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If you have a lumpy old sofa or a very frayed chair that’s beginning to shed its stuffing, don’t consign it to the junk immediately. Assess it first because it might be the beginning of a beautiful new piece of furniture. The recycling of old furniture into something new will bring you more pleasure aside from saving money on a brand new piece. But when to recover and when to re-upholster? It is recovering if your furniture is in good shape inside and all it needs is a new fabric on the outside. It is re-upholstering when the furniture needs total or partial work on the inside like new webbing, re-tied springs, new fillings and re-cushioning.

The key to a good quality furniture is its frame. Good frames are made from hardwood like oak, maple, ash, alder or mahogany. These kinds of wood are strong and enduring. You can tell if the frame is a good one by its weight because hard wood frame are heavy compared to low class woods. You can test by comparing the weights of the same kind of furnitures.

A good frame is joined with double dowels or wood pins, wood blocks and screws. These should the furniture firm and fast for a long time. If and when they loosen, they can be easily firmed up or replaced. Frames that are joined with metal braces and those where staples where used without dowels are generally not good frames.

Before any recovering or re-upholstering can be done on your furniture, the restorer usually move the piece around to check for “motion” in the joints. This is done to assess the condition of the frame inside because a good quality piece of furniture must have a good quality frame. Hard wood frame is usually 1¼” to 3½” thick and valuable.

Some furnitures have exposed frames which is part of the furniture’s style and design. Most of the times, these exposed frames are delicate and finely made. Pieces with exposed frames are valuable and more so if it’s an old piece. Outside/exposed frames are usually made from cherry, walnut, mahogany, beech or birch. Some styles that have exposed frames are Victorian style, Chippendale, Sheraton, Empire, French and American style. The wood usually ripens with age and acquires a beautiful patina or soft glow. If one should need refinishing, this is done before the upholstering process begins. A fast, convenient, modern way is to spray stain and polish on the wood in a single process. Or it is stained and then hand-rubbed the old craftsmanship way, which is more expensive.

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