Upholstery & Furniture Restoration

Upholsterers restore furniture by replacing worn fabric, padding, springs, and frames.

Services include reupholstering furniture (chairs, sofas, cushions), custom upholstered pieces, furniture refinishing, and restoration of antiques.

You remove old materials, repair frames and springs, add new padding and fabric, and return renewed furniture to customers.

Success requires upholstery skills, understanding furniture construction, fabric knowledge, and customer service.

Pricing based on piece complexity - dining chair $150-400, armchair $400-800, sofa $800-2,500, custom pieces quoted individually.

Customers provide fabric or you source with markup.

Startup costs include industrial sewing machine, pneumatic stapler, tools, work table, storage space, and initial materials totaling $5,000-15,000.

Building business involves before/after portfolio, marketing to antique dealers and interior designers, local advertising to homeowners, taking quality pieces on consignment to showcase work, and word-of-mouth referrals.

Revenue comes from reupholstery jobs, custom furniture builds, refinishing services, and potentially teaching upholstery classes.

Operating costs include workspace rent, materials (fabric, foam, springs), tools maintenance, and insurance.

Challenges include heavy lifting and physical demands, customers' fabric choices not matching furniture style, accurate quoting accounting for unknown damage, and balancing volume with quality craftsmanship.

Success requires excellent craftsmanship, helping customers select appropriate fabrics, accurate estimates after inspection, reasonable turnaround times (2-6 weeks typical), and specializing in certain furniture types or periods.