Daunted by the ridiculously high quotes I’ve been getting for reupholstering four partially leather-covered dining chairs (with antique tack trim), I’ve been thinking of tackling the project myself.
A) Is this madness? And, if not…
B) Can you recommend place to go for supplies?
Thank you!
David
Never say madness! You can ALWAYS do it yourself. It is just a matter of how much time and how well you can do it, but even the experience alone is worth it and will make you feel much more creative and in charge of your home. As for supplies for this kind of project we don't know much, but Libra Leather (259 W 30th St - 212.695.3114) has the most beautiful leather (but expensive), and we are sure some upholsterer would give you resources if you asked really nicely (you can check with Townside, they're super friendly).
If anyone has a better answer (not too hard), please comment below.... MGR
I'd buy some (cheap) leather analogue, or cheap leather, but of a similar weigt and texture and give it a dry run, you will either discover you have no talent and should give up and pay, or that you have a modest talent.
Either way you'll have made your beginner/dummy mistakes on something that won;t make you cry. buying a scrap chair of similar style and doing your version 0.5 project on that is even better.
Check your local community college and cont. ed. brochures, sometimes they offer classes in reupholsterly.
Nothing like having someone who knows what they are doing, show you.
Also buy the leather yourself wholesale and give to your uphosltery guy.
To find a leather place, ask your local fashion school where they buy leather for projects.
I took an upholstery class at The Furniture Joint a few months ago so I could "do it myself" too.
Guess what - upholstery (done well) is HARD! And it really can be cost prohibitive to buy the right tools and supplies to do the job correctly. Unless you already have a high-quality staple gun hooked up to an air compressor around the house....
If you are going to do it yourself, I highly recommend buying some cheap fabric and practice cutting and stapling on that before you move on to expensive leather.
BTW, I highly recommend not only the classes at the Furniture Joint, but also the upholstery! Matthew, who owns the store, does great work.
http://www.furniturejoint.com/
182 Avenue B
New York, NY 10009
(212) 598-4260
I have a similar problem with an antique dining set I received from a relative. It's possible to have the black leather reupholstered but it's not in too bad condition and I'd like to just give it a newer, fresh look. Any ideas? Thanks.
Help!
I had an estimate done this evening to have an oversized sofa/chair upholstered and the figure was $1,350 (estimation) for labor ALONE, not counting the fabric/padding that I will need to buy??? The fabric looks like at least $700-800 more dollars. The only thing thats bugging me is that this furniture is superbly solid even 10 years later......This sofa and chair are great and just ten years old, but I just cannot see paying well over $2,500++++ for these pieces, what do you think? My thoughts are that I sell the sofa and chair for what I can get and purchase more furniture, I couldn't enjoy them finished because I would feel like I was so RIPPED off, let me know...........Willipett2003@yahoo.com
Boohoo for you. Why are you complaining about the cost of reupholstery? It isn't a rip off...it's just an expensive process. Most complaints like yours come from ignorance. Upholsterers do not make huge salary's and the job is very labor intensive. If you are too cheap to pay, maybe it is because you are stupid enough to not investigate properly. Do you work for free? People like Tonigeneva, willipett2003@yahoo.com are simply not understanding the basic idea of what job you are hiring someone to undertake. I am embarassed that you are in this country...you should move to communist China then if you want it so cheap where human rights are violated and people are expendable...you waste my oxygen. Get out now before it's too late since you believe your neighbors who are trying to make an honest living are ripping you off....you suck.
K. Was that rant really necessary. Get a grip.
I'm suprised at that nasty commentary, K - I was having a lovely time reading all the ideas and hints - thinking this webiste was really cool - and beginning to be proud of being "human" - thinking it is cool that there are people out here who want to just help others - then I come across your rant and realize that I'm still in a world of people where others exist that are waiting for every opportunity to jab and be nasty - I'm disapointed in your comments - and can only hope you won't interfere in the beautiful exchange that has been taking place on this site again!
The hide is where the cost is It could take up to5 or more hides to cover a chair... Saw some links on this page for hides http://mobileleatherservice.com/leatherhistory.html
There are some really good vinyls that look and feel just as good as leather if you want to try working with one of these before tackling a real leather hide. Make sure you use leather sewing needles and go slowly. Once you put a hole in leather, it's there to stay.
I was in JoAnn's fabric store in Ramsey NJ and they had lots of brown and black leather for about $9 per yd they also had faux leather which was really great quality for less. Ramsey NJ is a bit out there but maybe you can find another closer, I was told by a clerk that most of their stores carry the same stock, some more than others.
David, if it's only the seats that are leather-covered, I'd say to give it a try. You might want to buy some leather-look vinyl first for a dry run, but honestly, depending upon how the seats are constructed, it's not very hard to recover them.