WHERE TO BUY
Now you know what you want, here’s where to get it, how to get it and what to look out for
Ready, set…
King, Domayne and Harvey Norman are among retailers with ready-made furniture on the showroom floor, and are generally your cheapest option. Or you can order the stock item in your own covering, for the same base price with the total affected only by choice of material. “Ready-mades are great for clients who require furniture with shorter lead times and like to see the finished piece before buying,” says interior designer Louise Walsh. “They can be more cost-effective, but often have limitations with fabrics and sizes.”
Made to measure
The likes of King also offer a custom service. This can be especially useful with modular sofas – an ottoman there, perhaps, a corner seat over there, or maybe a shelf? Yes, even gesture control lights and wireless
charging tables! One-offs, by their very nature, will cost more, plus it means you are taking a bit of a chance with the final look. For custom pieces, some companies offer apps where you can picture your potential
purchase in the room it is intended for, thereby (hopefully) avoiding costly mistakes.
The pros with the pros – and cons
Get a ready-made piece through an interior designer, but the price will depend on your contract with them – you may get 20 per cent off the retail price, but that would be offset by the cost of their services. Many designers also offer bespoke. “Price-wise, our custom pieces are comparable to off-the-shelf options in the medium- to high-end market,” says Louise. “But they come with a 10-year warranty, are locally manufactured and
tailored to each client.”
Sofa so good…
…Or re-cover an old fave. Justin Puddick explains that the price of reupholstering depends on the size and amount of labour needed. A small two-seater sofa starts from around $1500, with fabric on top of that, while an armchair costs from $700, also minus fabric. Beware hidden nasties – the piece may need new springs or padding, which can add “hundreds” to the cost, says Justin, making the process more expensive than buying a new piece. However, there’s a lot to be said for reviving a beloved piece
with a new look that’s totally your own.
Here’s the rub
The Martindale test – what’s that, you ask? It produces a so-called rub rate which assesses the strength of a fabric. The test puts a swatch through its paces, counting the number of rubs until it gives out. For general domestic, a fabric should withstand 15,000-20,000 rubs, and for heavy domestic it’s 20,000-40,000 rubs. Commercial grades are even more durable than that, leaving you
with a real tough cookie.
Railroad versus non-railroad
So, what do choo-choos have to do with upholstery? A so-called railroad pattern runs from side to side across the bolt, like railroad sleepers, and a non-railroad runs horizontally. This will affect how much fabric you need, on a sofa in particular – you could be left
with a pattern running in the wrong direction, unless you run the fabric side to side with a seam. Obviously, this is only an issue with patterned fabric.
Pattern repeat versus pattern match
Both will affect how much fabric you need. A pattern repeat is the distance between two matching design elements. Take this into account when visualising the final look – what motifs do you want to be prominent? Pattern matching refers to how the fabric is sewn along the seam so the elements match. This uses more fabric and takes longer to do – and as with railroad patterns,
it’s not a problem with plain fabrics.