By "is it worth it?" do you mean "does one get a better outcome for less money"? I've found that you have to look at four things: labor, fabric, style/structure, and transporation, on a case-by-case basis.

For example, you could probably find new chairs similar to the ones you have sourced. But if you are going to use a very nice fabric, and you have access to reasonable labor, you'll do much better to shop for your fabric at discount and have it put on the craigslist chairs. With new chairs, unless you go full-out custom, your fabric choices will be limited. And maybe that's ok with you. If so, then I'd just buy new chairs.

To get labor cost, call an upholsterer. To get fabric cost, you have to do the legwork. Full price upholstery fabric can go from $25/yard to the sky's the limit.

There's some gorgeous Kravat mohair on ebay right now for $30/yd. That's 1/10 what you'd pay at the upholstery shop or to have it put on new custom chairs. Sometimes an upholsterer will charge more if you don't buy the fabric through him.

Here's an example of a yardage chart.

Thank you! Yes, that is what I mean by worth it. Can I get better than new for the same price as new or as good as new for less?

I am thinking a solid blue velvet or similar fabric so I could probably find that in new. So there is likey no gain to me that way. Although I could probably get more exactly the blue I want by choosing fabric myself.

The chart is very helpful in figuring out fabric requirements--that makes it possible for me to figure out my fabric costs!

Transportation I can handle--we would just be out the gas money. We would not take the time to drive far enough for that to be a big factor.

What I'm not sure how to do is estimate labor cost. I understand there are huge variables. Calling seems difficult as they can't see the chair. I suppose I could try to find an upholsterer who would give me estimates based on emailed photos? Timing on CL can be tricky. Stuff that is well priced tends to go fast. So I may not ever be able to buy anything if I have to wait for an upholsterer to get back to me. Is there some general guidance, say chairs like that in a HCOLA will generally cost $300 to $500 in labor per chair?

And how do I know if the chairs are good enough quality to go to the trouble and expense? What characteristics should I be looking for?

Thank you!

I just had my sofa reupholstered and a chair is currently being reupholstered. I emailed a picture of the sofa to the upholsterer and he told me the labor cost plus additional fee for nail-head trim. He picked up and delivered the sofa as part of the cost.

I ordered my fabric on line and had it delivered to his shop. He also had tons on fabric books but I don't like working with fabric book. They are too difficult to keep open and the samples are small. JoAnn Fabric has nice samples that you can take home for a deposit fee that you get back when you return the samples.

As for labor cost, I think you either need a personal recommendation or else you have to visit the upholsterer's shop.

I recently went into a shop and saw misplaced welt, crooked stitching. It was surprisingly bad workmanship.

While living In another location, near a larger city, I had a couple of dining room chairs recovered that I did not intend as investment pieces. The material was not applied the same to each chair. The price was good, and in that case the imperfectness didn't matter to me, but I don't see how you can prevent this kind of misapplication unless you visit the shop and act interested, or somebody you trust vouches for the quality.

I actually found a high quality, inexpensive upholsterer by recommendation from a furniture salesperson. This particular shop has a long waiting list, does not charge more for COM and charges $100 more for a skirt.

OTOH, I recently received an estimate of $850 to recover one of a pair of small loveseats through a through a design shop who guarantees the work. They gave me the estimate via email and photo. The shop sells window treatments, fabric, flooring, etc. They charge extra to pick up and deliver. I will likely never find out the upholsterer's name.

With velvet, all that matters is that they get the nap going in the right direction, so you may not have to use the top guy. I'm under the impression tufting is time-consuming and it ups the charge. One more note about fabric....

Fabric is rated by rubs, and sometimes by furniture grade letters. There are different systems, but 50,000 is a good number of rubs. The letters systems is A(lower) through ?(best). I don't really know how high it goes.

Judging whether a chair is well made is the most mysterious part. I know that 20 years old and down wrapped cushions and not saggy and a fancy name would indicate quality. But there's bound to be other quality indicators. When I go to the furniture board, I often find it gets down to people arguing over whether the modern type of spring (sinuous) is any good. I can't go there.
What I HAVE experienced in buying used furniture from the 70s -90s is that the foam is either deformed and compressed or not. Foam is very expensive, and perhaps they started using cheaper types in those years, even if the frame was good? If I had to replace all the foam in a chair I wouldn't buy it. The older pieces don't seem to have this issue.

Let's hope somebody helps out with this one..

One of the best ways to find a good reupholsterer is to check Angie's List or Yelp. I've found people are quite honest about the quality of work.

Very valuable advice from all. The fabric estimator chart posted by jamies is handy , as well.

I recently bought new foam inserts for 2 seat cushions on my love seat. Depending on firmness and density, prices will vary.
I chose a high density & firm insert. They were $60 each.

