Reupholster & Repair Furniture

Our custom-made bench cushions and window seat cushions are crafted with unparalleled expertise and decades of experience. At Mac's Upholstery, we take pride in transforming ordinary spaces into cozy havens, and our skilled craftsmen are the architects behind this exceptional experience.

With a legacy spanning decades, our commitment to excellence is unmatched. Our craftsmen are not just skilled; they are artists who understand the nuances of comfort and design. Whether you're envisioning a plush window seat cushion for your reading nook or a tailored bench cushion for a touch of luxury, we bring your ideas to life.

We believe that a satisfied customer is our best advertisement. That's why we go above and beyond to ensure that each custom cushion not only meets but exceeds your expectations. From the initial concept to the final stitch, we are dedicated to delivering a product that brings joy and comfort to your space.

One of the cornerstones of our craftsmanship is the use of quality materials. Our custom-cut foam is available in a full range of densities, ensuring that your cushion is not only inviting but also provides the perfect support. We source only the finest fabrics and vinyls, carefully curating a selection that blends durability with aesthetic appeal. Your cushion is not just a piece of furniture; it's a statement of sophistication and lasting quality.

In a world where mass-produced often sacrifices individuality, we stand out by offering a personalized touch to your living spaces. Our custom-made bench cushions and window seat cushions are not just accessories; they are a reflection of your unique style and our unwavering commitment to excellence. Experience the difference that decades of dedication to craftsmanship, quality materials, and customer satisfaction can make. Elevate your space with our bespoke cushions—because you deserve nothing but the best.

Experience the art of reupholstery mastery as we bring new life to cherished relics like this 150-year-old antique chaise lounge from France's Belle Époque era.

Upon arrival at our workshop, the chaise lounge showed signs of wear and age. Its moss padding had faded, fabric covers were disarrayed, and the wooden frame was worn.

Our skilled artisans embarked on a meticulous restoration journey. Stripping it down, we revitalized it by reattaching original coils, fortifying the spring box, and reinforcing the wooden frame.

Even the weathered arm was restored to its former glory with modern polyurethane foam. We used authentic, high-quality leather to cover the chaise lounge, sourced with care to honor its heritage.

Every detail was considered, including the addition of new brass casters, ensuring the chaise lounge remains a timeless treasure for generations. Experience restoration excellence with us, blending tradition and contemporary artistry. Entrust us to rejuvenate your beloved pieces, preserving their legacy in your home.

A customer recently purchased antique rattan furniture at a garage sale. She needed new cushions and covers, so she came to us. You don't see a lot of rattan in this part of the country, which is unfortunate. Rattan furniture has a rich history that dates back thousands of years.

The use of rattan, a type of climbing palm native to Southeast Asia, dates as far back as ancient Egypt. Its popularity as a material for furniture grew in the 19th and early 20th centuries during the British colonial period, where it became widely used for its lightweight and durable qualities.

During the mid-20th century, rattan furniture experienced a surge in popularity in the Western world, particularly in the United States. It became synonymous with tropical and mid-century modern aesthetics, gracing many homes and outdoor spaces. The light and airy nature of rattan furniture made it a favorite choice for both indoor and outdoor settings.

However, as trends evolved, rattan faced a decline in popularity in the latter half of the 20th century, partly due to the rise of modern and minimalist design aesthetics. Synthetic materials and metals gained favor, and rattan furniture was often associated with a more outdated or nostalgic style.

In recent years, there has been a resurgence of interest in rattan furniture. With a growing appreciation for sustainable and eco-friendly materials, rattan has made a comeback in contemporary design. Its natural, organic look fits well with the current trends of bringing nature indoors, and its versatility allows it to adapt to various styles.

Today, rattan furniture continues to be a popular choice for both indoor and outdoor spaces. The combination of its historical charm, durability, and sustainable appeal has allowed it to transcend changing design trends and remain a classic and stylish option for furniture.

Holidays are for family and friends. They're also a great time to reupholster old furniture. Show off your newly recovered sofa, sectional or easy chair when you entertain. Better yet, freshen your dining room chairs with premium fabric and foam. Here's a set of cane back chairs we restored and reupholstered for Thanksgiving.

The customer selected an attractive, synthetic fabric. Boasting an abrasion rating of 50,000 double rubs, it's exceptionally durable. An excellent choice. The foam is quite a bit stiffer than standard seating foam. The foam in most dining room cushions is HR45, slightly firmer than sofa foam. The customer wanted a stiffer feel, so we used HR55.

Turning the ordinary into the extraordinary is Mac's specialty, and once again, their skilled craftsmen have worked their magic. This time, they've bestowed a dazzling revival upon the Marriott Waterfront in Seattle, transforming a weathered and worn colossal seating ottoman. In the hands of our artisans, the Symphony Classic, adorned in a sophisticated buff hue, became its second skin—a superior-quality, pebble-grained vinyl boasting the aesthetics of leather and promising unparalleled durability.

The magic is in the details, with subtle French-style stitching elevating the ottoman's allure, turning it into a statement piece seamlessly blending with the upscale ambiance of the Marriott. Our commitment to excellence extends beyond aesthetics; recognizing the ottoman's core longevity, we carefully preserved the upholstery foam while adding a fresh layer of Dacron padding. The result is a harmonious blend of comfort and style, enticing guests to luxuriate in ultimate opulence.

Mac's passion for restoration goes beyond craftsmanship; it's a testament to our dedication to transforming spaces, piece by piece. Nestled in the heart of the Marriott Waterfront in Seattle, our revitalized ottoman stands as a beacon of timeless elegance, inviting patrons to immerse themselves in the epitome of refined comfort.

If you blinked, you might've missed it. Mac's Upholstery made an appearance at the 2023 Major League All Star Game.

