Flea-market furniture is bound to have nick and scratches and to need repairs. When it's an upholstered piece, it can be difficult to determine whether it's beyond repair. Kitty Bartholomew, host of HGTV's Kitty Bartholomew: You're Home, meets with upholsterer and furniture expert Lindsay Shuford to get tips on buying and repairing upholstered furniture. Flea markets and garage sales can be good sources of affordable furniture, but about a third of the time what you buy is unusable. It can be particularly difficult to determine whether the damage to an upholstered piece is serious because the only way to know for sure is to take it apart. You should, however, look for a stable frame: wiggle the arms and back to see whether anything is loose. If a piece has a good solid frame, it's usable, and the springs and innards can be replaced if necessary. When an upholsterer takes a piece of furniture apart, he or she can assess its condition. For example, the frames of some chairs are so full of nail holes from being upholstered many times that they won't hold any more nails. Sometimes the only salvageable thing is detailing such as hand-carved wooden feet. Slipcovers During the past 10 years slipcovers have become a popular alternative to upholstery. Usually made of easy-care washable cotton, they're a good choice for families with children. When the slipcovers get dirty, just remove them and toss them in the washing machine. Slipcovers generally cost 25 percent to 30 percent less than reupholstering but require about 10 percent more fabric to allow for shrinkage. Cushions A good piece of furniture always has coil springs. With coil springs, cushions can be made of feathers or synthetic filler. Foam wrapped with Dacron® is the least expensive type of cushion. Foam can also be wrapped in feathers, or cushions can be made entirely of feathers. Solid-feather cushions are the most expensive. Horsehair, a stuffing of the past, is hard as a rock to sit on and is typically used only when a client requests it for the authentic repair of a vintage piece. The ideal combination for seat cushions is foam enclosed in an envelope of feathers and down. Back cushions are most comfortable when filled only with feathers. Solid-feather cushions must be fluffed after use, an easy task with back cushions. Find a Competent Upholsterer Furniture expert Lindsay Shuford advises that the best way to find a competent upholsterer is to take a close look at his or her finished work. And be aware that good work doesn't come cheap: well-done upholstery and slipcovers are not inexpensive.
RESOURCES :
The Book of Upholstery: Understanding and Decorating With Upholstered Furniture
Model: 0517142724
Author: Candace Ord Manroe
Out of Print
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