Instead of buying new furniture, why not reupholster the pieces you have? This process can save you a small fortune, by preventing the need to buy new furniture. They key is to know when you should have the procedure done.

Here are some tips to consider when determining if your furniture needs to be reupholstered:

1. Check for significant damage to the fabric.

Within time, any type of fabric will experience wear, tear, and holes. A few scrapes and pinholes aren't signs of major damage, so you could probably tolerate your chairs and sofas having such minor imperfections. But eventually it will become too worn to fix by mending it. That's when you should consider reupholstering the furniture. Since the process isn't an exact science, you'll need to determine when either the form or function of the fabric warrants its being replaced.

2. Determine if you can bear looking at the fabric's design.

Another reason to change the fabric is that you simply don't like the appearance of the fabric. So if you want to get rid of covers with a paisley or polka-dotted design, one of easiest ways is to have the furniture reupholstered. While a cost will be involved, it will be significantly lower than the cost of replacing an entire furniture piece!

Even if you're not replacing upholstery because of its design, consider a fabric with an entirely different color or design. Even if the material is the same as before, you can revive the furniture piece by choosing a new and exciting color or design. Be creative!

3. Only reupholster furniture that's worthy.

While reupholstering certain pieces of furniture is cheaper than replacing them, not all furniture pieces are worth the effort. So it's advisable that you consider the age and quality of the furniture before deciding to replace the fabric on it. In some situations it would be more logical to replace the furniture piece altogether, instead of reupholstering it. So ask the right questions before you go through with it. What's the age of the furniture? How much longer will the furniture likely last? Would the reupholstering cost as much (or more) as the value of the furniture piece? You may need to do some basic checks on the furniture, to determine the wear and tear, and durability of the piece.

4. Choose the right weight of fabric.

When selecting fabric to reupholster your furniture with, consider how much use it gets. Pieces that are only for decorative purposes will only require a lightweight fabric. Meanwhile, those in rooms such as a bedroom will get significantly less wear and tear than those in rooms such as living rooms and recreation rooms. So before choosing a fabric for a certain furniture piece in a certain room, consider a fabric's weight.

The first step in reupholstering a furniture piece, is determining if it actually needs it. These tips will help you to make that decision, and then choose the perfect fabric to recover the furniture piece. Soon you'll be sitting pretty (and comfy)!