As host of the Mid-Summer Classic and Home Run Derby, the Seattle Mariners had to prepare T-Mobile Park for the fans, players and media horde. The preparations included construction of padded safety barriers. That's where we came in. The Ms contacted Mac's to upholster these protective enclosures.

While the task was pretty straightforward, sourcing materials proved a little more challenging. To begin with, the padding had to be just right. Upholstery foam wouldn't work; even the densest sofa foam would've been too soft. The solution turned out to be super heavy rebond foam. Rebond foam, often used for carpet padding and motorcycle seats, is extremely dense and resilient. It was perfect for this application.

The Hunter Green vinyl infused fabric was more difficult to find. In addition to being the right color, it had to be tough as nails and flexible enough to neatly wrap around the frame and rebond foam. The material we found was perfect for the job.

The chaise lounge is an offbeat alternative to a standard living room sofa. This one features a striking design element: eleborately carved side panels. It was built with rough iron nails, so it's probably from the late nineteenth century. As you can see in the first two pics, the chaise had been modified in sort of a haphazard way; the sides were raised to elevate the profile. The owner wanted it refinished and restored to the original look.

We started by removing the modifications and stripping it down to the frame. Then, after a thorough cleaning, we refinished the decorative carved side panels and lowered the chaise to its original dimensions.

The spring box was in terrible shape, so our techs refitted both the coils and the no sag springs. With that complete, we installed new foam padding wrapped in burlap and cotton batting. The owner selected an exquisite deep red cortina leather. We finished the cover with a row of decorative nails.

We're not certain about the provenance of this antique rocking chair, but the owners think it was manufactured during the Civil War era. The spindled wood and rocker springs support that conclusion; they were popular back in the mid to late 19th Century. It looks like the rocker was reupholstered at least once with some sort of infused linen or oil cloth. This time the owners wanted it done in leather.

As you can see from the first two pics, the chair was pretty banged-up when it came to us. Before reupholstering the rocker, we repaired and touched-up the damaged woodwork. Refinishing antique woodwork can be a little tricky; you want to improve the appearance, but you don't want it to look brand new. In this instance, we used a French polish technique. In simple terms, a French polish sort of "melts and resets" the original finish. It restores the luster while preserving the patina.

Processed leather is usually sold by the hide. This rocker is medium sized, so we were able to keep costs down by using only half a hide. The tattered upholstery was reinforced with decorative nails. We couldn't use the old nails because they were too brittle, but we were able to find similar ones. A couple of layers of heavy burlap covered-up the old nail holes and also provided a little bit of padding for the arms and headrest.

Fully upholstered dining chairs require more attention than standard ones. There are a lot more surfaces to go bad, not to mention issues with the padding. This one hadn't been reupholstered in decades, so there were bound to be some unpleasant surprises under the old vinyl.

After stripping the chair, we determined that the seatback foam was still in good shape. Unfortunately, the seat cushion was done for. There were a couple of other things that also needed attention before applying the new upholstery.

The zig-zag springs underneath the seat were in decent shape, but the webbing was worn in places. We replaced the webbing where needed, installed a firm foam cushion (HR45) then wrapped it in a protective layer of burlap. A one inch wrap of Dacron^® gives the cushion additional body.

With the chair's spring box and cushions restored, we turned our attention to the upholstery. Today's quality vinyl is almost indistinguishable from leather. It's also significantly less expensive and easier to maintain. The customer selected Symphony Classic vinyl in Cayenne. As you can see, it turned out great!

This chair and sofa set is manufactured by Bauhaus USA^®. Bauhaus furniture is popular in the Midwest and East, but as of this post, there's only one dealer in the entire Pacific Northwest; that one's in Boise. Because their principle markets are east of the Rockies, we don't see their products very often.

While the Bauhaus brand is not considered truly "high-end", this flared wingback chair and matching sofa are handsome and well built. With plenty of hardwood in the frame, they're definitely worth reupholstering.

We usually recommend new foam when reupholstering furniture. In this case, the foam was still good, but the batting was flat. The only padding the sofa and chair needed was fresh Dacron batting to give the cushions and arms a little more body.

The owners selected an upholstery fabric with a bold, stylized flower pattern. It's a beautiful fabric, but upholstering furniture with a large, repeating pattern presents some challenges. The fabric has to be cut, positioned and applied so the flowers line up in multiple directions. That can be tricky, with all the angles in a sofa or chair. As you can see from the pics, our craftsmen aligned everything perfectly.

When furniture from the mid-19th Century arrives in our shop, it gets our attention. This set of king and queen Victorian chairs with a matching footstool appear to be from the 1850s, based on a trademark stamp on the frame. The owners hadn't realized the chairs were that old.

Originally, they wanted to update the furniture with new upholstery fabric, new foam, plus any touch-ups and frame repairs we encountered during a standard restoration. Discovering how old and potentially valuable the chairs were, they decided to invest a little more money in the project.

The seat cushions and back rests had been reupholstered at some point, but the original padding appeared to be intact. Believe it or not, these cushions were padded with specially treated Spanish Moss. Moss was a popular stuffing material long ago because it was inexpensive and readily available in the Southeast, where the furniture industry was big.

Retaining period specific cushioning material can enhance the value of an antique. Straw, coconut fiber, excelsior (AKA wood wool) and horsehair were also popular cushioning materials back in the day. The moss in this furniture was too dehydrated to reuse, so we turned to horsehair.

Horsehair is organic and durable, but it's not as comfortable as today's polyurethane foam. The trade-off is authenticity. Since the chairs and footstool are primarily for display, comfort is less important than keeping things original. After rebuilding the cushions, we completed the project by covered the chairs with a solid polyester upholstery fabric from Kravet.

