buying advice
What to Look For When Choosing an Upholstery Workroom
Most advice on this ends at "read the reviews". Here is what a workroom would actually check if it were hiring another workroom.
Check 8 things: whether they work on your type of piece, whether frame and spring work is included or extra, what foam they specify, whether the sewing happens in house, insurance and transport, lead time honesty, how they handle your own fabric, and whether they will tell you when a piece is not worth doing.
Most guidance on this stops at reviews and quotes. Reviews tell you whether people were happy. They do not tell you what was done under the cover. Here is what we would check if we were handing a piece to another shop.
1. Do they actually work on your kind of piece?
"Upholstery" covers a lot of separate trades. A shop that is excellent at residential sofas may not touch boats. A marine shop may not do drapery. A commercial outfit geared to restaurant booths may not want a single antique chair.
Ask directly what proportion of their work is the thing you are bringing. A workroom that handles residential, marine, hospitality and commercial side by side is not necessarily better, but it does mean they have seen your piece before.
2. Is frame and spring work in the number, or outside it?
This is the question that separates a real quote from a cheap one.
Nobody knows exactly what a piece needs until it is stripped. A quote that assumes the frame is fine and quietly adds repairs later is not a quote, it is an opening bid. Ask what happens if a joint turns out to be loose or the webbing has gone. The answer should be a clear process, not a shrug.
3. What foam are they specifying?
Ask for the density in pounds per cubic foot, not the word "high density", which means nothing on its own. Ask whether back cushions are being refilled or only the seats. Ask what they use for anything that gets damp, because standard foam in a porch cushion or a boat seat holds water and grows mildew from the inside.
A workroom that answers this in numbers is a workroom that thinks about it.
4. Who does the sewing?
Some shops sew in house. Some send panels out. Neither is automatically wrong, but it changes lead time, it changes who you talk to when something needs adjusting, and it changes how much control there is over the finish.
Ask where the work physically happens.
5. Insurance, access and transport
For furniture this is about pickup and delivery, stair carries and gated community access. For marine work it matters far more, because many marinas will not let an uninsured vendor onto the dock at all. Palmetto is insured to work at Safe Harbor and Thunderbolt marinas, which is the kind of thing worth asking any marine upholsterer before booking.
For hotels and restaurants, ask about certificates of insurance, site access and whether they can work around your operating hours.
6. Are they honest about lead time?
Fabric lead time is the variable nobody controls. A stocked performance fabric can ship in days. A cut-order designer fabric can take weeks on its own, before a single stitch.
A shop that promises a fast turnaround without asking what fabric you have chosen is either not thinking about it or not telling you. The honest answer is 2 numbers: bench time, and fabric time.
7. How do they handle customer's own material?
If you are bringing fabric, ask 3 things. Will they confirm yardage before you order. Do they account for pattern repeat. What happens if the fabric runs short.
Pattern repeat catches people out constantly. A large repeat can add a quarter again to the yardage because every panel has to line up across seams and cushions. A workroom that checks this before you order is saving you a reorder and a delay.
8. Will they turn work down?
This is the one most people never think to ask, and it is the most revealing.
A workroom that takes every job is not being generous. Some pieces are not worth recovering. A particle board frame that has already loosened will not hold new work, and spending on fabric over it is money gone. A shop willing to say so is a shop whose yes means something.
What good work looks like up close
When you collect the piece, or before you commit to a shop, look at finished work closely.
| What to look at | What good looks like |
|---|---|
| Seams | Straight, even, no puckering, welting consistent in thickness |
| Corners and arms | Fabric pulled true, no bagging, no stress lines radiating from a staple |
| Pattern | Lined up across every seam and cushion, centred on the piece |
| Cushions | Fill the cover to the corners, no bricks in a bag, no gaping |
| Skirts and trim | Hang straight, even length all round |
| Underside | Dust cover fitted neatly, not stapled roughly or left off |
The underside is the most honest part of any upholstered piece, because it is the part nobody was expected to see.
Questions to take with you
- What proportion of your work is pieces like mine?
- Is frame and spring work included in this number?
- What foam density are you specifying, and what are you using for anything that gets damp?
- Is the sewing done here?
- Are you insured for pickup, delivery and site access where my piece is?
- What is the bench time, and what is the fabric lead time?
- If I supply fabric, will you confirm yardage and pattern repeat before I order?
- Have you ever told someone a piece was not worth reupholstering?
Talk to us
We work across South Carolina, coastal Georgia and into North Carolina from 3 workrooms in Hilton Head Island, North Charleston and Myrtle Beach. Send photos of the piece and we will tell you what it needs, including when the honest answer is that it is not worth doing.
Request an estimate or call 843 785 4002. Our furniture reupholstery page covers the process end to end, and boats sit under marine upholstery.
Frequently asked questions
What should I look for when choosing an upholstery service?
Check whether they regularly work on your type of piece, whether frame and spring work is included in the quote, what foam density they specify, whether sewing is done in house, their insurance and transport arrangements, and whether they are honest about fabric lead times as well as bench time.
What questions should I ask an upholsterer before booking?
Ask what proportion of their work is pieces like yours, whether frame repair is inside or outside the quote, what foam they are using, whether they will confirm yardage and pattern repeat if you supply fabric, and whether they have ever advised a customer not to proceed.
How do I know if an upholsterer does good work?
Look at finished pieces closely. Seams should be straight and even, fabric pulled true at corners and arms with no stress lines, patterns lined up across every seam, cushions filling the cover to the corners, and the dust cover underneath fitted neatly rather than left off.
Should I worry if a shop quotes much lower than others?
It is worth asking what is excluded. The most common gaps are frame and spring work added later, old foam reused or replaced with low density stock, and transport charged separately. A lower number is not a problem if you know what it covers.
Does it matter if sewing is sent out?
Not automatically, but ask. It affects lead time, it affects how quickly something can be adjusted if it is not right, and it affects how much control the shop has over the finish.
What if the upholsterer says my piece is not worth doing?
That is usually a good sign about the shop. Frames made from particle board that have already loosened will not hold new work, and recovering them is money spent on a structure that is already failing.
David Quintanilla is co-owner of Palmetto Upholstery & Fabric, which has run upholstery workrooms on the South Carolina coast since 2004, in Hilton Head Island, North Charleston and Myrtle Beach.
Read next.
What Goes Into a Dining Chair Reupholstery Quote
Sofa Repair or Reupholstery: Which One Do You Need?
Start a project
Send us the piece.
Photos from the front, side and back, plus a rough length. An estimate comes back the same week, with an honest read on whether the frame deserves the work.