofa.
The Noguchi at DWR IS slipcovered:
http://www.dwr.com/product/noguchi-free-form-sofa.do
This one is removable too:
http://bauhaus2yourhouse.com/Isamu_Noguchi_Freeform_Sofa-Prod30
And this one:
http://www.gabrielross.com/vitra-isamu-noguchi-freeform-ottoman-p-441.html
This one appears to be fixed (but available in a gazillion colors):
http://www.italianclassicsdirect.co.uk/catalog/Noguchi-Freeform-Sofa--Ottoman-p-16180.html
I'm not finding ready-made covers. But if you have them make covers, you can have variety. And if you have a pattern for a cover, anyone who does slipcovers can make you more.
view TRUE BLUE's profile
Oh, I just read this:
http://www.fabrics.net/fabyard.asp
The depth of the Noguchi is about 51 1/5" (according to the pop-up diagram at Gabriel Ross). If most upholstery fabric is 54" wide, you'll need to find something that is wider.
So you may not be able to cover it with just any fabric.
view TRUE BLUE's profile