You might be surprised at the odds and ends we find inside furniture; everything from a shiny 1907 penny to an original Mickey Mouse watch. These hidden treasures often tell a story; in this case, they tell a number of stories. Instead of burlap, the arms of this antique chair were anchored in place with rigid paper matrix molds originally used to make newspaper printing plates. The molds appear to be cast in 1940 for the Clinton Herald, a newspaper in a small Iowa town on the Mississippi River.

One of the articles reads, "Phil E Wagner, 16, New York City wayfarer was taken to police headquarters Monday evening where he was fed and given a place to sleep overnight. Penniless and hungry, he was befriended by officers who gave him some change this morning to help him on the way". The more things change, the more they stay the same.

We could've replaced the old paper matrix supports with something more contemporary, but they're working fine, so we left them in place. They'll be a nice surprise when the chair is stripped down and reupholstered fifty years from now.

The spring box and cushions were a different story. The support coils were in good shape, but they needed to be cleaned and retied. Then there was the padding. The old stuff was no good, so we cut brand new cushions from our premium quality polyurethane foam. After refinishing the woodwork, we reupholstered the chair with a plum colored chenille fabric. The fabric is soft, but durable. It should last for decades to come.

A set of antique dining room chairs came to us stuffed with clumps of raw cotton. The owner purchased the chairs several years ago from a Seattle antique dealer. He wasn't able to determine their history. As you can see in the first pick, "unginned cotton" looks a little messy -- it's peppered with seeds and debris -- but during the 19th and early 20th centuries it was used as an inexpensive form of upholstery padding.

We replaced the unginned cotton with one inch foam padding and a thick layer of cotton batting. This will not only last quite a bit longer than the original cotton, it's a lot more comfortable.

The padded seats were originally covered with leather. Unless leather is properly maintained, it deteriorates over the years. The leather on these seats was so badly cracked, we weren't able to reuse it. We could've used new leather, but the owner selected a dark brown vinyl with a pebbled surface. Today's vinyl have evolved to the point wherer they're almost indistinguishable from genuine leather. The vinyl has the look and feel of leather, but it's easy to clean and much more affordable.

This distinctive antique accent chair features flared arms and an upholstered trapezoid back. Both the woodwork and the frame were in excellant condition when the chair arrived at our shop. The upholstery and foam were another story.

After fabricating new cushions from premium medium density foam, we turned our attention to the upholstery.

The owner selected a bright Jacobean upholstery fabric for the new cover. Jacobean style upholstery fabric dates back several centuries. This one is a woven polyester rayon blend with stylized floral embroidery. Rated 30,000 double rubs, it's not especially durable. But, this is a casual chair, so durability is not critical.

With the new upholstery, the owner wanted a slightly different look. For one thing, the skirt below the seat cushion had to go. This allowed the superb woodword around the deck to shine. She also decided to replace the gimp with a double welt. Both were excellent choices, as you can see in the second pic.

Stubby chairs like this Victorian gem were popular back in the 18th and 19th centuries for a number of reasons. For one thing, low-slung chairs allowed a mother to interact with small children without bending over. It was also easier to manage stiff corsets and steel-hooped cage crinolines when sitting closer to the floor. And a well appointed 19th century bedroom was often equipped with something called a slipper chair. They were useful for putting on stockings, tights and shoes.

As you can see in the first pic, the antique was in poor condition when it arrived at our shop. Nothing short of a complete makeover would do.

After stripping it down to the frame, we retied the old coil springs, then wrapped the bottom with traditional jute webbing. The medium density polyurethane foam and premium Dacron^® wrap we used for cushion padding were much better than the original materials. We replaced the faded velvet cover with a green polyester upholstery fabric called Weaver Sweet Pea. The replacement fabric is not only stain resistant, it's extremely durable.

Channel back chairs get their name from the deep vertical channels in the backrest. They've been around forever; this one looks like it was manufactured fifty or sixty years ago. We found paperwork inside the frame indicating it was last reupholstered in Kirkland way back in 1980, so it's overdue for some attention.

A thorough inspection showed the frame and spring box were okay, but the foam was no good and the old upholstery was worn.

Before upholstering the chair, we installed brand new jute support webbing over the back and spring box, then went to work on the padding. Stuffing a channel back is time consuming. Each one of the padded ribs is separate. In effect, you have to sew and stuff individual pockets. It's not the sort of thing you'd want to try at home; we have special tools for the process.

The owner selected a stylish gold and burgundy fabric called Tallulah Raisin to replace the burgundy fabric. It's a large pattern, polyester jacquard manufactured by United Fabrics. The fabric's durability rating is a little low, but this is a casual chair, so it should be fine.

An "occasional chair" is a catch all description for a chair that doesn't neatly fit into a standard catagory; it's usually a cross between a lounge chair and a dining chair. They're often used for decorative purposes, then pressed into service for guests. A well crafted occasional chair with a little bit of character can be hard to find.

As you can see from the threadbare burgundy upholstery in the first pic, it's been recovered more than once. The owner wanted it restored to the original white. After a careful inspection, we realized this chair needed more than new upholstery.

To begin with, the old foam was shot, so we rebuilt the cushions from scratch using medium density polyurethane foam, cotton batting and Dacron^®. We also replaced the old webbing under the cushion and seatback with brand new jute.

For the upholstery, the customer selected an off white Naugahyde vinyl. Today's premium vinyl is much softer and more durable than the old fashioned vinyl. In a perfect world, we'd reuse the original decorative nails to attach the vinyl. Unfortunately, the old nails don't hold up, so we tracked down a set of brand new decorative nails and used those instead. As you can see, the occasional chair turned out great!

Here's a high back restaurant booth one of our customers purchased. As you can see from the exuberant color and slick, heavy-duty vinyl, it's the sort of seat you'd find in a '60s family diner or old fashioned ice cream parlor. Retro booths like this are still popular for kitchen nooks and recreation rooms.

