I’m always wary of reupholstering unless you’re doing the work yourself. By the time you’re done with the cost of fabric and labor, you could buy yourself a new chair. The exception to this is if it’s a valuable antique. That’s not the case here.

@Sabrina Alfin Interiors, oh, here is where we differ. I am a huge fan of reupholstering, it just has to be good furniture where the bones will last for decades. Maybe that is what you mean by valuable antique? I have gotten off of craigslist Baker sofas and Sherril chairs for free or $100 and had them reupholstered. I could buy a crappy sofa chair for what I paid to reupholster them but I don't want toss away furniture. I'm about to reupholster a chaise lounge that was my great, great Aunt's and have a 50 year old arm chair of my grandmothers that has wonderful proportions hard to find today. Such solid pieces. I doubt they are particularly valuable but have certainly stood the test of time.

Sounds like this Lane piece is not worth it though. I'm not familiar with that company.

I am not sure a recliner of this sort is worth it.

In general I think any decently made frame pre-1980 or so comes under consideration for reupholstering just because a lot of newer furniture is really cheaply made unless it is Very expensive.

@palimpsest Agreed. I just didn't know what category this recliner fell into, if this brand might have been produced pre-80s. From your and Sabrina's comments it sounds like it is shlockey.

I did a google search and it looks like that is the Lane Hannah Hi-Leg manual recliner still available to buy-I saw it online for around $500.

This Lane recliner is being sold on 1rst Dibs and same one might be currently featured on Etsy; same price both places, except on Etsy I think substantially less shipping. May not need reupholstering, if you can use leather. https://www.etsy.com/listing/1422682955/vintage-lane-action-blue-leather

From my mother, 1967 Ethan Allen. So cherished pieces get reupholstered too!

@tlynn1960 - Thanks for all of your research! The $500 price tag says it all. Not worth upholstering.

@bearbev - Cherished and sturdy. Ethan Allen today, not so much so. Ethan Allen 1967 is great construction. Glad you are able to keep it and use it.

@freedomplace1 - I saw the 1stDibs chair, pretty expensive, and I don't want leather, nor sky blue. I love 1st Dibs and where I see pieces there I want I google them and sometimes find them listed by the same seller cheaper elsewhere.

With recliners, the item that fails over time is the reclining mechanism. For years companies used Legget & Platt mechanisms in their chairs which were American-made. I don't think that is the case anymore. Buyer beware.

IMO check out the cost of the rupholstery you will be shocked to find out the cost.

^ 1000% - its apples and oranges as they say

I think the issue is whether it is worth it to reupholster "standard" furniture and for the most part it isn't because the only thing one is theoretically saving is the frame.

I have reupholstered vintage furniture but that is because there is unique exterior wood and so the piece is more than just upholstery.

But if one reupholsters furniture, it is more than just recovering it with new fabric. In general the piece would be completely rebuilt with new springs or whatever other suspension construction was used as well as new "stuffing".

As well as having some vintage stuff reupholstered, I also had the upholsterer make some custom pieces because I would not have been able to get the style I wanted - every last detail as I wanted - not to mention the almost infinite choice of fabrics. The price wasn't cheap but compared very favorably to good quality "store bought" and of course the fabric choices and styles wouldn't have been as extensive.

Coincidentally @palimpsest mentioned Baker tub chairs. I had looked extensive for two chairs to finish off my living room and finally decided I liked the look of two Baker tub chairs so I thought why not order them. They were $6000 each for a pair of fairly innocuous chairs so on the advice of my designer I just had the upholstery shop make them. Bonus was that I got to choose the exact shade of leather I wanted and some upgrades like an invisible base that always swivels back to the "home" posiiton. But the chairs were still $3000 each so still an expensive purchase for an occasional chair.

@Patricia Colwell Consulting I'm well acquainted with upholstery costs. You don't do it to get a cheap piece of furniture. You do it to keep a piece of quality furniture. The interior frame on my Baker sofa is solid mahogany. The suspension that they redid is great quality. You sit on the sofa and feel that it is no Wayfair or Pottery Barn disposable furniture. Apples to oranges. I have never purchased new upholstery and I'd love to avoid it with a recliner too, but I don't know if it makes sense given the mechanisms.

I am not criticizing anyone who can't afford fine furniture

I can't afford new fine furniture.

My dad took another Job 50 odd years ago to pay for the furniture I have now.

But what I don't get is someone looking at a decent piece of furniture and saying "You know for what it will cost to reupholster that, you could buy a new chair. You could buy Two new chairs"

and at the price you know those two new chairs are cheaply constructed.

