Furniture Upholstery
Furniture With A Story. Upholstery With A Future.
Some pieces deserve more than replacing.
Discuss An Upholstery Project
Measure · Design · Make · Install
A favourite armchair, a well-made sofa or a unique piece with exactly the right proportions for your room can often be given an entirely new life through carefully considered upholstery.
Chatelaine Interiors can help you assess the piece, choose appropriate fabrics and finishes and coordinate the upholstery with the wider vision.
Make A Valued Piece Work In A New Scheme
Changing your interior doesn't necessarily mean starting again.
Re-upholstering an existing piece can allow you to retain the quality, shape or sentimental value you already love while changing the way it works within the room. For a well-made piece, it can also make practical and financial sense to work with what you already have, extending its useful life rather than replacing it altogether.
We can help you consider the fabric, colour, pattern and detailing alongside your curtains, blinds, cushions and other soft furnishings so that the finished upholstery feels part of the overall scheme.
Fabric Advice That Goes Beyond Colour
Upholstery fabric needs to look right, but it also needs to be appropriate for the way the furniture will be used.
We'll consider more than colour and pattern. Depending on the piece and fabric, we'll look at its composition, Martindale abrasion rating, rub count, pattern repeat, pile direction and how the material is likely to behave across curves or more heavily shaped areas. Pattern placement and seam positioning can also make a considerable difference to the finished result.
We'll also consider the relevant fire-safety requirements and whether the chosen fabric and upholstery combination is appropriate for the intended use.
You can bring us a fabric you've already selected or ask us to help source suitable options.
Details That Make The Piece Your Own
Depending on the furniture and design, finishing details can include elements such as:
- Piping or contrast piping
- Trims
- Studs
- Buttons
- Pattern placement and matching
- Complementing or contrasting fabrics
The result should feel considered rather than simply reupholstered.
More Than A New Cover
Where required, upholstery work can also involve assessing what is happening beneath the fabric.
We'll assess the furniture and explain what is appropriate before work begins rather than assuming every piece needs the same treatment.
Practical Details Taken Care Of Too
The work required will vary from piece to piece.
Depending on the condition and construction of the furniture, we can consider areas such as frames, fillings and internal upholstery alongside the new fabric and finish.
We'll also discuss practical arrangements such as collection, delivery or any work that may need to take place on site as part of the quotation.
Where relevant, we'll consider the appropriate fire-safety requirements when advising on materials and the intended use of the finished piece.
The Centrepiece Of The Bedroom
A headboard can do far more than frame the bed. It can set the tone for the whole bedroom.
One of the pieces we most often create from scratch is a bespoke upholstered headboard, designed around the proportions of the bed, the scale of the room and the wider scheme.
From a simple, tailored shape to something more decorative or statement-making, we can help you explore shape, height, fabric, pattern, piping, trims and other finishing details to create a piece that feels completely individual.
You may already have a reference image, a fabric you love or a clear idea of the finished look. Or you may simply know you want the bed to feel more considered. We can help you develop the idea, visualise the proportions and bring the different details together before the piece is made.
Because we also create curtains, blinds, cushions, valances and other bedroom soft furnishings, the headboard can become part of a complete bedroom scheme, with fabrics, colours and details deliberately carried across the room.
Upholstery As Part Of The Wider Interior
Upholstery is often most successful when it isn't treated as an isolated decision.
A chair might pick up a tone from the curtains. An upholstered headboard can become a defining feature of the bedroom, using fabric, proportion and detailing to connect with the wider scheme. A window seat may need to sit comfortably alongside blinds, cushions and surrounding finishes.
Because we work across the wider soft furnishings scheme, we can help those details connect.
For upholstered headboards, we can also coordinate the upholstery with our bespoke bedroom treatments.
Frequently Asked Questions
What types of furniture can you upholster?
Our upholstery work can include headboards, armchairs, sofas, footstools, ottomans, window seats and other individual furniture pieces. We also create bespoke upholstered headboards from scratch and can undertake more specialist work, such as upholstered panels for display cabinets.
Suitability depends on the individual piece and the work required, so send us photographs and some information about what you have in mind and we can advise on the next step.
Is my furniture worth re-upholstering?
That depends on the quality and condition of the piece as well as what you want to achieve. We can help you consider whether re-upholstery is a sensible option before you commit.
Can you help me source upholstery fabric?
Yes. We can source suitable fabrics or work with a fabric you or your interior designer have already chosen.
Can you coordinate the upholstery with window treatments or cushions?
Yes. This is one of the advantages of using Chatelaine across the wider scheme. We can consider the upholstered piece alongside other fabrics and treatments in the room.
Can existing furniture need repairs as part of the work?
Some pieces may require attention beneath the finished fabric. We assess this according to the individual item and will explain any work required.
Can I supply my own fabric?
Yes. We're happy to work with fabric you've sourced yourself or that has been specified by your interior designer.
We'll need to check that it is suitable for the piece and intended use, taking into account factors such as composition, performance, pattern repeat and any relevant fire-safety requirements before manufacture begins.
How long will the work take?
Timescales depend on the furniture, fabric availability and work involved. As a guide, a sofa will usually take around 4 to 8 weeks from receipt of the deposit and fabrics. We'll confirm the expected timescale for your individual piece as part of the quotation.
Give The Right Piece A New Chapter
If you have furniture you love but it no longer works with the room, show us the piece and tell us what you're planning.
We'll help you explore what it could become.