Reupholstering: Old Furniture Becomes New Again
Though life may take its toll on your favorite piece of furniture, that doesn't mean it's time to replace it. Reupholstery is an excellent option for sturdy pieces you're not quite ready to part with. While changing a sofa or chair's material can bring it new style and new life, reupholstery sometimes comes at a high cost. To determine if it's the right choice, consider these factors before getting started.
The Furniture's Type and Size
Chairs are some of the most common items to be reupholstered. Dining and living room chairs are good candidates because they don't require as much material as loveseats, sectionals, and sofas, making them an affordable option.
When deciding to reupholster, consider the piece's size, as it will largely determine the cost of the project. Larger pieces require more labor and more material, so it might be best to start small and work your way up.
Monetary and Sentimental Value
A piece's value, whether it's monetary or sentimental, may be enough reason to opt for reupholstery over replacement. Maybe Grandma's old rocking chair needs to be refreshed before it goes into the baby's nursery. Or, those antique dining chairs are made of high-quality materials, and they're becoming rarer each year.
Some pieces don't hold any real meaning, in which case it's fine to pass it on in favor of a new item. However, if a piece of furniture is full of great memories and potential, reupholstery may be just what it needs.
Damage
When an upholstered item is damaged the effects fall into three categories: structural, stuffing, and upholstery. Before deciding, check the piece for any damage that may affect the cost of new upholstery.
Damaged upholstery is quite common because fabric is often discolored from stains, rips, tears, and sunlight exposure. Though the damage can be significant, it's easily fixed. When the damage is structural, not cosmetic, the cost of repairs can be high. In these cases, it's best to consider if the cost is justified.
Materials
This is, for most, the best part of the job. Selecting the material for a sofa or chair will depend on your budget, lifestyle, and design preferences. Choose from a range of patterns, materials, and colors for the piece. If you have pets, kids, and a busy lifestyle, consider durable performance fabrics.
The Cost of Reupholstery
Reupholstering an old piece is a fun way to freshen the look of your home, but it's important to consider the cost. As discussed above, materials, damage, and size all determine how much it costs to reupholster a piece of furniture. Labor is another consideration; the process is time- and labor-intensive. Special work, such as pattern alignment, tufting, and welt cord replacement, also affect the price.
Is Furniture Reupholstery Worthwhile?
After considering these factors, it may be easier to decide if furniture reupholstery is the right choice. Sometimes it's worthwhile to make an old piece look new, but if the cost of the job outweighs the piece's value, it may be better to start fresh. Whatever your decision may be, we're here to help.
Affordable and Effective Tips for Revamping Your Medical Office
Countless factors enter the mix when operating a medical facility. All of them revolve around patients' needs and expectations as well as those of your staff members and the healthcare industry as a whole. While the budget isn't the sole deciding factor when it comes to making purchasing decisions and other choices, it certainly comes into play. Costs are constantly lurking in the background, and working around them isn't always easy.
In the midst of all the considerations, your facility's waiting room is one of the most critical elements. It's the first thing people see when they enter your office, and first impressions are everything. Unfortunately, it's often the area that receives the least attention. With all the other factors in play, the budget sometimes falls short of this portion of your office. Still, you have plenty of affordable, effective alternatives for improving the look and feel of your waiting room.
Rearrange the Furniture
Creating a new seating arrangement in the waiting room can make a world of difference, and it costs very little if anything at all. It's important to make the best possible use of the space you have available. This is especially true if you have a small office. You could set up rows of chairs throughout the room with seats facing each other. Alternatively, you could seat patients around the perimeter of the room while leaving the center open for people to move around.
Adding end tables and other pieces of furniture can provide a more relaxed, inviting atmosphere. Doing so also gives patients extra space for their purses, drinks, and other items. Tables offer patients a place to fill out paperwork as well. This, alone, is an extremely helpful feature because balancing clipboards on their laps or other people's backs isn't exactly easy.
Update Your Seating
Your waiting room furniture is subjected to constant use and abuse from patients. Materials covering the seats are bound to become faded, cracked, and torn over time. The underlying padding also tends to lose a great deal of its give and take. Purchasing all new furniture can be a monumental and expensive undertaking, but having the old seating reupholstered is a cost-effective solution.
You have a wide range of patterns, colors, and textures to choose from when having new fabrics applied to your waiting area furniture. You can select options that fall in line with the existing color scheme and decor of the office to avoid a complete renovation. Of course, if you want to go with entirely different decor, coordinating new upholstery with a fresh coat of paint will certainly work wonders.