But with more people buying more furniture that is inexpensive enough that they will just throw it away when their tastes change in a few years, eventually it will be true, nothing will be worth reupholstering.

I know people who live in $2M + 8000 sq ft houses filled (not filled exactly the houses are too big to fill) entirely with cheap mail order furniture. That's how people do it now.

I have a sectional by Carter Upholstery that I purchased in 2006 that I plan to have reupholstered. I'm guessing a new one would cost about 12K. This is the most comfortable sofa for me and a quality piece so it's a no brainer. I know I could replace it for the cost of reupholstering, but it will be lesser quality and most likely less comfortable.

Reupholstering wil probably cost you more than buying new.

@Norwood Architects, It's about the quality moreso than the cost. And in the long run, I think it costs less too over time.

@palimpsest 100% agree - money doesn't buy taste nor appreciation for fine quality and craftsmanship. Lots of people with money buying crappy furniture online. Not to mention what disposable furniture does to our environment.

@Rachel, I had never heard of Carter Upholstery. Thanks for the intro.

Part of it is financial. You can't mortgage furniture. But you can mortgage the biggest house that you can afford to impress people driving by who will never see inside. Sometimes that part of the same mindset. not always.

I remember Lane from my childhood when every high school senior woman got a free small cedar box at graduation…a mini cedar “chest!” That is what Lane started out making…cedar chests, way back in 1912Q. Eventually the expanded into case goods and dressers. And in the 1970s moved into making “Action” recliners. They are now United Furniture Industries. Lane was once a quality maker of furniture, especially in the 1950s when post war American families were moving to the suburbs and furnishing their homes. Solid. Well made hardwood frames, etc. Mid range in price. I would price out having the piece reupholstered. Vs a comparable piece, new. (Of equal construction.” If you find a fabric you like and a good workshop to do it at a reasonable price…do it. I have reupholstered my two Pennsylvania House loveseats twice since I bought them in 1978. Well worth it, in my eyes. The quality of their construction is excellent. No regrets!

This is an interesting topic. I have a Stressless couch purchased in 2007 that is still in fabulous condition but wanted a different color leather. Have yet to find someone to quote on it.

@ptreckel What an interesting history. Thanks for sharing it. My concern is that if the chair was made more recently then it probably doesn't have great bones. There are few companies making things in the last two decades that are worth recovering and they are very high end. It sounds like I missed the boat with Lane, that perhaps a piece of theirs from the 50s, 60s, or 70s would have done the trick. But I'm now skeptical of this one.

I agree that the chair in question is likely one I would pass on for reupholstering but the idea that it should not be done because buying new is cheaper to me is so environmentally damaging. Cheap disposable furniture, kitchen cabinets and baths are detrimental to the future of our planet.

Disposable furniture, disposable clothing, it all winds up in landfills. It's curious and ironic that young people who are so concerned about climate change and the environment are the very ones that gravitate toward this type of cheap crap furniture.

I'd reupholster an old piece any day of the week. I have a nicely proportioned club chair probably made in the 1940s from my mother-in-law that I've reupholstered twice in 30 years. Still looks great and is very comfortable.

I just had a sofa reupholstered for a client. It was an Ethan Allen sofa from the 1990s, and my upholsterer did not even need to replace the cushions--he said they were in very good condition. Another benefit of reupholstering versus buying new is that it can be done much faster. My client's sofa was done in under a week, whereas the lead time on new upholstery is now 4-6 months if you're lucky. A good upholsterer is worth his/her weight in gold!

We have an odd but perfect version of a recliner for us…it rotates for full view of our open floor plan..looks nice from all angles…doesn’t have an ugly side …foot section separate and rotating.. so getting in and out is easy…most recliners look awkward when extended so they need to be in a corner …IMO …to look their best…I do think the ones that are being discussed here look like dodo birds trying to fit in with flamingos when extended..so I would always choose a regular recliner over that… in any setting

I also think a comfy chair with a lightweight ottoman is more convenient than a recliner… our winter home has one that rotates and has a habit flipping open a little too vigorously for me…at some time in the past I had a motorized one that was pretty nice… but I think that just leads to complications as time goes by…

I think you can find a better one. I’d pass.

@btydrvn I never in a million years would have considered myself a recliner person and would much prefer an ottoman but we now live in an apartment with limited floor space so having a foot rest pop out is ideal for our configuration.

I think finding a recliner (with the pop-out foot rest) worth reupholstering is probably about the most challenging of furniture searches.

