Thank y’all so much for your enthusiasm on instagram about my newly reupholstered chairs! I’m so excited about them, too. I received many questions about them and answered most of them in stories and saved to a highlight on my instagram profile. I thought it may be helpful to have them all saved here, too.
Where did you find the chairs? How much were they? How do I find bargain chairs?
I found the chairs for $40 at the Habitat ReStore in Spartanburg, SC. I had a business meeting over there one day and anytime I am out of town, I always stop at thrift and secondhand stores because you never know what you’re going to find! Always be willing to stop and “just see.” It usually takes about 5-10 minutes to do a quick over view of a secondhand shop. If something catches your eye, give it a thorough lookover.
How did you pick these out? How did you see the potential?
I’ve been looking for a pair of higher back chairs for our living room. Our sofa is so big, it needs something across from it with a bit more visual weight, but I didn’t want something as big as a wingback chair. When I saw these, I knew the higher back would be a great balance. I also loved that it was a comfortable club chair. I want all of our living room seating to be comfortable and cozy. When we host our families, it could be about 6 of us (and growing) who could be having coffee together or lingering over dessert. I want all the seating to be comfortable and these satisfied those requirements.
I also really liked the squared off angles of it. These chairs are old, but the lines of it look like some of the more modern club chairs I have seen lately. I knew the shape was perfect for our living room.
Where did you find the fabric? How much is fabric? How much fabric do you need?
Because I knew I was going to need a lot of fabric, I needed to go the budget route. I went to All About Fabrics in Williamston, SC. They have big sales the first weekend of the month. I went with an open mind about what colors I was going to find, but I took my other fabric samples of what was in the room so I could be sure it would all coordinate. I’m so pleased with what I found! The green velvet was $11/yard and the turquoise was in their remnant room where it is $5/pound.
There’s so much to choose from at All About Fabrics! It’s three huge rooms with a ton of inventory. Be sure to take your time and think through all possibilities. I do multiple laps being sure I haven’t missed the perfect fabric. When looking through the upholstery weight fabrics, you’re not gonna know if it’s performance or not. It’s huge bolts stacked on top of each other and you grab what you want. I was not too concerned about performance for these chairs. They aren’t the main chairs hubby and I sit in and I think they will be okay.
For a club chair, I would count on at least 7 yards of fabric. That’s going to go up depending on cording and the repeat of the club chair. You would rather buy more than enough than not have enough and end up scrambling to find more or having to start over with a whole new fabric.
How did you find your upholsterer? How much does this cost?
I work with a private workroom that is only used by designers, so I’m sorry I can’t share the information of who did the work on these chairs but I can tell you that I have used Judy West/Jack’s Custom, Final Upholstery, and Best Upholstery in the area. I have also heard good things about Melvin Allen and John Scott.
Cost is another item that can totally vary. I can also say, you get what you pay for. I have had some bad upholstery job and it wasn’t worth the cheap labor. This is something you want don’t right. I would say count on $300 minimum for a basic, small club chair. It’s gonna go up from there depending on the pattern and repeat of the fabric and the custom details you’re adding. Your chair may also need to have foam rebuilt underneath or a new cushion made. These are things that add to the cost, but extend the life of the chair. Often times, investing in these improvements is still cheaper than buying a brand new chair.
I hope this is helpful information! If you have any more questions, feel free to ask in the comments and I’ll answer back there, too. That will be helpful for everyone reading and researching an upholstery project.
