How much does it cost to reupholster your sofa?

As the natural focal point of your home, your sofa can take a lot of punishment over the course of its lifetime – as I’ve detailed before here on the blog! Most sofas tend to last anywhere between 7 and 15 years, and after enough time, yours can start to look old and tired. That will probably lead you to ask yourself – should you try and restore your sofa, or is it better to buy new?

Now, if you choose that first option, you’ve got a couple of choices available to you. The first is reupholstery, while the second involves giving it a new lease of life with one of our fitted sofa covers here at Cover My Furniture. But if you’ve taken even a brief look around our site, you’ll already know a fair bit about our furniture covers. (If not, we’ll move on to them in a moment!) So instead, let’s start by answering what’s probably the most pressing question on your mind…

How much does sofa reupholstery cost?

To be honest it’s difficult to put an exact figure on it, as it depends on so many different variables – including the time taken to complete the job, the parts necessary for completion, and whether it’ll be collected or delivered. However, on the whole, you can generally expect to spend anywhere between £500 up to £1000. To be honest, for the average three seater sofa, you’ll probably want to spend something approaching the top end of that band if you want the job done properly, using worthwhile materials.

To explain a little further, for the average three seater sofa you probably need anything from 12m to 16m of fabric. Now, it’s no secret that different fabric qualities are priced differently. A decent one will cost at least £40 per metre, so to buy 12m of that will cost £480. 16 metres of it, on the other hand, will cost £640. All fairly simple maths so far.

Similarly, if you decide to invest in an even more luxurious fabric that costs £60 per metre, then 12 metres of that will be £720, while 16 metres of it will cost £960. So you can already see where the bulk of the price comes from!

That’s cost of the fabric largely accounted for, so let’s move on to the actual process involved.

What’s involved in reupholstering a sofa?

The process of reupholstering a sofa is pretty labour intensive, and can take more than a week even when undertaken by a skilled craftsman. I’ll break it down to four key steps:

1. Removing the existing covers

This takes at least a day, sometimes several. It’s trickier than many people give it credit for – the existing fabric is usually attached to the sofa through a network of staples, and each of these needs to be carefully extracted without damaging the underlying framework of the sofa. Sometimes, the glue may need to be removed too.

2. Cutting the new fabric to fit

Here, the craftsman measures and cuts the new fabric to fit the sofa. This step is, again, dependent on the complexity of the sofa design itself. Even simpler designs can take at least a day, and more often it takes closer to two or three.

3. Covering the sofa with the new fabric

Again – and you might be detecting a pattern here – this is more complex than it first appears. It has to be done with meticulous care, and so often takes between two to three days.

4. Sewing the fabric

The process of making the sofa’s cushions, arms, backs and piping, as well as sewing it all together, can take most of a day, frequently more when it’s done carefully – which again, it very much should be!

In case you weren’t totting it up as you went along, at the bare minimum you’re looking at most of a working week to reupholster your sofa to its full glory. In the vast majority of cases, it’ll be more. Don’t be put off by the time involved – it may take slightly longer than you may have first assumed, but take it as an assurance of quality and craftsmanship. As you can see, reupholstering a sofa is no mean feat!

Fitted sofa covers can be a great alternative

Now, the great thing about reupholstery is that it’s fantastic for restoring a sofa that’s completely past its prime, especially if you’re very attached to it. It’s also far more environmentally friendly than buying new. Best of all, since it’s a traditional craft, you’ll be supporting traditional British workmanship by local craftsmen and women, too.

On the other hand, it’s a very involved process, and you may feel that your sofa doesn’t need quite that level of work. If it’s just looking a little stained and worn, you might want to consider a fitted sofa cover instead. It can be surprising how much a new cover can revitalise a sofa, wiping it clean of age-old stains, and helping it to look good as new again.

What’s more, choosing a fitted sofa cover for your furniture has a range of additional benefits. If ever it gets stained again (which let’s be honest, is pretty likely), the cover itself can simply be removed and put straight through the washing machine. No more time spent scrubbing furiously at some stains with home cleaning solutions – just a few minutes in the machine is all you need.

And of course, we’ve got a huge range of colours for you to choose from here at Cover My Furniture, giving you plenty of options to give your sofa a whole new personality. You can even switch up the colour of your sofa throughout the year, changing its style to suit the changing seasons!

You can choose sofa covers in every shade from red and orange to blue and yellow – and plenty more! If you’re having trouble making a decision, or you’re looking for something in particular, don’t hesitate to let one of us know, we also craft fantastic armchair and dining chair covers. You can get in touch using the contact form on our website, or through our Facebook or Instagram. We’re always happy to hear from you!