Chair reupholstery is where many people start: one armchair is a manageable job, and a good older chair is often better built than anything new at the same price. Upholsterers recover wingbacks, tub and club chairs, accent chairs, Morris chairs, nursing chairs and recliners, and usually rebuild the seat while the cover is off. Send a photo, the style and the fabric you have in mind, and we pass your request to independent upholsterers near you, who quote you directly. It is free, with no obligation to accept any quote.
Armchair styles upholsterers take on
- Wingback chairs: tall back and side wings, often with coil springs and a loose seat cushion
- Tub and club chairs: curved backs that need careful pleating or panels
- Accent and occasional chairs, often with show-wood frames
- Recliners: covers in sections around a mechanism, sometimes leather
- Morris chairs and older pieces with loose cushions, which may also need restoration of the woodwork
Choosing fabric and foam
An armchair takes about 5 to 7 metres of plain 140 cm fabric and a wingback about 5 to 6, more for a pattern or a loose cushion. Velvet suits a wingback; a textured weave or bouclé suits a tub chair; faux leather suits a recliner in a busy family room. If the chair is for daily reading, ask for a fabric with a good rub count and a seat-grade foam with a soft top layer. Pairs of chairs should be cut from the same batch so the colour matches.
What the job involves and common mistakes
The chair is stripped to the frame, and on older wingbacks that can mean layers of horsehair, coir and tacks. Coil springs are retied or replaced with webbing and zig-zag springs, hessian renewed, then foam and wrap built up and the cover pleated around arms and wings. On recliners the mechanism is checked while the chair is open. Common mistakes: choosing a stiff, heavy fabric for a tight curved back, and keeping old crumbled foam in the seat cushion to save money.
Chair reupholstery: what affects the price
The price depends on the style (a deep-buttoned wingback takes far longer than a simple accent chair), whether springs need retying, the fabric, a loose cushion, piping and any woodwork. Ask:
- Will you rebuild the springs or only the foam?
- How many metres for this chair, with my pattern?
- Can you check the recliner mechanism while it is open?
To match a couch, ask for both in one quote.
What to include in your request
- Chair style, with a photo
- Loose seat cushion or fixed seat
- One chair or a pair
- Fabric type and plain or patterned
- Recliner: manual or electric
Armchair and Wingback Reupholstery for homes, cars and businesses
- Homeowners and tenants: a family wingback, a reading armchair, a nursing chair or a tired recliner recovered
- Restaurants, hotels, guesthouses and lodges: guesthouse bedroom armchairs and hotel lounge tub chairs recovered in contract fabric
- Offices and businesses: reception tub chairs and directors' armchairs recovered in a hard-wearing weave
- Car, bakkie and taxi owners: the armchairs in a showroom lounge or a fleet manager's office recovered
- Boats, caravans and 4x4s: lodge fireside armchairs and holiday house recliners recovered in a fade-resistant fabric
- Clinics, salons, spas and gyms: recliners in a dialysis room, clinic or retirement home recovered in wipeable vinyl
- Churches, schools and halls: armchairs in a library, a council parlour or a church vestry recovered
- Upholsterers, makers, designers and DIYers: antique dealers and stagers having armchairs and wingbacks recovered for resale
Frequently asked questions
Is it worth reupholstering a wingback chair?
How much fabric do I need to reupholster an armchair?
Can a recliner chair be reupholstered?
How long does it take to reupholster a chair?
Armchair and Wingback Reupholstery by province and city
- Johannesburg
- Pretoria
- Centurion
- Midrand
- Sandton
- Randburg
- Roodepoort
- Krugersdorp
- Randfontein
- Germiston
- Boksburg
- Benoni
- Kempton Park
- Alberton
- Vanderbijlpark
- Vereeniging
- Durban
- Pinetown
- Pietermaritzburg
- Richards Bay
- Newcastle
- Ladysmith
- Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
- East London
- Kariega (Uitenhage)
- Mthatha
- Cape Town
- Bellville
- Paarl
- Stellenbosch
- George
- Worcester
- eMalahleni (Witbank)
- Middelburg
- Secunda
- Mbombela (Nelspruit)
- Rustenburg
- Brits
- Klerksdorp
- Potchefstroom
- Mahikeng
- Polokwane
- Tzaneen
- Kimberley
- Upington
- Bloemfontein
- Welkom
- Sasolburg