Welcome to the wonderful world of upholstery! Let us know how we can help you with all of your furniture needs. Vitian’s Re-upholstery is a family-owned business located on the east side of Indianapolis. We are a full service shop proudly offering affordable, quality workmanship. Covering it all from couches, chairs, ottomans, outdoor furnitureSend us a picture – chances are we can do the work for you! Repair and re-stuff cushionsBeing able to upholster something at home is an incredibly useful skill. Once you learn to reupholster a chair, you can turn all kinds of thrift store throwaways into useful, good-looking furniture. A manual staple gun can work in a pinch to secure fabric, but it’s much better suited to tacking wires or home improvement projects. Some manual staple guns require two-handed use which is difficult to do when working around the confines of furniture, which can be fatiguing. Upholstery projects are best done using a powered staple gun that will quickly staple through fabric and into hardwood with little effort.
Upholstery staple guns are available as electric or pneumatic (air-powered) models. Electric powered staple guns are extremely convenient. They are easy to transport (no compressor to lug around) and setup (just plug it in). With no compressor there is no loud annoying noise. But electric staple guns lack the power and performance of a pneumatic staple gun. The staples will go right through particle board, but for hardwood they often require more downward pressure to ensure good contact. Electric staplers can run into issues with staples only going halfway into wood, which requires you to either pull the staple or pound it in using a hammer. These performance issues waste time and make upholstery work much more difficult. The top rated DuoFast and Maestri (tough to find in the US) electric staplers are probably the best performing but they will cost around $200. Pneumatic staple guns are air-powered and require a separate air-compressor to run. The staple guns are cheap, from $23 for a basic stapler from Harbor Freight to $80 for a quality Porter-Cable stapler.
But an air compressor can set you back at least $100 more. The compressor can be used to run other pneumatic tools like an impact wrench, brad nailer, and spray guns. If portability isn’t an issue, then a pneumatic stapler is the way to go. It’s what the pros use and is hands down the best way to drive staples in the least amount of time. The video below shows a great comparison between an electric and pneumatic staple gun. Note the power and speed from the pneumatic stapler.When shopping for an upholstery stapler, look for these three features. There are many reasons you may want to reupholster a chair, but chief among them is sentimental value. If you have an old worn piece that’s been in the family for years, it’s probably worth reupholstering. A piece of furniture that fits a specific area is also worth saving. You can start learning on that chair or go to any thrift store, Salvation Army, or Goodwill and pickup a quality fabric covered chair. The older, the better.
A chair that is 15-20 years or older and is still standing is a great sign of quality. Inspect the chair by checking the legs and frame for any cracks or splits in the wood. You need a solid base to work from and a chair that is damaged will take even more time to repair. Look for coil springs in chairs and sofas. Press down on the seat and feel for springs and look under the seat to see springs. A quality sofa should be heavy and not easy to pickup which is a sign of solid wood.The best way to learn how to reupholster is by tearing down (taking apart) chairs and sofas. Once you have a grasp of how older furniture is constructed, you’ll have a better idea of how to repair, re-stuff, and re-cover them. The biggest decision during the reupholstering process is choosing a new fabric. Once you’ve made your selection, this chart shows you how much fabric you will need. A typical sofa uses about 13 yards of fabric and a typical chair uses about 7 yards. Upholstery fabric costs between $20 and $70 per yard or more, depending on quality.
So keep in mind the reupholstery of a typical sofa could cost between $260 and $910, or more, for fabric alone. Visit your local Jo-Ann or fabric store and get hands on with the fabric.As you start recovering your furniture, work one section at a time. Line up your new fabric in the piece and use your staple gun to secure it. Make sure there are no gaps and fold and tuck the edges of each piece of fabric to make sure its tight and smooth. Add extra batting and cushioning if needed. Check out the video above to see a professional in action. You can also learn to reupholster is by taking a group class. Students will work on different pieces and everyone learns on multiple types of furniture. Tools will also be provided which saves you from an initial investment, especially if it turns out you don’t like it. Check your local community college or continuing education centers. You can also call local upholsterers in your area and ask their suggestions. Photos by ModHomeEc, Wikipedia Commons, Porter-Cable, Kathryn Esposito, and Ann Dabney.Workshop is a new blog from Lifehacker all about DIY tips, techniques, and projects.
Follow us on Twitter here.When it comes to furniture, some people have a love affair of sorts. From a simple dining chair to a huge recliner, some chairs simply fit your home and your body too well to say goodbye to. If you have a chair that’s seen better days, however, it can be hard to give it the facelift it needs. You can try to hire cleaners, but in some cases a chair may be too far gone. That’s when it may be time to consider using a chair reupholstery and upholstery service. In the case of dining chairs, you’ll find that eventually they bear stains, scuffs, and other issues that are simply too great to be ignored. As a result you may need to have your entire set upholstered. It’s a simple enough process when a skilled professional does it, and your chairs will still match the table and dining room perfectly. A dining table usually includes some side chairs, and while they may not have the arms that the head of the table chairs have they’re still an important part of your dining room set up.
If one becomes damaged and in need of upholstery, however, you may find that its facelift leaves the rest of your chairs looking a little bit drab. Since smaller chair reupholstery and upholstery jobs don’t take that long to complete, most people usually opt to let the upholstery specialist redo their entire collection of side chairs or dining chairs to ensure that the set all looks great instead of having one or two that look brand new and a few more that look far older. The choice is obviously up to you, but once you see what reupholstery can do for your chairs you’ll likely go ahead and have them all done to give your entire dining set a facelift. If you have a sitting room, you may have a wing chair. These are among the favorites of most who own them since they’re not only comfortable, but elegant as well. Usually leather but sometimes made of other material, when your wing chairs begin to show wear and tear you’ll likely have to make a decision. In most cases reupholstering it is the best option since you’ll be able to keep the chair that your body has grown accustomed to, save a good bit of money, and give your chair a like-new appearance that wouldn’t be possible otherwise.
Reupholstery and upholstery goes far beyond cleaning and actually replaces the covering around your chair, ensuring that your chair looks brand new. You can even opt for a new material if you want to, a fact that many people take advantage of when trying to match an old chair to a new room. Nothing says comfort like club chairs, and nestling into one is a great way to unwind and relax. But when they’re scratched, stained, or otherwise damaged they can also be one of the most difficult to manage. That’s largely because their upholstery usually wraps entirely around the chair, making it one of the more involved chair reupholstery and upholstery jobs. Of course, a skilled professional can certainly manage the job and leave you with a great chair. These chairs are also among the hardest to throw away since so many people rank them among their favorites in their home. As a result, reupholstering them is usually the best option that you can use. It’s the perfect way to repair any club chair and to breathe new life into a chair that you thought was on its last legs.
Don’t throw them out when a better option exists. Replacing chairs, especially arm chairs, can be an expensive and hassle filled task. Not only do you have to spend a huge amount of money buying a new chair, you also have to move your old chair out and the new one in. In many cases this can be a huge undertaking. But if the only reason that you’re considering replacing your chair is because its upholstery is dirty, dingy, or damaged then you owe it to yourself – and to your favorite chair – to consider using a reupholstery and upholstery service. It’s a much cheaper, easier, and effective option that will let you keep your current chair. The current upholstery will be replaced entirely and you’ll have a chair that looks like it just came off the showroom floor but will still feel like the one that you’ve gotten used to over the years. In other words, it’s a perfect option. No discussion of chairs would be complete without mentioning the classic recliner. A recliner can quickly become your favorite seat in the house, and it’s used as much for sitting with the family as it is for taking a quick nap.