‘The reupholstery looks stunning’ is the finishing touch that interior designers are honing in on right now. The movement away from buying new furniture and reinventing what you have, or what you’ve acquired, is a soft furnishings design momentum that feels very 2025.

Why? Firstly, you can take a sofa, chair, stool or ottoman – maybe it’s an inherited piece that needs a reboot, a favourite chair that looks a bit threadbare, or a classic piece that you picked up for a song at an auction house – and turn it into something luxe for your living spaces.

Secondly, thanks to the array of beautiful prints, patterns, plains and material types, you get to create and craft a look that’s totally bespoke. Something that literally no-one else will have. With simple tweaks, such as new cushion interiors or a fresh fabric and beautiful trims, you can create a brand-new item that is truly one of a kind.

‘I always advise clients to go for something unusual fabric wise,’ says Rowena Jeanes, who specialises in tailored soft furnishings and custom designs, such as curtains, blinds and cushions. She recently completed an upholstery project of a pair of matching button back chairs in Maze Indigo for a modern country style home (see above).

And, finally, and probably most importantly, you avoid chucking something into landfill. As Sharon O’Connor, Director and Founder of Vintique Upholstery, says ‘Let’s revive this furniture, not throw it out.’

The simple truth is that upholstery fabric and matching cushions can completely change the look, feel, and purpose of a piece. Prepare to be wowed by three before-and-after transformations using stunning upholstery…

 

An heirloom piece goes from dusty to adorable

When Charlotte Smith of Charlotte Smith Upholstery saw this little chair it had been in storage for quite some time. ‘It had belonged to my client’s grandmother and she felt very sentimental about it,’ she says. ‘It’s very easy to dismiss a piece of furniture because of the way it looks so I aim to change design elements, make the piece structurally better and fit with your decor. No one wants furniture in landfill.’

The beautiful print of Shirin Rhubarb & Custard upholstery fabric immediately caught the client’s eye. ‘She loved the colourway that fitted in with existing curtains in her sitting room,’ says Charlotte. Originally the chair had a fixed seat cushion, but Charlotte advised on having a loose cushion so it could be turned regularly to reduce wear and was also easily removable for cleaning. ‘We thought it would be good to break up the pattern with a contrast velvet upholstery fabric, Omega Canary. The bright yellow popped and the shininess of the velvet contrasted nicely with the linen of Shirin.’

For this upholstery project, the existing, grey-coloured legs were stripped and restained to suit the fabric and tie in with other wooden furniture in the living space. As this was a nostalgic piece, Charlotte created a ‘secret pocket’ underneath the seat that holds a sample of the original upholstery fabric (chosen by her granny) as a memento. ‘My client adored the transformation. It sits by a window and the room is filled with light,’ says Charlotte. ‘What’s nice is that she plans to pass the chair on to her grandchildren.’

 

An online bargain gets a sensational seaside look

Would you believe that upholsterer, Dawn Butler of @tackandtwine_upholstery, found this elegant Edwardian sofa on the popular classified forum, Gumtree. ‘I love searching for something unusual and like to reimagine what it can be again,’ she says. ‘I was looking for a sofa that would sit in the bay window of my seaside home. The proportions and size were exactly right but it was the shape of the frame that attracted me,’ she says.

‘I have a big love for the sea so the coral pattern of Wiggle Cyan upholstery fabric and particularly the colour went perfectly with a painting of a harbour scene I own,’ she says. Dawn uses the colours in this painting as an inspiration for her decor. ‘Every colour in that painting is echoed within the room.’

The composition of the upholstery fabric was also important. ‘I do like to use an upholstery fabric that has natural fibres and is of exceptional quality.’ Houlès double piping was added as a contemporary trim.

As part of the transformation, Dawn stripped back and repaired the frame finishing off with a clear wax and reupholstered using traditional methods including webbing, hand laced springs, horsehair for a firm seat. Everything was stitched traditionally. ‘It’s a sustainable way of upholstering, crafted with my hands, and gives the piece personality,’ she says.

 

From ordinary to extraordinary thanks to a 1940s-style velvet

‘A client came to me with this deep armchair as part of a larger project to reupholster various pieces in her living room,’ says Sharon O’Connor of Vintique Upholstery, whose mantra is luxe not landfill.

The sofa had been refreshed in a duck egg velvet upholstery fabric and the style goal for this worn-out chair was to elevate it into a calming but really sophisticated and elegant place to sit in by a window. ‘People always assume that reupholstery is as expensive as buying new (and sometimes it can be), but I believe that if you have a good quality piece that fits the space in your house you should just make it amazing,’ says Sharon.

Seat springs were strengthened; the seat and back cushion fillings upgraded for comfort and new covers chosen. The upholstery fabric needed to be really durable as the client had three dogs and a cat. ‘I advised that we use an acrylic polyester velvet that had a 100,000-rub test, meaning it's highly durable,’ says Sharon O’Connor. On The River Ivory with its florals, foliage and birds was perfect as it connected with the view to the garden and the duck egg of the existing sofa. Pattern matching in the areas that mattered was a key consideration when it came to sticking to the budget. The result? A wow chair that’s totally unique.

Tips for Your Own Upholstery Makeover

Follow these guidelines to make your own stunning upholstery transformation happen…

Have an open dialogue with your upholsterer to see how the piece can be transformed – from structural integrity and seat fillings to the finishing fabric. To start with ‘I like to do an online meeting so I can see the client in the room where the reupholstered piece is going,’ says Sharon O’Connor.

Think about your lifestyle. Pets, children? Know the purpose of the piece of furniture and where it is going to be positioned in your living space. ‘These are the lifestyle factors that will dictate the type of upholstery fabric you use in terms of durability and cleanability. A busy family living room sofa will have different needs to an occasional bedroom chair, for instance,’ says Charlotte Smith.

Research the types of colours, patterns and materials you love by checking Linwood’s website. It’s easy to navigate and you can filter by categories to hone the choice of upholstery fabric down. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, the advice from Rowena Jeanes is to ‘look to the age of the chair for historical design inspiration’.

If you’re thinking of using a pattern on a soft furnishings upholstery project, consider the repeat and how much upholstery fabric you will need. If the repeat means that you’re going beyond your budget, consider using a contrast plain for the back or the front that will still look super-stylish but also reduce cost. ‘You don’t often see the back of a chair in a room, so using a plain in a lovely colour brings an element of surprise too,’ says Charlotte Smith.

Think about the textural element of the upholstery fabric. How does the touch of the fabric make you feel? Patterns might not be your aesthetic, so look at plains with texture, such as boucle, wool, chenille or velvet upholstery fabric.

Order fabric samples before committing. You can request larger returnable samples through your upholsterer. This is especially important if the design is big-scale or if you are upholstering a larger piece of furniture, like a sofa.

We hope these upholstery projects have given you the inspiration you need to dive into a similar upholstery fabric project for your living spaces. Next step is to take a read of The big hitters revealed: our most durable furniture upholstery fabrics and then why not explore Linwood's range of stunning upholstery fabrics, wallpaper and cushions over on the website? Remember that something totally bespoke, luxurious and sustainable is only a step away with the help of our premium upholstery fabrics and the work of talented upholsterers.