The channel style backrest on this one was in good shape, as was the heavy-duty zig zag spring box. The seat foam and vinyl cover were another story. After stripping it down to the frame, we replaced the old bench seat foam with high performance HR45 polyurethane. The replacement foam is on the stiffer side, which is ideal for this sort of application.

The original vinyl is a popular pattern called Zodiac Burgundy. Fortunately, Naugahyde^® manufactures an updated version of the same vinyl, so it was easy to match the original backrest to the reupholstered bench.

The Great Klondike Gold Rush of 1897 fueled C.C. Filson's early growth. The Seattle-based outfitter has prospered to this day by manufacturing rugged, comfortable outdoor gear. When the company needed a new showroom bench for one of its retail stores, they came to us.

Filson's calling card has always been the durable tin cloth fabric it uses to manufacture traditional work trousers and outer wear. Somebody in its marketing department came up with a great idea; use a patchwork of old tin cloth trousers to upholster the new bench.

As you'd expect, the patchwork fabric Filson provided was in great shape. Some of the thick seams were doubled-up, which made sewing a little tricky in places. But, aside from that, the fabric worked perfectly. Since the bench was designed for a retail store, we recommended four inch HR-55 polyurethane foam; it's a stiffer foam that the typically stuff used on home furniture.

Next time you're in Filson's flagship store near T-Mobile Park, check out the large tin cloth bench. We think it's pretty cool!

We're not sure about the age or provenance of this lovely mahogany settee. It's been reupholstered at least three times, so we figure it's more than one hundred years old. It includes camelback, Chesterfield and Victorian design elements. When it arrived in our shop, the cushion foam was shot and the elegant cut velvet upholstery was tattered.

It needed new upholstery, but fabric wouldn't be enough to restore this tufted settee to its original glory. We'd have to strip it down to the frame and replace almost everything.

After removing the foam and fabric we realigned the coil springs. It's worth pointing out that a backrest with coiled springs is a sign of quality craftsmanship. A lot of manufacturers forgo backrest springs to save a few bucks. This sofa was made the right way.

Restored Mahogany Settee

With the coils reset and anchored with eight way ties, we turned our attention to the cushion padding. This settee required two different foams; firm HR45 polyurethane for the backrest and arms, medium density HR33 for the seat cushion. Since the arms and back are tufted, we cut holes in the foam to accomodate the button ties.

We used the old foam to pattern the holes. The custom buttons were fabricated from the new upholstery fabric, so they're a perfect match.

The burgundy upholstery fabric selected by the owner is reminiscent of the original without the cut design. It's a high performance polyester chenille treated with stain resistant Crypton; more durable than the original velvet and a lot easier to maintain.

San Francisco based McGuire builds high-end furniture with a distinctive California flare. These stylish dining chairs feature twisted arms and legs with leather bound joints. The chairs were in excellent condition when they arrived at our shop. The owners simply wanted a different look; leather upholstery instead of cloth.

Upholstery leather comes in a wide variety of colors and finishes. You'll find dozens of examples in this Garrett Leather display. For these chairs, the customer selected a mahogany brown, semi-aniline leather with a waxy top coat. This style of leather is lightly pigmented to allow the slightly distressed natural grain to show through.

Full grain leather is thick, so it can be difficult to work with. The other drawbacks are cost and waste. Leather is not only expensive, you have to buy an entire hide, then cut it up. Since hides are oddly shaped, there's sure to be waste. This project required two hides so there were plenty of scraps left over.

Since price was not a concern for this customer, the leather worked out well. We also upgraded the chair backs with new foam and Dacron^®.

An ottoman bench can be a useful addition to a master bedroom. This one is large enough for an Olympic Queen or standard King sized bed. The original vinyl upholstery was torn and faded when it came to us. Just as important, the owners weren't all that crazy about the bland color and boxy stitching pattern.

Aside from a few nicks and stratches, the stained oak base was in great shape. All it needed was new upholstery and foam.

The customer selected a medium firm foam, two inch HR45. Instead of vinyl, they chose a gray cut chenille upholstery fabric. The styish contemporary fabric features tufted abstract shapes raised a couple of millimeters above the base layer. This sort of fabric is not especially durable. In fact, we'd recommend against it in a high traffic environment, but for an occasional use bedroom bench it's an excellent choice.

This french style bergére chair was made in 1957, so it's well over half a century old. Manufactured in Pittsburgh, the antique chair features intricate petit point needlepoint.

The petit point upholstery could use a good cleaning, but aside from that it's still in pretty good shape. The jute webbing under the spring box is another story. It's trashed; not unusual for a chair this old.

After inspecting the damage, we determined the coil springs directly under the seat were still in good shape. They were rust free and properly tied. That's exceptional, given their age. All we had to do was realign the springs and replace the webbing.

Furniture webbing hasn't changed much over the years. While synthetic webbing is now available, the go-to webbing material remains good old fashioned jute, a natural fiber used in textiles for millennia.

When this chair was manufactured, the jute webbing was likely laid down before the coils and padding were installed. With the spring box already in place, we had to do it the other way around; install the webbing last instead of first. We webbed the chair bottom with fresh jute, then aligned and anchored the webbing to the coils. It was an easy, inexpensive fix that returned the chair to its original appearance.

Harvey Probber is often referred to as the godfather of modern modular design. In addition to pioneering modular furniture, he integrated sleek, simple forms with elegant fabrics and hand-rubbed finishes; an original take on mid-century modern.

Probber's breakthrough family of modular furniture consisted of nineteen different elements that could be assembled into any desired seating configuration. His work was chosen for MoMA’s Good Design exhibition in 1951. Vintage Probber furniture is still enormously popular.

A customer recently brought us five Probber chairs that were showing their age. The plastic bases were scuffed and the fabric was ragged, but the more immediate problem was aging foam. Ultraviolet light and years of wear had damaged the foam, especially the crown of the backrest.

