How Much Does It Cost To Recover A Sofa And Loveseat? Buyers Guide & Reviews

Helen Skeates
Helen Skeates
15 min read

It’s not as simple as you may assume to recover a couch and loveseat. It’s also not as cheap. Learn how much it costs to have a couch and loveseat professionally recovered in this article.

Reupholstering your furniture is an excellent way to give it a fresh new look. However, it is more expensive than purchasing new ones, even if it is less expensive for special-value items. The quality of the materials, the size of the project, and the upholsterer all have an impact on the final cost of the project.

What Is the Distinction Between a Sofa and a Loveseat?

Despite the ambiguity of the terminology, there are differences between the two. Size is the most evident problem. To get an idea of how much it will cost to reupholster a couch and loveseat, you need to know the difference.

do it yourself divas: DIY Strip Fabric From a Couch and Reupholster It

What is a sofa?

There are various types of upholstered seats, including sofas and couches, which have springs and cushions. You can choose to have it completely or partially upholstered for the back and armrests. It has an average length of about 84 inches and is intended to sit two or more people.

What exactly is a Loveseat?

When it comes to a piece of furniture that can comfortably seat two people, the term “loveseat” comes to mind. In addition to upholstery and back and arm rests, loveseats have backs. Since it’s only meant to accommodate two people, the average backseat is sixty inches long.

More than just your old couch’s replacement parts are in your hands. A new skirt and other finishing touches will also cost you money. Because there are so many variables to take into account, the cost of recovering a sofa and loveseat is significant. They do more than just fix broken things. Also, it was given a new look, which was a little pricey. Let’s see how much it costs to reupholster a couch and loveseat.

What Is The Cost Of Recovering A Sofa?

Consider reupholstering an excellent couch with fabric that just needs a little tender loving care. Consider the following costs before making a decision. From $500 to $4500, you can reupholster your sofa.

On average, it costs $1800 to reupholster a sofa. There is no additional charge for reupholstering the furniture. The average cost of fabric is $10-$70 a yard, while the average cost of labor is $40-$100 per hour.

What Is The Cost Of Recovering Loveseats?

Anywhere from $500 to $2,000 is possible for a loveseat re-upholstery. A loveseat typically requires 8-12 yards of fabric to reupholster. Depending on the style of your loveseat, this may require additional fabric.

Before purchasing upholstery fabric, it’s essential to consult with an expert in the field. To reupholster your unique love seat, they’ll know how many yards of fabric you’ll need. The cost of recovering a sofa and loveseat has now been established.

Which Is Better: Reupholstering Or Buying New?

The first thing to think about when reupholstering a couch is the room in which it will be placed. This will help you decide whether or not to reupholster that sofa. What if you want to replace the fabric on your couch but preserve the cushioning because you enjoy the way it feels under your feet?

Then reupholstering is definitely an option. It’s also possible that the cushions’ foam is not as firm as you’d like it to be. You may extend the life of your old couch by reupholstering it with new fabric or padding.

Whether you decide to restore your loveseat and couch or purchase a new one depends on a number of things. If the lower surface is made of hardwood and kiln-dried, then you don’t need to refinish the piece. Check the corner bracing for firmness, security, and absence of damage.

Ask whether the piece of furniture was an eight-way handcrafted spring component. Each of the pieces was designed with comfort and support in mind if that is the case. Afterwards, to ensure that it doesn’t wobble while you use it, sit on it with a friend to test it out.

Sit on the sofa and think about how you and your partner felt. Look for signs of bending or cracking in the wood. Consider the age of your furnishings as well.

Furniture that is more than ten years old should be inspected for wear and tear. Be cautious when buying furniture from a yard sale or a used furniture shop. There are some better-maintained features from the past.

When it comes to furniture made in the last ten years, it’s unlikely that it’s worth replacing. An encouraging sign is if the company has been there for a decade or more without going out of business. In the end, look for a well-known brand.

Vanguard, Michael Thomas, and Henredon are just a few of the manufacturers whose furniture is well-suited to a re-polish. As a result of its excellent quality. It would be less expensive to learn how to recover a sofa and loveseat than to buy a new one.