Before interviewing upholsterers you may want to look at videos on Youtube to familiarize yourself with what a good reupholstering job looks like. You want (well, I do anyway) all the old fabric, stuffing, etc removed and replaced with new (as opposed to reusing or covering over), springs retied if necessary, etc. (assuming it isn't a newer chair). Ask them to show you the materials they intend to use (foam, strapping, batting, etc.) and explain how they would rebuild the chair. Of course they won't have all the answers until they have the chair uncovered but they can give you an idea. I think it helps them to know what your expectations are and that shortcuts are unacceptable.

As an aside, DD and I are recovering a chair and while removing the old fabric we found two pennies sewn into a piece of fabric. We plan to replace them along with a 2013 coin:).

This post was edited by funnygirl on Sun, Mar 3, 13 at 16:55

Thank you. I appreciate the feedback. I guess where I am stuck is on whether this idea even makes financial sense. I have seen some articles suggesting that reupholstering (at least paying someone else to do it) does not usually work out to cheaper than buying new. I feel confident that I could find new chairs I like just as well. So I don't want to spend a lot of my time and energy on this little project just to find that I could have bought the same quality new for the same price (or less!).

So I guess the cost of the labor is where I remain stuck. In the absence of ballpark figures, I guess the only way to find out is to contact an upholstery shop with a particular chair (hopefully just photos off CL) and ask.

Yes, good quality professional reupholstering can be as expensive as buying a comparable new piece. Just be sure you're comparing apples to apples when doing your research. IOW, if the piece you're considering having reupholstered is, say, an Ethan Allen sofa, you'll want to compare the upholster's bid and cost of fabric against a comparably made new sofa.

I found a local-to-me upholsterer with a website showing estimates. It is linked below. His are at the high end of what I've gotten by calling around.

Caused me to ask myself another question. It does not appear that he does anything except apply fabric and tighten springs for the estimated price. I will need to ask whatever upholsterer I choose just exactly what is included in the estimate. Adding batting, for instance?

The first time I had some chairs recovered I worked through a designer and they came with the wood all touched up and the cushions fuller and everything. We used a Schumacher fabric and I still sit in the chairs. I thought that was how it worked, but I have learned in the interim that some guys don't touch the wood at all or do any pillow enhancement if you don't prearrange it. Unless you are using the best upholsterer around -- the one the decorators use-you have to confirm all the these individual items.

Here is a link that might be useful: estimate

Thanks everyone! It looks to me like best guess is that I would come out about even with the cost of a new chair at someplace like Crate and Barrel. So the advantage would come in if I found something better made to start with. Given my lack of knowledge and the reality that I have a nearly three year who would have to come with me to look at the these chairs on CL, I think I am better off looking for new (or used that doesn't need reupholstering).

I really appreciate all the help figuring this out! You all have saved me time and effort. Thanks so much!

These posts are great info for merits of how to decide whether upholstery makes sense (cents)...
then you have the emotional attachment to furniture pieces you want to keep added into the mix

We bought armchairs more than 30 yrs ago when we lived in Houston and paid what a friend thought was a lot of money--I think they were maybe 200 a chair back then but memory at my age is like of iffy...
We kept them--they were very comfortable higher-backed reading type chairs...had an ottoman too...but they got kind of tattered over the years and moved to the back bedrooms and eventually a storage facility--but never gave them up...

They were redone when we moved into current house--one plus ottoman in Ikat type fabric for downstairs guest bedroom and one in solid slub-type for upstairs bedroom...and to my way of thinking I couldn't have bought chairs that were more comfortable --so cost was consideration but not deciding factor---

I have 4 mate's chairs w/two different shades of vinyl upholstery that I am holding on to that my husband had from a prior business office.
I want to recover with Sunbrella fabrics for vacation house in FL and paint their wood glossy white. They are a great, comfortable low-back chair for a dining table...
But getting them to FL is the problem...
I might try to redo them myself because I think the seats' webbing/support is in good shape for most part...but the curves are tricky...

I have done simple dining room chair seats before and even done another lounge chair when I didn't really care how it looked and just stapled the material over the existing as I went...

I find it always so interesting that Sarah Richardson--the Canadian designer on HGTV--is always shopping for used furniture for most of her decorating jobs or recovering pieces the homeowner might have...
Last show I watched they picked a chair for a nursery off the street--had it recovered, added a rocking/swivel base vs original legs, and added height to the back....Tommy did a sniff test but when you are taking off all but the frame I don't know what different it made how it smelled...just open the windows in the SUV...
That show replays April 2 from info on HGTV site
interesting because they went with a safari theme for baby's room
How that labor and materials came out cheaper than buying a swivel-glider at Toys R Us I don't know...but free is pretty cheap to start with...

The one factor you need to consider IMO getting something off Craigs List or dumpster diving is bedbugs--
they love soft furnishing and can hide in cracks of upholstery for months w/o being deterred from their mission of blood sucking...
Anything questionable I would pass on unless you plan to strip ALL material from frame and start anew--and do it away from your house and bag all of it for disposal right away...
Bedbugs are becoming a plague right now in some areas...

Here is a link that might be useful: Natural Nursery redo