If this were any other chair, we'd simply strip the old foam and replace it with commercial quality polyurethane. We couldn't do that with these chairs because the foam was molded into the steel tube frame and spring box when it was manufactured. The process is called cold pressing.

Fortunately, the foam base was in good shape. After consulting the owner, we carefully removed the damaged crown and replaced it with medium density HR33 polyurethane wrapped in foam scrim.

Despite the modifications, the cushions remain the same size, so we were able to pattern new covers from the old ones. The commercial grade blended upholstery fabric we used matches the original color and weave, but it's quite a bit more durable. The restored Probber chairs look great and should stay comfortable for decades.

Recliners have replaced rocking chairs in many American households, but they're still passed down as family heirlooms. This antique rocker was built in the nineteen fifties or sixties. When it came into our shop, the frame was loose, the seat deck was misssing and the upholstery was long gone. Restoring this rocking chair required stripping it down to the pieces.

The glue in the dowel joints had gone bad, so the first step was cleaning, sanding and regluing the frame.

With the wooden frame reconditioned and repaired, we turned our attention to the missing seat deck. Instead of filling the open space with slats, we built an elastic deck using furniture webbing and burlap. A traditional deck built from webbing is much more comfortable than wood.

We sculpted a new seat cushion from three inch, medium firm HR45 foam. Shaping the cushion was a little tricky since it had to fit around the arm posts and align with both the seatback and the rounded deck face. We used Dacron^® to soften the edges. We kept the tie down cushion for the seatback thin to allow room for a lumbar cushion or accent pillows. The deck skirt gives the rocking chair a more finished look.

Here's something you don't see every day; a custom made wing chair. The chair is fabricated from Weyerhauser two-by-fours, zig-zag springs, plywood and a few odds and ends from the hardware store.

Stripped of its old cloth upholstery, the frame looks a little rough. But, everything is properly aligned and reinforced. It's a solid, well built chair in need of new foam and new upholstery. In this case the owner wanted to replace the original cloth upholstery with leather. The so-called "knock down" method used to build it required us to take the chair apart before reupholstering.

There are all kinds of leathers and finishes. The owner of this chair selected a light brown, semi-aniline Italian leather. Aniline leather is a type of leather colored with soluble dyes. It retains any variations or flaws, so tanners generally use only the finest quality hides. This leather has a protective top coating which makes it semi-aniline. In simple terms, this is a top grade leather with a gloss finish.

Thick leather – this is 1.3mm – is more difficult to work with. It also absorbs blemishes and wrinkles over time. But, a lot of people like the character an antique patina gives a chair. In a couple of years, this leather will be comfortably broken in like a treasured baseball glove.

Here's a lovely antique bench seat in need of repair. We'd call it a settee, but it's not quite large enough.

This piece is perfect for a vestibule, den or an odd space too small for anything else. Judging by the threadbare upholstery and battered woodwork, it's roughly a century old. The bench seat has tons of character, but when it came to us it looked destined for a dumpster.

When something is this far gone, new upholstery is never enough. You have to strip it down to the bones and build it back using the parts you can salvage.

Except for the tack rail, the woodwork wasn't too badly damaged. We repaired the rail and legs, then touched up the woodwork with a matching stain.

The owners could've saved money by replacing the spring box with foam, but they wanted the deck rebuilt the proper way. Good old fashioned jute webbing is still the best foundation material for a standard spring box. The antique springs were in good shape, so we rebuilt the cushion with jute and the original coils. We anchored the coils using a traditional eight way tie.

We covered the springs with sheets of burlap and jute padding. Then we topped the jute with one inch of polyurethane foam and cotton batting. The lush velvet upholstery fabric takes the bench back to its original look.

Back in the day, outdoor furniture cushions were upholstered in stiff, water-resistant vinyl. The old fashioned vinyl was durable, but slick and uncomfortable. What's more, it didn't age well, as you can probably see from the first two pics.

Today, there are much better alternatives for reupholstering deck furniture.

You don't want to use natural fibers, such as cotton, wool or linen for outdoor furniture. Even a blended fabric containing a small amount of natural fiber can rot in an outdoor environment.

Synthetic fabric such as Sunbrella^® is better for marine and outdoor applications. Sunbrella's line of upholstery fabric is a popular choice for patio furniture because it doesn't fade, repels water and resists mold and mildew. On the other hand, the solution-dyed acrylic fiber Sunbrella uses in its fabrics can be a little rough. Polyester is often a better alternative for deck furniture.

Reupholstered Patio Furniture & American Water Spaniel

In addition to being okay for outdoor use, polyester tends to be softer than acrylic. Choice is another plus. Polyester offers far more styles and color combinations.

The fabrics we used for this patio chair and settee are contemporary polyester prints. The owner also ordered matching pillows. Both the pillows and the cushions are welted. Welting is a nice way to dress up a cushion, but there are a couple of things to keep in mind if you like the look. Welting creates crevasses where dirt and debris collect. That can be a problem with outdoor furniture. Also, a welt usually wears down faster than the surrounding fabric; everytime somebody sits or stands their body rubs against the welt. It's something to keep in mind if your cushions are used a lot.

Pacific Northwest homeowners often leave their patio furniture outside year round. But, even in a mild climate such as ours, the elements take their toll on fabric and foam. Deck cushions are exposed to everything from intense summer heat to an occasional blizzard. Because of this, we recommend upholstering your patio furniture in UV & mildew resistant materials, such as Sunbrella^®. If that's not possible, it's a good idea to cover your outdoor cushions when they're not in use.

Custom made furniture covers are an excellent way to protect your investment. We recently fabricated a set of custom covers for a home owner's patio furniture, including this outdoor chaise.

Subrella's solution dyed acrylic is an excellent choice for furniture covers. In addition to being UV and mildew resistant, it's water-repellent. Another popular outdoor fabric is an acrylic coated polyester manufactured by Top Gun^®. It doesn't breath as well as Sunbrella, but Top Gun is waterproof, not just water repellent.