Learn When to Reupholster a Couch

Probably the most common piece of furniture in our houses are couches. We spend more time ordering takeout, binge-watching our favorite streaming shows, and catching up with friends over a bottle of wine than anywhere else. Our beloved perch can begin to appear less-than-perky over time, and that is understandable.

There is no simple solution to the question of whether or not it is worthwhile to reupholster your couch. Ultimately, the best course of action depends on a number of factors, all of which should be carefully studied before deciding to invest in a potentially costly endeavor.

You may be saving the landfill from having to dispose of your old sofa by reupholstering it, but in the long run, this may end up costing you more than buying a new one. Aside from that, reupholstering your couch won’t guarantee that it won’t be unpleasant again. If your piece has structural issues (or just extremely poor wear and tear), fresh fabric may not be the answer.

Reupholstering your couch and incurring such a cost is often only justified under a few specific circumstances. Here’s what you need to think about before making a decision.

Vintage Sofa Reupholstery of a Family Heirloom - Willow Bloom Home

If the Couch Is a Family Heirloom

Your sofa may be worth rescuing if it’s been passed down through generations of your family and has sentimental value. You can’t put a monetary figure on something like a family couch that has provided comfort to several generations of your family.

If you do opt to preserve an heirloom sofa through reupholstery, consider if you want to maintain the current style of the piece (like selecting a similar fabric or upholstery technique) or update it with a more modern aesthetic. Different looks may impact the type of upholsterer you go to, such as one well-versed in antique preservation versus a modern furniture maker.

If the Sofa Is a Valuable Antique

If you do opt to preserve an heirloom sofa through reupholstery, consider if you want to maintain the current style of the piece (like selecting a similar fabric or upholstery technique) or update it with a more modern aesthetic. Different looks may impact the type of upholsterer you go to, such as one well-versed in antique preservation versus a modern furniture maker.

Make sure to examine whether or not you want to keep the original style of the piece (like choosing a comparable fabric or upholstery technique) or update it with a more contemporary look. An upholsterer who specializes in antique preservation or a modern furniture designer may be more appropriate for your needs.

If the Sofa Has Good Bones

Upholstery is an excellent idea if your sofa is of high quality or has a unique frame. Solid wood pieces and those with intricate curves and lines are almost always worth preserving and reusing whenever possible. It’s also feasible that reupholstering your current piece would be less expensive than purchasing a new sofa of equivalent quality and style when these elements are in play. You may have a perfectly nice sofa that can be revived with a few yards of fresh fabric below all that wear and tear.

If You’re Eco-Conscious

Reupholstering your couch may be the most environmentally friendly option for homeowners who are concerned about their impact on the environment. Repurposing an older piece of furniture, such as a couch or chair, not only saves money on new materials, but also gives it a second life.

How Much Does It Cost to Reupholster a Couch?

Keep in mind the distinction between re-covering and repairing your sofa. Re-covering is more of a cosmetic surgery than anything else. Replacement of cushioning and springs, fixing the structure, or re-staining any wood could all be involved in reupholstering. Reupholstery is more structural in nature and necessitates a significant amount of labor and material replacement.

When it comes to reupholstering furniture, it’s practically impossible to put a price on it. However, your fabric choice is likely to have the most impact on the final cost. Depending on the type of fabric, you can expect to pay anywhere from $12 per yard to $200 or more per yard (especially if it’s a designer cloth). In addition, if the fabric is extremely difficult to deal with, many professionals will charge more for reupholstery. The best way to get a decent estimate of how much it will cost to reupholster your sofa is to acquire quotations from at least two or three different upholsterers.

Alternatives to Reupholstering

Slipcovers may be an option for you if you don’t want to spend a lot of money on a new piece of furniture but are tired of the current fabric. A simple method to update the look of your couch without having to shell out for a full makeover is by purchasing a custom-made cushion cover from a site like Etsy. If your sofa is in good shape but you’re bored with the pillows, you might want to try switching them out. If you want an entirely new look, sometimes all you need is a few new patterns and a soft throw blanket.

How to Reupholster a Couch: 8-Step DIY Tutorial

Makeover your historic sofa or modernize your living room’s threadbare couch with a reupholstering project. While reupholstering can save you money, it can also help you establish your identity as a self-taught upholsterer.

