Is it worth reupholstering a sofa or should I buy a new one?

Reupholstery is mostly labour, and the labour cost barely varies with the quality of what is underneath. That is what makes the decision so binary: on a well-made frame it buys you another twenty years for less than an equivalent new sofa; on a cheap frame it is more than the sofa cost new and the result will not last. So the question is not really about the sofa, it is about the frame.

Step by step

1. Inspect the frame where you can see it.Tip the sofa and look underneath. Solid hardwood rails, joints that are glued and dowelled or screwed with corner blocks, and no chipboard or particle board. Staples holding structural joints together are the sign of a frame not worth investing in.
2. Check the suspension.Serpentine or coil springs on a webbed base is a proper sofa. Elastic webbing alone is cheaper construction, though it can be replaced. A base that sags in the middle when you press it hard is telling you the suspension needs work regardless.
3. Test the frame for movement.Lift one front corner a few inches. A sound frame lifts as one piece with the other front leg coming up too. If it twists, the joints have gone, and reframing a sofa is rarely economic.
4. Get a quote that specifies exactly what is included.Fabric, foam replacement, springs and webbing, arms and cushion interiors, collection and delivery. Foam and fabric are the two things that vary hugely in price, so ask for options rather than a single figure.
5. Compare with a genuinely equivalent new sofa.Not the cheapest sofa available — one with the frame and suspension quality yours has. That is the honest comparison, and it is what makes reupholstery look reasonable on a good piece.
6. Weigh the things that are not money.It fits the room and gets through the door, which a new one may not. You choose the fabric. Nothing goes to landfill. Against that: it will be out of use for some weeks and the shape stays the shape you have.
7. Consider the cheaper interventions first.New cushion interiors, new foam, replacement webbing, a professional clean or loose covers each cost a fraction of full reupholstery and fix a large share of the complaints people have about a sofa.

Tips

• Antique and mid-century frames are frequently worth reupholstering on quality alone, and replacing them like for like is not realistically possible.
• Fabric quantity is the variable that surprises people. Ask for the metreage needed early so you can price fabric properly rather than being shown a small selection.
• Some upholsterers will re-cover cushions and re-web a base as a smaller job. Ask, because it is often the entire problem.

Common mistakes

• Comparing reupholstery with the price of a budget new sofa — It compares a twenty-year piece with a five-year one. Compare with something built to the standard of what you already own.
• Reupholstering without fixing the suspension — New fabric over a sagging base gives you a sofa that looks new and sits exactly as badly as before, at full price.

Questions people ask