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Not often spotted in the wild in Canada, even this close to the US border, is a dual-reclining sofa.
http://ontario.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-s...AdIdZ391767770
Any thoughts on it's condition? Is that a head stain?
Any way to remove it?
How about preventing it?
That's one well used (up) sofa. I'd not give $ 500 for it, no way. Looks like its never been taken care of, and that's pigment loss on the right side headrest, which would require a restoration. Yes. those are EASILY preventable with simply wiping down the leather with a damp towel weekly and then using a cleaner/conditioner on it 2x a year.
Thanks! Dumb question perhaps, but with respect to reupholstering... I know fabric sofas are often reupholstered, likely because they don't last as long as leather, but what about leather sofas? Can they be reupholstered with fabric? And can fabric sofas we reupholstered with leather?
Never a dumb question...it's just a question of economics. As this question comes up a lot, I'll go into some detail on it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gabardine
First, with re-upholstery you are working with old product. That leather sofa is likely 20 years old. So the frame is 20 years old, the spring system, the webbing, the cushion interiors, the recliner mechanisms - all old and used. With a new piece, you have all those components at the beginning of their life span. You average upholstery shop WILL NOT be able to replace those components with factory new quality. They will have generic cushions at best, and won't be replacing springs for the most part or webbing. If they do replace the webbing, they can't get it as taut.
To recover in leather is pretty much cost prohibitive unless you happen on a great deal somewhere in hides. In most cases it will cost well over the price of a whole new piece.
To recover in fabric, that piece takes roughly 20 yards of fabric, and if you want a decent, medium grade fabric its hard to source for mush under $ 40 a yard. So we have $ 800 in material costs for just the cover - nothing else. Then you will pay about $ 600 in most areas for the labor. Now you're at $ 1,400 plus $ 500 acquisitions costs so that brings you to around $ 1,900 in the piece, and you STILL have all old components. The kind of cores that are in that sofa are $ 120 per seat and back x 6 so there's another $ 700 if you put in new cushions. Now you're at $ 2,600 in a fabric - still on old springs, webbing and recliner mechanisms - and within about $ 500 of a factory new piece in the same model.
To me, being in the trade, re-upholstery usually does not make economic sense based on anticipated usable lifespan of the product once done. There are times I will recommend it such as:
* Valuable antique wing chairs and sofas made pre-1840.
* Family heirloom pieces.
* A chair or sofa unique in form and style that is no longer available.
* Small benches, dining chairs, barstools, etc.
Keep in mind that the factory new is made much quicker and with (usually) superior tailoring. Why? Because they are working from templates and master sewers, whereas the upholstery shop has to remove the cover, make a new pattern from it and that takes far more time to do.
Don't re-upholster in order to save money - you usually will be better off with a new piece. I never do in my own house, even though I have premium furniture. After 20 years of use, I do a clean slate piece and will give the old pieces to college kids I know getting their first apartment, etc. Then when they REALLY use it up, its ready for the dump.
Interesting info, thanks! And I suppose that's another argument in favour of leather over fabric too. I never would have guessed that leather had a lower "total cost of ownership"... We own some family pieces including a rock solid 8 foot sofa that is 50 years old. It's been recovered 4 times, by the same upholsterers, and is still quite comfortable for the visiting area (although a little creaky). We used a tweedy-looking contractor grade fabric, and they did it for around $1,000 including foam/down cushions. I imagine it won't get reupholstered again, and I'm not sure the brothers that did it will be in business as they're already past retirement age.