Many people ask me whether or not they should reupholster their antique furniture. Although I am a proponent of salvaging our antique history and vintage decor, unfortunately, not all antique pieces are created equal.

There are several questions to ask yourself, when it comes to reupholstering Aunt Jenny’s heritage chair or your most recent Craigslist find.

• Is your antique furniture OLD enough? Although age is just a number, the craftsmanship of yore changed dramatically in the last three decades. As a general rule of thumb, your antique furniture that is more than 40 years old is typically worthy of re-upholstery. Furniture from pre-1970s were traditionally made of hardwood that was kiln-dried, making the structure more solid. In addition, they were constructed with corner blocks, along with coil foundations. Therefore, the overall structure of these pieces of antique furniture is strong – making it a worthy long-term investment.
• Was the antique furniture originally custom? If this is the case, then you may want to place the antique piece in the “to reupholster” classification. Typically, if someone had the piece custom-made decades ago, they spent a great deal of money and thought into the piece – which translates into a unique, well-made antique furniture piece for you.
• Are you happy with the structural design? Remember, you should only reupholster a piece if you love the structure, and simply want to change the fabric. If you want to alter the existing structure of the piece, then you may want to simply get a custom-designed piece, which may cost the same as re-upholstery.
• Do you love the antique piece? Overriding all of the other elements is how much you love your antique furniture piece. Unless you reupholster yourself (which we have a DIY reupholster tutorial coming this week!), it can be very expensive. If you plan to hire a reupholstery professional, think twice about whether you are in love with the piece – till death do you part – or if it was only fleeting love at first sight.

When you are looking for pieces to reupholster, you must be able to look past the hideous fabric and stains to see its underlying beauty – which lies within the structure. Do you have any vintage or antique furniture pieces you have reupholstered? If so, send an email to poetry@poetichome.com, and we’d love to feature your style!

Stay tuned for our update this week with a DIY re-upholstery tutorial!