Miscellaneous

With so many variations of furniture, we are unable to address all that we may have done. However, for purposes of illustration and various examples, here are some items that may interest you.

Recliners (which are one our least favorite pieces of furniture) generally are more expensive to re-upholster than to buy new. This is because the dismantling of the mechanisms and the manner of most designs creates much additional work not commonly found in other furniture. That being said, depending on the design and type of fabric, Recliners usually require approximately 10 to 12 yards of fabric. We have done many different recliners: Lazy Boy (at one time we did all their warrantee work, locally), Lane, Basset, or Barcalounger (we have one, it's called a Rottweiler). When discussing the Recliners, it is very important to address the details, i.e., full back, button tufted backs, Niagara pillow back, skirt or no skirt; these details all impact materials allowance and cost.

Settees and Fainting Couches: Settees by far have the most generalized description of any piece of furniture, also known as the "love seat" (not to be confused with the "hot seat," which is what you have after you fall out of love!). Here again, pay special attention in describing the piece in question, or "a picture is worth a whole lot of money." Settees can range from a simple bench seat design, a French provincial, Fireside style with buttons and a pleated skirt, to a hide-a-bed style. Fainting couches are a little more design-specific; in most cases the variations are button tufting, skirt/no skirt, welt at perimeter, internal or separate cushion; yardage generally falls into the 10 to 14 yard range, depending on design and type of fabric.

imageMaking custom ottomans is our forte. With the availability of all sorts of leg and wheel products via the internet, matching and producing a complimentary or companion ottoman is easier and much more convenient than in the past. We can produce a high quality piece of furniture for your family to enjoy for generations to come.

imageBenches are becoming more popular as the "Boomer Generation" begins to feel the effects of gravity and a lifetime of activity. Whether it's a place to put your shoes, plop your clothes, or for convenient storage, we can build it for you. Regardless of whether you already have one or need it new, write or give us a call, and we will endeavor to meet your needs.

Specialty/Accent Chairs: For lack of a better description, we use this identification to cover the multitude of different chairs that we encounter, some of their distinguishing features, and address the accents that impact overall costs.

placeholderWe provide a furniture style chart for your review, as a reference for describing the furniture that you may want to have re-upholstered. This will eliminate much misunderstanding and ensure better accuracy for our quoting purposes. Items that you may want to consider, which impact overall costs are, first, the condition of the furniture structure; after that it is in the individual details, or "bells and whistles." What does increase the cost of re-upholstering dramatically are any required button tufting, and/or channeling, followed by skirting and/or bullion, the type of cushion design, i.e., internal, knife-edge, and boxed. Another factor that distinguishes the degree of difficulty from one piece to another is the amount of panels, i.e., kick panel, and separate panels associated with the design. For the finishing touches, accents such as decorative gimp and ornamental nails will have an additional price.

With certain designs; the amount of exposed featured wood, will influence the amount of caution and care needed to strip the existing fabric, as well as place the new. It has been our policy here at Gray Matter Arts & Crafts to remove all existing design fabric to produce a quality job. In some situations, we are unable to determine if there are multiple layers of upholstered fabric, i.e., the piece was covered over an existing upholstery job (i.e., shoddy work); if this occurs, we may have to add a minor additional stripping charge, depending upon the degree of difficulty this presents.

Our policy, as a part of our quotes with all exposed wood furniture, is to clean; oil and wax all of our pieces. It's amazing what a little bit of TLC can do for those wood finishes when they are properly cleaned and maintained. Some of our customers are overwhelmed with the improved appearance . . . they never thought it was possible, or for that matter even there!

Headboards ...The ultimate in Custom Statements

For ease in discussion we have provided a chart with general designs for your reference. From our experience, due to the many differences in bed frames, accessibility, and variations in design thickness, these require good scrutiny, and extremely accurate planning. We must pay close attention to the type of fabric selected; sometimes the preference is to use silky finishes, which present application problems, as well as durability issues. Shearing, button tufting, ornamental nails, and biased cording all impact the type of fabric that may be suitable for this type of upholstery. It is usually best to have an on-site appointment when considering this type of work. We have a full line of ornamental nails to choose from, many different size buttons, and welts. We have the ability to custom-build anything that you can dream.

Upholstered Valences: Yes, we'll do them! They require a custom quote.

Upholstered Walls: Yes, we have done them; they require a special quote, so please call for an appointment.

Cars: Occasionally we do them; we specially like classics. Generally we do not handle the everyday vehicles; we are not focused on this market at present.

Boats, Cushions, Panels, and Custom Applications: Yes, we do them; when getting prices, ask whether marine plywood is being used, and stainless steel staples. We have a full line of boat carpeting, marine vinyl, and water-proofing conditioner.

Restaurant Booths: Yes. Click here to see a sample in our Custom Section.

Custom-Built Furniture: We love to do projects that challenge our creativity and capabilities. In our opinion, this separates the average upholsterer from those who have mastered the trade.

Thank you for visiting Gray Matter Arts and Crafts