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Upholstery
Furniture re-upholstery services in Kent and surrounding areas
At Declan Quigley Upholstery, we offer an upholstery service for residential customers, offering a high standard of workmanship and service, using traditional skills, whether for antique or contemporary furniture.
From small to more significant repairs, I have historically provided the full range of upholstery services. However, after 40 years in the business, I am now focussing my service on seating repair. Where required, this will include replacing linings, springs, elasticated webbing, etc. On many occasions I have carefully taken off and re-used the fabric avoiding the expense of having the whole suite re-covered with new material!
Whatever service I am performing for you, I will always ensure that the basic frame is sound and repair it if required; that is the only way to ensure many years of active use.
Successful upholstery - only as good as the foundations on which it is built...
After years of use, many of the joints in seat components are likely to become loose. A first class job requires that these are separated and re-set, before any thought of reupholstery.
Individual components which have broken or been damaged by woodworm will need to be restored/replaced prior to getting the frame ready to take the strain of reupholstery.
Damaged plugs will need to be replaced and loose plug-socket joints tightened before the frame is re-glued and set in a compression brace. Similarly, in a screwed frame, worn screw-holes may need to be filled and re-drilled and damaged screws replaced.
 Stripped |
|---|
 Components |
 Reset |
Same principles apply to antiques
Successful upholstery - an example in stages (the photographs concertina out - select each photo for a short description of each stage). Although, with my current focus on re-seating, I no longer provide all the services shown in the photographs, I have kept the full photo-set here as it illustrates the quality of my work...
 Chaise Longue in need of revival |  Stripped back to the frame |  Installation of webbing |
|---|---|---|
 Application of heavy duty canvas |  Commencement of stitching |  Commencement of stuffing |
 Scrim completed |  Back being stuffed |  Lining completed |
 Application of seat webbing |  Installation of springs |  Covering/stuffing of seat |
 Chaise longue reupholstered |  Finished - same view as start |
No re-seating job is too big or too small...
...from the careful removal of covering (fabric or leather), through replacement of linings, springs, webbing, as required, to the changing of casters, if needed.
As noted in the About Me section, the economies applied to certain parts of the manufacturing process of some modern furniture have led to serious declines in longevity - for example, traditional tried-and-tested hard-wearing linings being replaced with paper-thin artificial alternatives (or none at all), with the inevitable impact on longevity. My purpose is to upgrade lower quality volume-manufactured upholstered goods to the standard expected of high quality bespoke furniture, able to withstand many more years of constant use, without the worry of sag, which afflicts so much of modern mass-produced furniture.
If your arm chair or sofa looks or feels very tired BUT the fabric or leather covering is in good condition, this is exactly the scenario where I am able to rejuvenate the furniture, enabling you to change from the replacement cycle (which many consumers feel they are beholden to) to living with your furniture for a lifetime. Of course, I am also able to replace the covering, if required.