What Do You Need to Reupholster a Couch?

In reupholstery, the old fabric of a piece of furniture is removed and replaced with a brand new fabric. To help you get started on your reupholstery project, here are the key tools and materials you’ll need:

  • Remover of staples
  • There are a number of staple guns and staples available.
  • A screwdriver with a flathead end
  • Pliers
  • Sniper’s choice
  • New material
  • A notebook with a writing implement
  • There is a sewing machine in the room (optional)
  • Cut or tie off (optional)
  • Glue made of fabric (optional)

Vintage Sofa Reupholstery of a Family Heirloom - Willow Bloom Home

How to Reupholster a Couch

DIY reupholstering a couch or loveseat is a time-consuming and tedious undertaking that necessitates careful note-taking. Our step-by-step tutorial will help you get started on your new upholstery project.

  1. Take a look at your sofa. Learn about the furniture you’ll be working with so that when you’re finished, it’ll be easy to put back together as if nothing had ever happened. Staples are nowhere to be seen. Has a cover been provided? Do the buttons have a tufted appearance? Sewing cording: Is there any visible stitching at the seams? The skirt isn’t there, is it? The time you save by taking notes and snapping images now will pay off in the long run.
  2. Take off the bottom cover. The dust cover is a piece of cloth that is sewn to the bottom of most couches and serves as a barrier between the couch and the floor. When reupholstering a couch, this is usually the last piece of fabric that is connected, thus it should be removed first. Remove the staples from the dust cover with your staple remover and place them aside. (Needle-nose pliers or a flathead screwdriver work well in the absence of a staple remover.)
  3. Remove the upholstery fabric from the chair. It is possible to see how the upholstery on the couch was stretched and attached to its frame after you remove the dust cover. Remove the top layer of upholstery fabric after inspecting the layers (often the piece on the back of the couch). After that, gently remove the staples using your staple remover before throwing them away. It’s crucial to take notes and photos as you remove each piece of upholstery so that you can easily put the pieces back together afterwards. What you’ll need to know is the order in which you removed each piece, where each piece fit, how they were orientated on the couch, how and where the fabric was stretched or fastened, and whether there were any specific considerations when removing it (such as cardboard pieces below it, or tack strips alongside the staples). When attaching the new fabric, you’ll need to reproduce these features.
  4. Cut out the new cloth and buy it. Using the old couch’s measurements, you can purchase yards of fabric that are the exact size and form. The thinner the upholstery fabric, the quicker it will show indications of wear. You can choose whatever upholstery fabric you wish. Heavy-duty fabric, on the other hand, is more difficult to staple to your couch frame than lighter fabric.
  5. Attach the new fabric to the sofa. It’s important to remember which piece you removed last so you may attach your new upholstery fabric in the opposite sequence of removal. To reattach the fabric to the frame, use a staple gun. If you’re unsure of anything, look over your notes and images. As you upholster, take sure to keep the cloth taut to prevent it from draping awkwardly or seeming too wrinkly.
  6. Attach the dust cover. Restaple the dust cover to the bottom of the couch as the final step. Using a dust cover to hide the staples underneath can keep the couch looking clean and tidy.
  7. If trimming is required, include it. If your couch had corded trim to hide the staples, you should obtain a cord of the same color as your couch to match (or buy a plain cord and sew a fabric cover for it). Attach it with fabric glue to complete the look of your couch.
  8. Sew pillow cases. You’ll also need to sew new cushion covers if your couch includes back or seat cushions. Using the same method you used to dismantle the upholstery, cut (or unzip) the covers and use them as a template to cut the new fabric. (If the zippers on your couch cushions still work, you can save money by not purchasing new ones.) For this step, you’ll need a sewing machine; to construct pillows that look exactly like the old ones, closely copy the stitching pattern.

Conclusion on how to recover a sofa and loveseat

There are a few things to keep in mind when deciding to reupholster a couch and loveseat. All of this has to do with the high cost of reupholstering furnishings. Because of this, you should take your time before making a final decision.

Helen Skeates

Helen Skeates

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