We fabricated these covers using Top Gun's Sea Gull Gray acrylic coated polyester. The easy on, easy off zipper in back is a nice touch.

Today's chaise lounge traces its roots all the way back to 16th Century France. The reclining contour chaise is a clever, mid-century modern twist on the concept.

Most of these old timers are equipped with a manual, spring or electrical mechanism which allows a user to rock or adjust the reclining position. This feature is similiar to a modern gravity chair; both are designed to create the sensation of zero gravity by evenly distributing your body's weight.

This reclining chaise was on its last legs when it came to us. Fortunately, the sturdy wooden frame and zig-zag springs were in good shape, so we stripped it down to the bones and went to work.

We replaced the cotton cushions with modern polyurethane foam and a layer of Dacron^® padding to soften the edges and give it a little extra body.

The chaise was originally covered in a stiff 1970s era vinyl. The pattern and color might have been popular fifty years ago, but times have changed. The owner had no desire to replicate the look of the vintage vinyl. Instead of replacing it with a state-of-the-art vinyl or artificial leather, the owner decided to go all in with genuine burgundy leather.

Leather is usually sold by the hide. Since hides are expensive, it's important to order the correct amount. You don't want to come up short, at the same time you don't want expensive leather left over. This is a large chair with lots of detail, so the project required two full hides.

The customer was pleased with the reupholstered contour chaise. His dog (top right) gave it two paws up.

High-end apartments and Class A office towers often feature handsome built-in furnishings like this booth we recently completed for a local leasing office. Upholstering commercial furniture like this is different than reupholstering a wingback chair or living room sofa. Home furniture is built to be simple, inviting and comfortable. Office furniture is often the opposite; style can be more important than comfort.

Comfort is largely determined by the density of the cushion foam. We use the cushiest foam -- HR33 & HR45 -- for home furniture. Office furniture usually requires a stiffer foam, something called HR55. A Dacron wrap (below left) softens the look and feel, but the seat is still stiff compared to something you'd find in a living room.

After cutting and wrapping the stiffer foam, we fabricate the covers using a durable, tawny colored vinyl. Choosing the correct vinyl is important. Some expensive vinyls, such as Ultraleather^®, look and feel like rich leather. Unfortunately, many high-end vinyls are stretchy. Cushions made from Ultraleather^® may look good at first, but they can warp and lose shape over time. These cushions were fabricated from a slightly rigid vinyl that looks good and wears well.

Another difference between home and commercial upholstery: commercial projects often require concave cushions. Keeping the fabric cover in place is tricky when the foam is cupped. Buttons are one way to hold the fabric in place. This booth required a smooth face, so instead of buttons we shaped the fabric to fit the curve.

It's difficult to part with a favorite chair even when it's on life support, like this one. Often times you discover that repairing and reupholstering can be more expensive than buying a brand new one from Ikea or some other discount furniture outlet.

But, if you like the chair and it's well built, it makes sense to repair and reupholster.

This fifty year old wingback is a great example of something worth saving. The frame was manufactured with solid wood and the spring box is still in good shape. Beyond that, there isn't much worth salvaging.

When a well built chair is this far gone, the first thing we do is strip it down to "the bones". That means removing all the old upholstery, padding and fasteners used when it was manufactured. We're left with the wooden frame, webbing and spring box. The burlap webbing was still in pretty good shape, but just to be on the safe side we reinforce it with new webbing.

Next, we straighten and retie the coils. The finished spring box may look like an over caffeinated cat's cradle (above), but the cords are actually aligned in a specific pattern to keep each support coil locked in place. We cover the repaired spring box with deck fabric, then pad the arms and shoulders with sheet foam and Dacron^®. The foam and Dacron replaces cotton batting used when the chair was built.

We use medium soft HR45 foam for the seat cushion and back rest. Then we wrap the cushions and chair in a durable tweed upholstery fabric accented with a stylish welt. As you can see in the final pic, the old wingback looks brand new.

You may have seen one of these in a living room or den. It's called a Morris chair. Most consider it the forerunner of the modern recliner; sort of a Flintstones version of the La-Z-Boy^®.

The first one was built way back in the 1860s when an English carpenter dreamt up a chair with an adjustable, reclining back. To adjust the back, you simply lifted the arms and pushed back to lock the chair into a reclining position. The chair also featured plush cushions for the back and seat, which weren't common at the time. It was revolutionary by Victorian standards, and people loved it.

By the early 1900s Gustav Stickley began manufacturing an American varient of the Morris chair. The Stickley Morris chair is a simplified version of the original, with a rectilinear shape, flat angled arms and thick cushions. Most have reclining backs.

This one's been used as a combination reading chair / cat bed. The original upholstery wasn't too bad, but the bottom cushion was shot, so it made sense to reupholster the whole thing, including the stool.

Under normal circumstances, we'd recommend replacing the cushion with a medium density polyurethane foam such as HR33 or HR45. In this instance the owners selected something quite a bit stiffer, three inch HR55.

Before reupholstering a chair, we typically wrap the foam in Dacron^® to "plump" the cushion. This gives it a slightly softer feel without sacrificing support. You can see and feel the difference. As always, we use the finest quality upholstery fabric and foam. This restored Stickley Morris chair should be good for another fifty years.

When a customer asks us to repair or restore an old sofa they'll often take the opportunity to update the upholstery. Even if it's an antique there are plenty of ways to give the couch a fresh look by changing the upholstery pattern or color.

The owner of this sofa preferred a different approach. He didn't want a new look. He wanted his old sofa to look like the original.

As you can see, the sofa needed new padding, cushions and fabric, but most of our attention was focused on what you can't see — the damaged spring box under the cushions.