Keep the Pandemic in Mind
Your medical facility has most likely been impacted in numerous ways by the coronavirus pandemic. Following the CDC's social distancing guidelines while still accommodating patients' needs isn't a simple process. Consider arranging your seating in groups of three and leaving at least six feet of space between each set. This gives patients and their accompanying friends, relatives, or caretakers an opportunity to sit together while keeping their distance from others. Having your furniture reupholstered with durable, antimicrobial fabrics that are easy to clean and sanitize will help as well.
Give Your Medical Office a New Look and Feel
Revamping your waiting room doesn't have to cost a fortune or lead to several days of downtime. At Charleston Upholstery Prrros, we offer a wide range of affordable solutions for updating your medical office furniture. Our team works around your schedule and always keeps your unique needs in mind. Contact us to find out which upholstery options are most suited to your requirements, and let us help improve the look and feel of your waiting room and other areas of your practice.
The Best Furniture Upholstery for Pets
We all love our pets. With a fun-loving spirit and unconditional love to give, pets can be an important part of the family unit. However, there's no denying that they come with added responsibilities.
Hairballs, fur clumps and dander-- the list of things you don't want to think about goes on. Many that elect not to have a pet do so because of the added responsibility that they bring. Clean-up is a part of this. However, there are preventative steps that you can take to relieve some of this burden.
Save the hassle of pet-related chores, and spend more time enjoying your pet's company. This article will share a couple types of upholstery that will resist a range of accidents and messes.
The Benefits of Microfiber
First of all, it is never a bad idea to select colors that closely match your pet's hair; this will keep your home looking as fresh as possible in between cleanings. Note that smoother upholstery does the best job of slowing the buildup of pet hair on your furniture.
Microfiber is exactly what it sounds like-- a fabric made of small, densely woven fibers. It is typically made from synthetic materials like nylon or polyester. Microfiber is so densely woven that it prevents dirt, dust and pet hair from sinking in, or in many cases sticking at all.
The tight weave also makes microfiber resistant to liquids and stains. Remember that resistant doesn't mean impermeable. Pet accidents will sink into the fibers eventually, so you still need to clean them up as quickly as possible.
Crypton is the High End Option
Crypton has all of the benefits of microfiber and more. It is a patented treatment that prevents upholstery from becoming stained. Cryton's ability to handle spills and messes of almost any kind is what makes is so popular in hotels, restaurants, and other establishments that serve the public.
Once pets accidents absorb deep into the fabric of your furniture, the odor is almost impossible to get rid of. Crypton's protective barrier keeps liquids on the surface, allowing your home to always smell fresh and clean. Its absorption protection also means that Cryton significantly slows the growth of bacteria. Choose Crypton if you have allergies or a pet that is prone to accidents.
This technology comes at a price. However, Cryton is much more durable than microfiber. If there are frequent accidents in your home, you will earn your money back on this material.
Final Thoughts
While cleaning up after your pet can feel like a never-ending chore, choosing the right furniture upholstery will save a lot of time and frustration. This is why is it so important to be practical and consider your pet when making design choices.
You don't have to sacrifice convenience when on a tight budget. Microfiber is an affordable option worth considering if your pet sheds a lot. If you find yourself cleaning up accidents often, Crypton might be the better option due to its protective barrier and durability.
What You Need To Know About Fabric Upholstery And Durability
When a chair, sofa, or other piece of furniture gets upholstered, the goal is both to make the piece look nice and also to help it last for longer and be more durable. In fact, for items that will see a lot of use, considering fabric durability for furniture upholstery is incredibly important. Thankfully, though, it's fairly easy to determine how durable a particular type of fabric will be. This information is determined based on a double rub test. With this type of testing, a back and forth motion is used to simulate the type of abrasion a fabric would experience when someone sits on the seat. The more rubs a particular fabric can withstand, the stronger it is likely to be.
Consider Where And How An Item Will Be Used
Obviously, the higher a fabric's abrasion resistance or the better its score on a rub test, the better a fabric is. However, this doesn't mean that it's always necessary to use the absolute strongest fabric available. Really, the type of fabric that should be used is dependent on where the fabric will be used and the amount of use it's likely to see. For items that will experience light use, for example, a score of anywhere from 9000 to 11,000 rubs should be fine. Medium level use typically requires a score of around 12,000 to 15,000 rubs. However, for items that will experience very heavy-duty use, such as those used in commercial facilities, the rub test score does need to be quite high. For best results,the upholstery fabric should be able to handle a minimum of 35,000 rubs before showing wear. Thus, the key isn't always to choose the strongest fabric available, but to choose the right fabric for each specific job.