Better luck finding a good Morris chair and learning to sit crosslegged in it. :P

No, not worth it. Lane furniture was not high end, like Kittenger and Henridon. It was middle of the road, at best. What I remember of Lane was the Hope Chest. WW2 and the "hope chest" were synonymous. I wish I had several now...just to store the wools. Nothing like cedar.

https://virginiahistory.org/learn/lane-cedar-chest

If you are looking for a good recliner, check out FlexSteel. The chair will still be in working order for your grandchildren. Splurge and go for the Kashmira fabrics. Feels and looks like suede...indestructible.

With Lane you have to go piece by piece. You can’t just rule out the whole company.

@Jilly I found these the other day, then noticed today a post where you spoke about training horses. Interesting fabric on these pieces.

What a cool fabric, freedom! Thanks for showing me! :)

my pleasure, Jilly. :) I thought it is very cool, too. And you can see the quality in these; really solid.

I won't be reupholstering again. My last experience was disappointing. Despite the company being recommended by my decorator, the workmanship was poor.

On one chair they "ran out" of fabric for arm protectors - although they could have easily used different fabric for the chair seat (under the cushion) if they were short. The cording on the arms wore badly.

And on a pair of chairs with a rounded back the fabric pulls in creases. I was told after the fact that this was inevitable, however the original chairs were nicely smooth.

This is a well known established Toronto company, often featured in decor magazines. Wasn't cheap. Never again.

That's too bad about your experience with reupholstering @partim

I'm not a fan of arm protectors--I think they look bad so I never use them. My upholsterer doesn't ever make them and I never noticed that they were missing. However, most times there's SO much fabric left over you could make a few pillows or recover an ottoman with it!

The cording wearing badly could be a function of the fabric--if it's lightweight rather than upholstery weight it will wear out much sooner. What was the Wyzenbeck or Martindale rating?

However, there's no excuse for wrinkling or creasing where the fabric should be pulled tight.

My upholsterer is an immigrant from Central America--he does his work in his garage and his workmanship and turnaround time is exceptional. Go figure.

The specialist upholsterer (who came personally recommended by representative of a high end modernist furniture manufacturer) who has done stuff for me works out of a small pre fab shed next to his house in a rural area. I dropped some really worn stuff at his place once (orange Knoll fabric from the early 60s practically bleached white) and he had me put the chairs in the back of the shell on an old pickup truck. And he's not expensive. But he's had two chairs of mine for 18 months.

My parents' upholsterer, sometimes they would have to wait for him to get out of jail. Also not expensive, but very good.

The best people who have ever done anything for me have been word-of-mouth, never advertise, low-profile kind of people. But that's not always easy to find, you have to know someone who knows someone.

@Diana Bier Interiors, LLC all 3 of the upholstery fabrics chosen by my designer were heavy-weight upholstery fabric. I have no idea what the Wyzenbeck or Martindale ratings were, because at that time I didn't know those terms and trusted her to choose appropriately.

All 3 of the fabrics were beautiful to behold and expensive, but wore very badly. The cotton velvet she assured me would wear like iron, showed wear immediately, despite the sofa being seldom used because of its uncomfortable cushions and awkward shape. When I complained I was offered a chair at a discount. Both chair fabrics she chose wore quickly. They also faded from the light, although none were in the direct sun. So I'm very cynical about custom upholstery.

I understand your frustration and disappointment @partim

Not all designers or upholsterers are alike, and it seems like she and they dropped the ball. When I encounter a situation like that, I will admit my mistake and try to please the client. Hopefully you will have better experiences going forward.

@Diana Bier Interiors, LLC I did have a lot of stuff either reupholstered or made custom by an upholsterer.

I have to say that working through a designer really offers significant advantages beyond the obvious of helping one make choices both aesthetically and functionally.

A good designer will have artisans that they work with and so they have the "clout" to make things right because the craftsperson is pleasing a designer who does repeat business versus a single customer. I had some misses with a few of the items and they were brought back and adjusted. Some were relatively easy like not liking the way a cushion felt so the fill was adjusted but one chair was done over again because there were issues - and I gave the original chair to my cleaning lady :-) who was thrilled.

When it comes to selecting contractors I have never had luck. But in selecting reupholtering professionals, I've only had great experiences.

I have selected all of the fabrics myself and researched the rub ratings. I once had a sofa upholstered in eco-friendly fabric and I'm not happy with how it has worn but that is what you get when you don't add horrible chemicals to thinks.

I now know how much work it is for an upholsterer to match up prints well. I had a guy upholster my chair with a grid pattern. The entire chair had welting around it in many places and all the lines in every welt, cushions, the entire chair was matched up. Sometimes you don't notice great craftsmanship until you've goti. I wouldn't have known to ask for it.