We began by reinforcing the frame and webbing underneath the sofa. Then we went to work on the spring box. Fortunately, the steel coils were good enough to reuse. It took some time to clean, straighten and retie the coils so they would properly absorb and distribute weight. With the coils aligned, we leveled the deck and covered it with thick, durable burlap.

While the original upholstery fabric was not available, we found a nearly identical microfiber with the same color and nap. The fabric didn't have much "give" so fitting the upholstery took a little longer than expected.

Check out the final pic; hard to believe it's the same sofa.

Restaurant booths take a ton of abuse, especially in popular neighborhoods like Wallingford near the University District. This booth bench is from Kate's Pub on 45th. Kate tells us the previous pub owner was sort of a cheapskate. Instead of upholstering the benches with something durable, he used cut-rate vinyl. In fact, we found a spot were the crappy vinyl was stapled over a layer of older material which was held in place with a piece of petrified chewing gum!

After stripping it down to the bones, we discovered the booth was in worse shape than we thought. Most of the zig-zag supports were broken or rusted. Instead of repairing the suspension, the previous owner had jury-rigged the zig-zag supports. We had to replace most of them, then retie the entire suspension. During that process, we added a burlap barrier to protect the interior of the bench.

With the suspension repaired, we installed brand new polyurethane foam and Dacron^® padding. Instead of cut-rate vinyl, we covered the bench with blue marine grade vinyl guaranteed to last a lot longer than the cheap stuff.

When it left the shop, the old booth looked and felt brand new. Check it out next time you're at Kate's.

Minecraft^® has been a big hit with gamers for more than a decade. In fact, at ten years old, the computer game is already ancient by Internet standards; not quite that old if you're counting in dog years.

Seattle's MoPop Museum and the folks who designed the game are curating a special exhibit to celebrate Minecraft's tenth anniversary. These are pics of a bench we built for the exhibit. It's a replica of a "bed" block used in the game.

What's a bed block you ask? According the Minecraft, "A bed is a block that allows a player to sleep and to reset their spawn point to within a few blocks of the bed. If the bed is obstructed, the player spawns at the default world spawning location." Get it? Neither do we. But, based on the game's popularity, a lot of people know all about the bed block.

Now, they'll get a chance to sit on one instead of just clicking it.

Thanks in large part to Amazon and other high-tech outfits, Seattle's population is growing like crazy. Fancy new apartments are popping-up all over the place; a lot of them with less than 800 square feet of floor space. Constrained living areas may help keep rents down, but they can also turn tenants into sardines.

To compensate for smaller sized units, some apartments now provide additional amenities such as fancy activity rooms.

We fabricated and upholstered these bar style booths for a new highrise apartment in Northgate. They're built to fit seamlessly into a small "speak easy style" lounge for young adults. With tough marine grade vinyl and sturdy polyurethane foam, these custom booths not only look good, they're built to last.

Nichols & Stone is a venerable New England furniture manufacturer. The company traces its roots all the way back to 1762 Massachusetts. This dining table chair was probably manufactured in the early 1900s. It's been reupholstered a number of times the old fashioned way using jute padding, copper tacks, cotton fabrics and leather.

Even a chair manufactured with solid wood doesn't last forever. The seat deck on this chair finally splintered and collapsed.

Sitting on a chair with a wooden bottom is like sitting on a stadium bench. So, instead of switching out the damaged wood, we upgraded the bottom to flexible burlap webbing. Webbing is a lot more comfortable than wood.

We had to toss the tattered cotton batting; it couldn't be salvaged. We replaced the old padding with soft, state-of-the-art polyurethane foam.

With the seat deck rebuilt and padding upgraded, we reupholstered the cushion with a floral fabric similar to the original material. When we were finished, the chair was the spitting image of the original and a lot more inviting.

Here's an overstuffed club chair with matching ottoman. When the owner dropped it off, the chair frame and back support were in good shape, but the padding needed some attention.

A single layer of Dacron^® did the trick. With the padding back to normal, we turned our attention to the upholstery.

The customer wanted to replace the old flower print upholstery with something completely different. She selected a solid color fabric called "Knock on Wood" from Avant Garde. It's manufactured from polyester and boasts a very high durability rating of 100,000 double rubs.

We upholstered it in the original style, with simple Turkish corners (pleats) and no welting. The chair was manufactured decades ago, but with upgraded upholstery and additional padding, it almost looks contemporary.

It's difficult to pinpoint exactly when this channel back chair was made. The padding was horsehair and cotton batting, so you can bet it's at least 70 years old. The frame is manufactured from sturdy hardwood held together with dowels — another clue this chair is an old timer.

The chair was in bad shape when the owner dropped it off. The frame wobbled and the upholstery was torn and faded.

The first thing we did was strip it all the way down to the frame. Then we repaired the deck and spring box. Burlap webbing is still the best material for most chair bottoms. In addition to being a natural material, burlap is tough and flexible. The support coils were still in good shape. All we had to do was clean and retie them.

The owner wanted to recreate the overstuffed feel, so instead of polyurethane foam and dacron we used old fashioned cotton batting to pad the cushion. The cushion edge was also scalloped to fit into the channel back slots. The loose padding doesn't retain its shape the way foam does, but it's got that luxurious, overstuffed feel the owner wanted.

The classic Louis XIV chair is heavy and thronelike with upholstered high backs and 'H' or 'Y' shaped stretchers underneath. Armrests typically extend to the front edge of the seat with straight and upright seat backs.

This one came to us with its original upholstery and antique excelsior padding. The tattered upholstery made it look like something from the Addams Family. The owner wanted it to look more welcoming.

The chair frame was solid, but the spring box and back needed repair. After the rebuild, we fabricated new cushions and recovered the chair in a bright, silky print. As you can see, the upholstery "softened" the chair's heavy, austere woodwork just as the owner wanted.

