Choosing Fabrics to Recover Furniture

Thinking of breathing new life into an heirloom piece? Or, did you find a diamond in the rough that needs some TLC? Here are some upholstery fabric “basics” that you should know before you go shopping.

furniture use

Consider what you’ll be doing with or where you will put the piece that you will be recovering. A piece that is seldom used, like an antique chair sitting in a corner, will require less upkeep and will have less wear and tear. Whereas, the dining room chairs that your grandchildren frequently use will be center ring in the cage fight that is dinner (if you have littles, anyway).

Get lots of Double Rubs

The way upholstery fabrics are assessed for quality and longevity of use is by a method called double rubs. It’s estimated that 3,000 rubs equates to one year of average use. Light textiles, like pillows or curtains, may be able to get away with a double rub between 6,000 to 9,000. Furniture that sees heavier use, or

That antique chair you have may not require quite as many, but we generally recommend using upholstery fabrics with at least 30,000 double rubs. That should be

easy-peasy cleaning

If you are having dining room chairs recovered or if you are using a light colored fabric for your piece, you’ll want to consider using a Crypton fabric. Cryptons have this great property that causes liquids to bead up when spilt on them. It is considerably easier to clean up spilt wine when it has beaded up as opposed to soaked into the fabric.

Save a swatch

Whatever fabric you end up choosing to recover your furniture, remember to have your upholsterer save you a swatch of the fabric so you can match the fabric to paint colors etc. Keeping a sample is also helpful should you get a stain on your recovered piece; you can then try different products to get the stain out of the sample before working directly on the piece.

Remember, LHB carries hundreds of beautiful upholstery fabrics (including Crytons) and we are happy to come to your home to help you choose what fabric is best for your furniture.