7 year old E.J. Victor sofas, replace or refurbish?

So I have two hand-me-down E.J. Victor sofas, Model #BK0326-86, the Carol H Bolton collection Mrs. Grundy sofa. Both are about 7 years old - I acquired them about a year ago. There is also a Fostertown Road Ottoman (#BK-0325-10) from the same collection in a complimentary fabric.

The sofas saw fairly heavy use their first 6 years (from a family with 5 teenagers and 2 large dogs) as the daily use family room sofas. They were pretty worn when we got them, but they were nice sofas and fit our room (plus, they were free).

At this point, they sag noticeably in the middle - they are 2-cushion sofas and you definitely sink toward the middle when on them. Bottom and back cushions have lost form, and the back cushions have also lost a lot of the down feathers that were once in them (while I know down is nice, there is nothing as frustrating as being regularly stabbed by the quills of feathers poking out of failing sofas and weekly vacuuming up the lost feathers, all while you sofa gets less comfortable to use and harder to 'fluff'). The upholstery is also worn out on at least 1 cushion - worn all the way through - with another close behind it.

The question is this - I know these are nice sofas, and we do like the way they look (although I wouldn't mind something a little deeper). But it seems to my upholstery-novice self that from all the issues, we likely need the springs refurbished, new cushion cores, and then the whole thing reupholstered. From what a friend was recently quoted to reupholster a large high-end sectional, I am guessing this would all come in around the cost of getting 2 brand new sofas from a top quality shop in promotional fabrics (I am thinking of Taylor King Portfolio collection here). Is it worth it to save these? Do they have any value when everything seems like it needs to be rebuilt except the frame?

Any thoughts/advice welcome

If you have frame sag, or spring sag, they're toast. You're not talking about recovering at that point, its more restoration. Few pieces are worth doing that much work too, they have to be important pieces with history or heritage to invest that kind of money in. Donate them to a charity that will pick them up, get a receipt and take them off your 2014 taxes end of the year.

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Originally Posted by drcollie

If you have frame sag, or spring sag, they're toast. You're not talking about recovering at that point, its more restoration. Few pieces are worth doing that much work too, they have to be important pieces with history or heritage to invest that kind of money in. Donate them to a charity that will pick them up, get a receipt and take them off your 2014 taxes end of the year.

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Thanks, Duane. Frame still seems in perfect condition, and spring sag isn't as noticeable until sitting, but this is what I thought the answer would be. Wasn't sure if it was worth listing on craigslist for someone else to have a go at rebuilding them. Just hated having to part with 3 well-made pieces.

It's hard to tell for sure with a good set of hi-res photos, but in general - once you get to having to replace springs or re-tie them, it gets to be costly and typically more than buying new.