To Tuft or not to Tuft?

You may like the look of a tufted headboard or sofa, but what are the pros and cons?

Tufting is really a personal choice, you either love it or hate it, it's not really a take it or leave it style. So lets have a look.

Pros:

• Tufting looks great, but only if you like the look. If you like it, you like it.
• It is an ornate look, but not over the top.
• Depending on the fabric pattern, it can add details. 

Better to reupholster leather or buy new?

If your leather looks like this, you probably need some help.

Last time we talked about the formula on figuring out how many leather hides to buy if you are reupholstering. But here's a question - is it better to buy leather furniture or reupholster?  Well it depends on what it is and how meaningful the furniture is to you. If you are buying hides for a lounge suite, that's going to be pricey and then there is the labour involved of getting your upholsterer to complete the project. You can purchase a leather alternative which look very close to the real thing, but will also bring your costs down. But often you may find that even though leather lasts a very long time, it may be better to purchase new. However, if the the furniture is meaningful to you in some way (check out this post) then reupholstering it may be the best thing for your furniture. 

How many leather hides do I need to buy?

When you are getting a lounge suite covered in leather, you need to figure out how many hides you will need. Leather comes per hide, not on a roll from your local fabric store. That means it takes a little brain power to determine the number of hides you need to buy. In general, it's assumed that each hide will give you approximately 4.75 square metres of leather, but how does that translate to how many I need for my lounge suite?

Here are some basics so you can get a better idea of what you might need, but check with your upholsterer to confirm you will have enough for your project before buying. It is likely however, that your upholsterer has their own source on getting hides. So check that the deal you're getting is in fact better than what your upholsterer would be able to get within the trade. 

A Leather Sofa Question

"I recently bought a new leather sofa, and was told when I bought it that the cushions would bounce back after they were sat on. I've only had it a few weeks and the cushions are left wrinkled every time someone sits on them. I've been told that I need to smooth out the wrinkles every morning. I really don't want to have to keep doing this and I'm starting to regret buying leather."

Don't regret buying leather, if well maintained it can last a life time. But in your situation I can see why you're getting frustrated, I wouldn't want to be smoothing out the wrinkles everyday either! There are a lot of reasons why the wrinkles may be happening. First of all leather will have a tendency to stretch a little, it is a skin after all, but the softer the leather the more it will stretch. If you combine a soft leather with a foam that is too soft then you will find that the leather will wrinkle more. A soft leather feels fantastic to sit on, but there is a trade off.  It is likely then that in your situation that you have  a leather/foam issue. 

Foam is rated in two ways Density and Foam Hardness (compression). The density rating will let you know how long it is expected to last, and the hardness (compression) indicates if it is soft, medium or firm in feel.  So if your sofa has a low density and is soft in touch, although it may be comfortable when sitting on it in the showroom, it may not withstand the rigours of daily life.

You could go back to the company and ask what the density and the compression (hardness) of the foam is. If it is on the softer side, ask if they would replace the foam with a higher density foam with a medium to firm hardness.

So in future if you are investigating buying furniture make sure you understand the importance of foam. Most people just think about the the upholstery fabric, but don't realise, that just like a house, it's the foundation that has the biggest impact.

If you have any questions or would like some advice or help, feel free to call 0800 698 746

Upholstery and Headboards

Upholstery is more than just sofa's and chairs. You can pretty much upholstery anything really, but it still needs to be functional of course. 

Cute upholstered drawers

The Upholstery Tear Down Sequence.

When you are reupholstering a piece of furniture do you just jump into it, ripping and tearing and pulling out nails as fast as possible? If we did it that way we would be truly exhausted in no time. Not to mention there would be a huge mess that won't be much fun to clean up.

If you are attempting to complete some upholstery for yourself, then here is a system for you, that will make things a little bit easier and minimize the mess (there will be some mess, sorry.) (Thanks to Kimsupholsteryblog.com for the steps.

The Steps

1. Grab a camera and take lots of photos of your piece from many angles BEFORE you take anything off. Then take photos after each step to help you remember where to put the new pieces back on.

Trends with Upholstery

Upholstery is just like every other fashionable entity, it too follows the trends, but it is not as dramatic as clothing trends. The changes are often subtle, but you will notice them if you look in design magazines and online.

So what's 'on trend' at the moment?

Fabrics

• A lot of the 'new' has to do with fabric choice, with stripes and geometric shapes such as chevron and herringbone being big favourites, but there is also Aztec and Asian influences too.
• 'Occasional' chairs are often be upholstered in a 'wow' fabric which complement other more classic furniture.
• Wrapping furniture. Not technically upholstery, but something that is coming up more and more, is furniture 'wrapped' in fabrics such as linen, leather or raffia. It is an interesting element when done well. often this is paired up with the use of studs.
• Different patterns in the same colour. You will see something like gold used, and it will be used in a chevron print, a dot print, and a floral. So it looks interesting but not overpowering.
• A fabric that has been popular for a long time, continues to do so - plain natural linen. 

Pops of colour

• This is probably influenced by web sites such as Pinterest and StumbleUpon, where brightly coloured furniture such as chairs and dressers sit amongst other more traditionally coloured furniture.
• Jewel colours are popular with deep emeralds, amethyst and amber being the top favourites.

Design Lines

• Straight precise lines that are classic in style with details in stitching, piping, studs and deep buttoning. This makes sense as you try and purchase furniture that will last a long time. If you get a piece that you love the lines of, when you are no long run love with the colour you can reupholster it, and it will feel new again.
• Pieces that are polar right now are sleek sofas with low backs  which are coupled with deep seats and ottomans.

So what do you think? Do you like the idea of these trends? Or do you try and stay away from what's 'in' and stick to the classics?