Upholstery

Start with the frame

Not every chair should be reupholstered, and telling you so is part of the job. The frame decides it. Hardwood, joined and doweled rather than stapled, will take new fabric almost regardless of age, and eight-way hand-tied springs are worth keeping. Good bones under an unfashionable fabric is the ideal candidate. A loose joint can be reglued. A cracked rail is a different conversation, and better to know before anything comes apart.

Sentiment counts, and it counts legitimately. A chair from your grandmother’s house gets done properly because it is that chair. No other reason is required.

Fabric that survives the room

Upholstery fabric answers to different demands than drapery. It gets sat on, leaned against, spilled on, and cleaned. Double rubs measure abrasion resistance, and what suits a formal dining chair is nowhere near what your family room sectional needs. Performance fabrics are good enough now to choose on their merits, not as a concession to children and dogs.

Pattern scale matters more here than almost anywhere, because the fabric is being fitted to a three-dimensional object. A large repeat can be beautiful on a sofa back and unusable on a tight-seat chair. All of that gets settled before yardage is ordered.

The details that show

Welt does more to the character of a finished piece than most people expect. Self-welt keeps it quiet. Contrast welt gives it an edge and draws the shape out. Cushion fill decides how the piece feels a year in: down-wrapped foam where softness matters, something firmer where people sit every single day.

Then pattern placement, which is where the care becomes visible. A motif centered on the seat and centered again on the back. Stripes running true down an arm. That comes from someone standing over the piece, not a machine following a cutting order.