I have this sectional.. it's 1000 years old or something. I live in a condo, and the next time I move it will be to my own house, so I'll be here for 2-3 more years. I don't want to buy a new sectional even though I could probably afford one, since who knows if it will fit. There's nothing physically wrong with this couch.. it's just.. beige. I'd like to have it reupholstered or have a custom cover made for it. Anyone have any experience with this? How much will this wind up costing? Anything below $500 is okay with me, but somehow I'm not optimistic. I didn't pay for this couch.. it was given to us by my fiancee's parents (after sitting in their basement for years... 5 bottles of febreeze and 2 years later it's starting to not smell so bad..) Who knows, with the right work on it, it might wrestle its way into our living room for a few more years. :)

-- Anonymous, August 07, 2000

Answers

People who reupholster will come to your house and give an estimate. I would go to a good upholstry fabric shop and ask them for recommendations of good upholsterers. Also, look at fabric while you're there cause it will add to the $$.

I had a couch done and it came out great (it was much cheaper than buying new.)

I hope this helps.

-- Anonymous, August 07, 2000

j2d! can i have it?? :) my cats peed to many times on mine & my dubmass exbf kept dropping his ashes on it so its got tons of burn wholes on it.

-- Anonymous, August 07, 2000

jd2, if you are the handy/crafty type you could probably teach yourself to upholster. If that doesn't appeal to you then have a pro do it. If it has a good, solid frame then it will absolutely be worth your money. Good luck!

-- Anonymous, August 08, 2000

I don't know how these things work in the US, but in the UK we have bands of travelling upholsterers, who can be engaged for a pretty small fee. It's an unusual set-up - you'd imagine that the upholsterers would operate as a co-operative mini-cartel wherever they were: undercutting the local upholsterer (where there was one) taking in all the business, and then moving on with a big pot of shared cash. But that's not how it works.

For some reason, all the upholsterers will try and attract business separately, in cut-throat competition with each other. Even family groups will aggressively undercut each other in a bid to steal business from their mother, their sister-in-law, their son etc. Because that drives prices down so far, it means that the local upholsterer can't compete, and gets frozen out of the market for as long as the travelling upholsterers are in town.

Many upholsterers who work from a fixed location have banded together to monitor travelling upholsterers, sharing information on where they have just been, and on which road they left town. Then, if a band of these itinerant upholsterers appears to be heading their way (like a swarm of locusts) the local upholsterers band together, and try to get round as much of the town as possible before their arrival, often working round the clock to complete as many assignments as they can. This can result in dangerous levels of fatigue, and often means that after all the frenzied activity, remaining upholstery jobs are left incomplete for weeks, as the upholsterer recovers. But the effect on the travelling upholsterers is far more devastating - after what could have been literally hours on the road, they drive into a new town to find NO work waiting for them, and however hard they try, there are only the smallest, most meagre tasks left available. They are often forced to leave after a single afternoon.

Prior to the advent of the internet, it was far more difficult for local upholsterers to keep track of the travelling upholsterers, but things have changed dramatically in the last few years. Unless the travelling upholsterers are able to learn new skills (eg. key- cutting, shoe repair) then their whole way of life could be threatened.

-- Anonymous, August 08, 2000

Wow. Who would guess such drama and intrigue in this topic.

-- Anonymous, August 08, 2000

If the couch is in good condition, then have it reupholstered even though it's old. They really don't make furniture like they used to.

-- Anonymous, August 08, 2000

I heard about that. The local upholsterers wear red matte jumpsuits with sinister-looking designs on the chests. The travelling ones wear shiny blue Lycra under their brown linen hooded robes.

-- Anonymous, August 08, 2000

Pale Blue, how interesting! I'll have to tell my mom about it, as she does upholstery work sometimes. Are the traveling upholsterers gypsies? It's fascinating to me that a family business could be so cut-throat.

-- Anonymous, August 08, 2000