The Swan Chair is among the most distinctive Danish designs to emerge from the Mid-Century Modern movement. Unlike some creations from that era, this chair possesses an enduring appeal. Sixty years after the original one was built, Swan Chairs and Swan Sofas are still in production.

These two are nicely made knockoffs.

The chairs were in bad shape when they arrived. Before fabricating a new cover, we had to rebuild the padding.

Looks Great in Customer's Home!A foam rebuild is usually pretty straightforward. Most cushions are square; all you have to do is cut a new square of polyurethane foam and switch it out. A foam rebuild for this sort of chair is much more complicated. Rounded edges and odd angles are defining characteristics of the swan chair, so you can't just cut a square of foam and slap it on. Repadding a swan chair requires shaping the foam by hand.

Upholstering a swan chair can be just as challenging. The owner selected a rich wool for the new cover. She also wanted the cover sewn in the original manner. Since the primary surface is concave we had to glue the wool directly to the foam then hand stitch the whole thing. Hand stitching the unusually shaped corners required extra fabric and extra attention.

We made sure the finished product was faithful to the original design.

The bolt down café stool evokes memories of a bygone era when roadside diners were popular, a jukebox was cutted edge technology and lunch at a Woolworth’s counter cost 25¢. You still see these old stools every once in a while. A customer recently asked us to repair and reupholster half a dozen in traditional red.

In almost every case, we recommend upgrading a chair's padding during the reupholstery process. We do this for a couple of reasons. New foam is far more comfortable than antique horsehair padding. Also, old padding can collapse and turn moldy.

Despite our suggestion, the owner of this wingback chair wanted to keep the old horsehair padding and cotton batting.

It's challenging to properly reupholster somebody's old chair when the padding is lumpy, especially if the upholstery fabric they select doesn't have much elasticity. Given the circumstances, we did the next best thing. With the owner's approval, we wrapped the seat cushion, back cushion and arms in sheets of cushy Dacron. Dacron batting not only adds body to fill in the lumps, it provides a little extra padding.

The inexpensive Dacron sheets did the trick. They smoothed the rough edges allowing us to give new life to a dusty old wingback chair.

Here's a beautiful craftsman style rocking chair we recently restored. We're not sure how old the chair is. The padding material inside — old fashioned horsehair, straw and cotton batting — suggests it was manufactured in the early twentieth century.

The chair frame was in excellent shape, but the old leather was desiccated, torn and rotted. The padding material also needed attention; it was old and moldy. We could've reused some of the original stuffing, but we strongly discourage that. In addition to being a little on the nasty side, the old stuff is never as comfortable and versatile as today's polyurethane foams.

Many of today's vinyls are nearly indistinguishable from leather, but the owner wanted to keep the chair authentic. Since leather is a natural material every hide is slightly different. On rare occasions a brand or scar on the leather will get in the way. The hide we used for this project had all the desirable characteristics: a smooth, consistent pattern with an even stain.

Upholstery nails serve a duel purpose on this rocking chair. In addition to holding the cushions in place, they're design elements. Since the original nails are discarded when the chair is stripped, we had to find about 150 3/8 inch brass head nails. Setting the nails is time consuming, but as you can see it was more than worth the effort.

Leather upholstery is generally more durable than cloth. It also looks great. But, if you want your furniture soft and inviting, leather may not be the best choice. When this chair was brought in for seat repair and furniture refinishing, the customer wondered if we could replace the leather with something warmer.

This repair required resetting the support coils under the seat deck, replacing the old foam and refinishing the wood. After that work was complete, we turned our attention to the upholstery.

Changing from leather to fabric can dramatically alter the characteristics of a chair like this. When covered in leather, it's ideal for an office. In velvet (Flanders Sliver from Latimer Alexander), not so much. The difference is easy to see in the before and after pics. This is exactly what the customer was after; something less formal, cozy and stylishly understated.

Some call them "Claw Feet", others prefer "Paw Feet". Either way, this style of furniture -- with ornamental animal feet carved into the leg bottoms -- were most popular during the 18th and 19th centuries in Europe and North America. They're often found on "Queen Anne," "Chippendale," "Victorian," or "American Empire" furniture.

This set of antique furniture -- two chairs and a settee -- features lion paws. The owner brought them in for new upholstery, but they were in such bad shape we had to do some serious restoration work first.

The first two rows show the antique chairs before, during and after restoration. The final two pics show the settee before and after restoration.

Based on the materials used to build this furniture set, we estimate it's nearly a century old. After stripping off the old cover, padding and burlap we went to work on the damaged frames. We glued together cracked sections and added support blocks in critical places (red arrows in first row).

The old fashioned coil springs were still in good shape, so we cleaned and retied them. Then we touched up the woodwork, replaced the cotton padding with foam and covered the cushions in a durable blue fabric. This is another example of why you should think twice before junking old furniture.

There's a fine line between a valuable antique with "character" and a damaged old couch destined for the junkyard. This lovely 19th Century settee is a diamond in the rough. Careful restoration and attention to detail transforms it from junk into a jewel.

While our designers are careful not to sacrifice an antique's "character", the restoration process often requires repair. For example, this settee's seat cushion is shot. The horsehair padding is salvageable, but the old latex foam has deteriorated into dust.

We toss the old latex and replace it with custom cut polyurethane foam.

Repairing and reattaching the settee's broken leg is trickier. The leg snapped off years ago, leaving shards of the old dowel stuck inside both the frame and leg. After removing what's left of the old dowel, we anchor the leg with a new dowel, wood glue and putty.

As often happens, the old wood is warped in places. When we attach the headboard, a crooked gap appears between the headboard and seat back. Our designers solve this problem by attaching a welt to the base of the headboard. The fabric welt nicely fills the gap. It's a small thing, but attention to detail can be the difference between something you save and something you eventually toss.