How Durable Is Most Upholstery Fabric?
While, as mentioned, a super high rub score isn't always necessary, especially for furniture pieces that will just be used in the home, buyers still want good, high quality, durable upholstery fabrics. After all, they want their upholstery jobs to last them for as long as possible. The good news is that most upholstery and fabric manufacturers are well aware of the fact that today's clients are demanding the strongest possible materials. They also know that clients are more educated about fabric rub testing and overall product quality, thanks in large part to online resources. Thus, they've responded by producing stronger, more durable fabrics than ever. New milling methods have even been created and improved upon to provide the best quality fabrics. So, as long as people are buying their upholstery fabrics from reliable, quality sources, they generally have nothing to worry about.
When In Doubt, Just Check The Label
Despite the assurances above, some clients still want exact details before they buy a product. They want to know what a fabric's rub test score is so that they can decide for themselves whether or not a particular fabric is good enough for their purposes. Well, in this case, the good news is that most items will list the rub test score or other information about the fabric's abrasion resistance on the label. Thus, very concerned buyers can simply check out the label on an item before making a purchase. Bear in mind, however, that only going with very heavy-duty fabrics with high rub test scores may mean limiting one's selection of colors, patterns, style, and feel. For this reason, it's often better to be a bit more lenient and to not always demand a super-high rub test rating. Buyers who never budge on this point may get stronger fabrics, but they may miss out on some other great options in the process.
What About The Pilling Problem?
Finally, people are often concerned about their upholstery fabric falling victim to pilling. Pilling occurs when broken fabric fibers get tangled and create little visible knots on the surface of the upholstery. The result is, as one can imagine, quite ugly and undesirable. And, this problem, like many other problems with fabric, is caused by abrasion. In this regard, a higher rub test score may mean that a fabric will not pill as quickly. However, pilling is a problem that is likely to eventually affect any type of fabric. Thus, even with the strongest fabric, having a fabric shaver on hand and using it regularly to keep fabric looking great is never a bad idea.
Ultimately, choose the fabric you really love and that's right for your specific level of use. Use rub test ratings as a guide, but don't get too hung up on them. After all, nothing lasts forever.
Though life may take its toll on your favorite piece of furniture, that doesn't mean it's time to replace it. Reupholstery is an excellent option for sturdy pieces you're not quite ready to part with. While changing a sofa or chair's material can bring it new style and new life, reupholstery sometimes comes at a high cost. To determine if it's the right choice, consider these factors before getting started.
The Furniture's Type and Size
Chairs are some of the most common items to be reupholstered. Dining and living room chairs are good candidates because they don't require as much material as loveseats, sectionals, and sofas, making them an affordable option.
When deciding to reupholster, consider the piece's size, as it will largely determine the cost of the project. Larger pieces require more labor and more material, so it might be best to start small and work your way up.
Monetary and Sentimental Value
A piece's value, whether it's monetary or sentimental, may be enough reason to opt for reupholstery over replacement. Maybe Grandma's old rocking chair needs to be refreshed before it goes into the baby's nursery. Or, those antique dining chairs are made of high-quality materials, and they're becoming rarer each year.
Some pieces don't hold any real meaning, in which case it's fine to pass it on in favor of a new item. However, if a piece of furniture is full of great memories and potential, reupholstery may be just what it needs.
Damage
When an upholstered item is damaged the effects fall into three categories: structural, stuffing, and upholstery. Before deciding, check the piece for any damage that may affect the cost of new upholstery.
Damaged upholstery is quite common because fabric is often discolored from stains, rips, tears, and sunlight exposure. Though the damage can be significant, it's easily fixed. When the damage is structural, not cosmetic, the cost of repairs can be high. In these cases, it's best to consider if the cost is justified.
Materials
This is, for most, the best part of the job. Selecting the material for a sofa or chair will depend on your budget, lifestyle, and design preferences. Choose from a range of patterns, materials, and colors for the piece. If you have pets, kids, and a busy lifestyle, consider durable performance fabrics.
The Cost of Reupholstery
Reupholstering an old piece is a fun way to freshen the look of your home, but it's important to consider the cost. As discussed above, materials, damage, and size all determine how much it costs to reupholster a piece of furniture. Labor is another consideration; the process is time- and labor-intensive. Special work, such as pattern alignment, tufting, and welt cord replacement, also affect the price.
Is Furniture Reupholstery Worthwhile?
After considering these factors, it may be easier to decide if furniture reupholstery is the right choice. Sometimes it's worthwhile to make an old piece look new, but if the cost of the job outweighs the piece's value, it may be better to start fresh. Whatever your decision may be, we're here to help.
Affordable and Effective Tips for Revamping Your Medical Office
Countless factors enter the mix when operating a medical facility. All of them revolve around patients' needs and expectations as well as those of your staff members and the healthcare industry as a whole. While the budget isn't the sole deciding factor when it comes to making purchasing decisions and other choices, it certainly comes into play. Costs are constantly lurking in the background, and working around them isn't always easy.
In the midst of all the considerations, your facility's waiting room is one of the most critical elements. It's the first thing people see when they enter your office, and first impressions are everything. Unfortunately, it's often the area that receives the least attention. With all the other factors in play, the budget sometimes falls short of this portion of your office. Still, you have plenty of affordable, effective alternatives for improving the look and feel of your waiting room.
Rearrange the Furniture
Creating a new seating arrangement in the waiting room can make a world of difference, and it costs very little if anything at all. It's important to make the best possible use of the space you have available. This is especially true if you have a small office. You could set up rows of chairs throughout the room with seats facing each other. Alternatively, you could seat patients around the perimeter of the room while leaving the center open for people to move around.
Adding end tables and other pieces of furniture can provide a more relaxed, inviting atmosphere. Doing so also gives patients extra space for their purses, drinks, and other items. Tables offer patients a place to fill out paperwork as well. This, alone, is an extremely helpful feature because balancing clipboards on their laps or other people's backs isn't exactly easy.
Update Your Seating
Your waiting room furniture is subjected to constant use and abuse from patients. Materials covering the seats are bound to become faded, cracked, and torn over time. The underlying padding also tends to lose a great deal of its give and take. Purchasing all new furniture can be a monumental and expensive undertaking, but having the old seating reupholstered is a cost-effective solution.
You have a wide range of patterns, colors, and textures to choose from when having new fabrics applied to your waiting area furniture. You can select options that fall in line with the existing color scheme and decor of the office to avoid a complete renovation. Of course, if you want to go with entirely different decor, coordinating new upholstery with a fresh coat of paint will certainly work wonders.
Keep the Pandemic in Mind
Your medical facility has most likely been impacted in numerous ways by the coronavirus pandemic. Following the CDC's social distancing guidelines while still accommodating patients' needs isn't a simple process. Consider arranging your seating in groups of three and leaving at least six feet of space between each set. This gives patients and their accompanying friends, relatives, or caretakers an opportunity to sit together while keeping their distance from others. Having your furniture reupholstered with durable, antimicrobial fabrics that are easy to clean and sanitize will help as well.
Give Your Medical Office a New Look and Feel
Revamping your waiting room doesn't have to cost a fortune or lead to several days of downtime. At Charleston Upholstery Prrros, we offer a wide range of affordable solutions for updating your medical office furniture. Our team works around your schedule and always keeps your unique needs in mind. Contact us to find out which upholstery options are most suited to your requirements, and let us help improve the look and feel of your waiting room and other areas of your practice.
The Best Furniture Upholstery for Pets
We all love our pets. With a fun-loving spirit and unconditional love to give, pets can be an important part of the family unit. However, there's no denying that they come with added responsibilities.
Hairballs, fur clumps and dander-- the list of things you don't want to think about goes on. Many that elect not to have a pet do so because of the added responsibility that they bring. Clean-up is a part of this. However, there are preventative steps that you can take to relieve some of this burden.
Save the hassle of pet-related chores, and spend more time enjoying your pet's company. This article will share a couple types of upholstery that will resist a range of accidents and messes.
The Benefits of Microfiber
First of all, it is never a bad idea to select colors that closely match your pet's hair; this will keep your home looking as fresh as possible in between cleanings. Note that smoother upholstery does the best job of slowing the buildup of pet hair on your furniture.
Microfiber is exactly what it sounds like-- a fabric made of small, densely woven fibers. It is typically made from synthetic materials like nylon or polyester. Microfiber is so densely woven that it prevents dirt, dust and pet hair from sinking in, or in many cases sticking at all.
The tight weave also makes microfiber resistant to liquids and stains. Remember that resistant doesn't mean impermeable. Pet accidents will sink into the fibers eventually, so you still need to clean them up as quickly as possible.
Crypton is the High End Option
Crypton has all of the benefits of microfiber and more. It is a patented treatment that prevents upholstery from becoming stained. Cryton's ability to handle spills and messes of almost any kind is what makes is so popular in hotels, restaurants, and other establishments that serve the public.
Once pets accidents absorb deep into the fabric of your furniture, the odor is almost impossible to get rid of. Crypton's protective barrier keeps liquids on the surface, allowing your home to always smell fresh and clean. Its absorption protection also means that Cryton significantly slows the growth of bacteria. Choose Crypton if you have allergies or a pet that is prone to accidents.
This technology comes at a price. However, Cryton is much more durable than microfiber. If there are frequent accidents in your home, you will earn your money back on this material.
Final Thoughts
While cleaning up after your pet can feel like a never-ending chore, choosing the right furniture upholstery will save a lot of time and frustration. This is why is it so important to be practical and consider your pet when making design choices.
You don't have to sacrifice convenience when on a tight budget. Microfiber is an affordable option worth considering if your pet sheds a lot. If you find yourself cleaning up accidents often, Crypton might be the better option due to its protective barrier and durability.
What You Need To Know About Fabric Upholstery And Durability
When a chair, sofa, or other piece of furniture gets upholstered, the goal is both to make the piece look nice and also to help it last for longer and be more durable. In fact, for items that will see a lot of use, considering fabric durability for furniture upholstery is incredibly important. Thankfully, though, it's fairly easy to determine how durable a particular type of fabric will be. This information is determined based on a double rub test. With this type of testing, a back and forth motion is used to simulate the type of abrasion a fabric would experience when someone sits on the seat. The more rubs a particular fabric can withstand, the stronger it is likely to be.
Consider Where And How An Item Will Be Used
Obviously, the higher a fabric's abrasion resistance or the better its score on a rub test, the better a fabric is. However, this doesn't mean that it's always necessary to use the absolute strongest fabric available. Really, the type of fabric that should be used is dependent on where the fabric will be used and the amount of use it's likely to see. For items that will experience light use, for example, a score of anywhere from 9000 to 11,000 rubs should be fine. Medium level use typically requires a score of around 12,000 to 15,000 rubs. However, for items that will experience very heavy-duty use, such as those used in commercial facilities, the rub test score does need to be quite high. For best results,the upholstery fabric should be able to handle a minimum of 35,000 rubs before showing wear. Thus, the key isn't always to choose the strongest fabric available, but to choose the right fabric for each specific job.
How Durable Is Most Upholstery Fabric?
While, as mentioned, a super high rub score isn't always necessary, especially for furniture pieces that will just be used in the home, buyers still want good, high quality, durable upholstery fabrics. After all, they want their upholstery jobs to last them for as long as possible. The good news is that most upholstery and fabric manufacturers are well aware of the fact that today's clients are demanding the strongest possible materials. They also know that clients are more educated about fabric rub testing and overall product quality, thanks in large part to online resources. Thus, they've responded by producing stronger, more durable fabrics than ever. New milling methods have even been created and improved upon to provide the best quality fabrics. So, as long as people are buying their upholstery fabrics from reliable, quality sources, they generally have nothing to worry about.
When In Doubt, Just Check The Label
Despite the assurances above, some clients still want exact details before they buy a product. They want to know what a fabric's rub test score is so that they can decide for themselves whether or not a particular fabric is good enough for their purposes. Well, in this case, the good news is that most items will list the rub test score or other information about the fabric's abrasion resistance on the label. Thus, very concerned buyers can simply check out the label on an item before making a purchase. Bear in mind, however, that only going with very heavy-duty fabrics with high rub test scores may mean limiting one's selection of colors, patterns, style, and feel. For this reason, it's often better to be a bit more lenient and to not always demand a super-high rub test rating. Buyers who never budge on this point may get stronger fabrics, but they may miss out on some other great options in the process.
What About The Pilling Problem?
Finally, people are often concerned about their upholstery fabric falling victim to pilling. Pilling occurs when broken fabric fibers get tangled and create little visible knots on the surface of the upholstery. The result is, as one can imagine, quite ugly and undesirable. And, this problem, like many other problems with fabric, is caused by abrasion. In this regard, a higher rub test score may mean that a fabric will not pill as quickly. However, pilling is a problem that is likely to eventually affect any type of fabric. Thus, even with the strongest fabric, having a fabric shaver on hand and using it regularly to keep fabric looking great is never a bad idea.
Ultimately, choose the fabric you really love and that's right for your specific level of use. Use rub test ratings as a guide, but don't get too hung up on them. After all, nothing lasts forever.