5 Benefits of Custom Upholstery

Your furniture is more than just a place to sit – it’s an investment in comfort, style, and durability. When your favorite pieces start showing signs of wear, choosing good professional custom upholstery can breathe new life into your favorite furniture while offering several key benefits.  Here’s why investing in quality upholstery is a smart choice:

1. Extends the Life of Your Furniture – Well-crafted furniture is built to last, but over time, fabric and cushions can wear out. Instead of replacing a beloved chair, sofa, or sectional, custom upholstery by a great local furniture refinishing service allows you to refresh and restore it, extending its lifespan for years to come.  A skilled upholsterer can reinforce the structure, replace worn-out padding, and apply durable, high-quality fabric, making your furniture feel brand new.
2. Tailored to Your Style – New furniture often comes with limited fabric choices, but custom upholstery puts you in control of the finished product. Whether you prefer a classic, modern, or eclectic look, you can select from a vast array of colors, textures, and patterns to perfectly match your home’s aesthetic.
3. Quality Craftsmanship, Quality Materials – Mass-produced furniture often lacks the attention to detail and craftsmanship that a custom-upholstered piece provides. The best professional upholstery services use high-quality materials and honed skills and craftsmanship to ensure durability, comfort, and an impeccable finish.  Investing in custom upholstery means you get a level of craftsmanship that enhances the beauty and longevity of your furniture.
4. Eco-Friendly and Sustainable – Choosing custom upholstery over replacing furniture reduces waste and supports sustainability. Instead of discarding an old piece and contributing to landfill waste, you can restore it with new fabric and padding, reducing your environmental footprint.
5. Cost-Effective – Replacing high-quality furniture can be expensive, especially if you prefer to own well-made, sturdy pieces. Custom upholstery is often a more cost-effective solution than purchasing new furniture of similar quality.  By choosing to hire skilled professional furniture refinishers to upholster a durable piece, you maintain its value while saving money in the long run.

If you’re looking to restore, refinish, repair, or reupholster your furniture, selecting the right furniture refinishing service is essential.  There are many good professional furniture refinishers in Northeast Florida, but Jax Furniture Refinishing and Upholstering is the best furniture refinishing shop Jacksonville FL homeowners have relied on for well over a decade.  If you ask our clients throughout Mandarin, Riverside, Avondale, San Marco, and along the Beaches, you’ll know we’re the trusted name for quality craftsmanship, attention to detail, and customer service.  Whether you have a cherished antique or a modern statement piece, our team is dedicated to bringing your vision to life with superior custom upholstery services.

Replace or Reupholster Your Furniture? We’ll Help You Decide.

When your upholstered furniture begins to look worn or outdated, it’s time to decide whether to replace it or simply refresh by hiring a highly rated upholstery service to reupholster it.  Before rushing to buy a new sofa, chair, ottoman, or sectional, consider these helpful tips to guide your decision:

1. Is the furniture an antique or heirloom? Antique furniture often boasts a level of craftsmanship and material quality rarely found in modern pieces. Many older pieces feature solid hardwood construction, which is far superior to the plywood or particle board commonly used today. If your furniture is a family heirloom or a valuable antique, refinishing or reupholstering it with updated fabric can breathe new life into it without sacrificing its timeless quality.
2. Is the piece unique or a perfect match for your space? If you spent considerable time finding a unique piece that enhances your space or perfectly complements your home’s style, pause and consider working with a skilled professional upholsterer to recover the furniture in a fabric that refreshes its look while preserving its character.  A new fabric can transform the piece, keeping it as the centerpiece of your room.
3. Is the frame still in good condition? If the frame of your furniture is solid and the internal components (such as springs and batting) are in good shape, reupholstering becomes an easy decision.  You’ll only need to choose a new fabric to give it a whole new look.  However, if the frame or cushioning needs repairs, make sure your upholsterer is also experienced in restoration to ensure the furniture is both comfortable and structurally sound.
4. What’s your budget? Reupholstering or restoring furniture is often more cost-effective than buying new, particularly when dealing with high-quality or antique pieces.  Buying new furniture, especially if you want something comparable in quality, can be significantly more expensive.  For heirloom or antique items, investing in refinishing makes much more sense than purchasing new furniture that may not last as long or offer the same quality.
5. Are you eco-conscious? Choosing to restore and reupholster your existing furniture is not only a smart financial move but also an environmentally friendly one.  By giving your furniture a second life with new fabric, you’re reducing waste and preventing usable pieces from ending up in a landfill.  It’s a great way to embrace sustainability while maintaining a stylish home.

In most cases, restoring your furniture is the better option.  Rather than discarding a beloved piece, find a reputable furniture refinishing shop in the area that can give it a fresh, modern look while preserving its quality. There are many good furniture upholsterers in our area, but Jax Furniture Refinishing & Upholstering is the best refinishing service Jacksonville FL homeowners rely on for their furniture repairs and reupholstering.  Our talented craftsmen specialize in transforming antiques, forgotten pieces, and outdated furniture into beautiful works of art.  Whether you’re in Atlantic Beach, Ponte Vedra, Ortega, or anywhere across Northeast Florida, our team will work with you to bring your furniture dreams to life.

Finding Good Professional Upholsterers

Your furniture is a valuable investment, so when it needs repairs or reupholstering, selecting the best reupholstery service is essential.  Here are some tips to help you find the best professional furniture upholstering company in your area:

1. Prioritize Experience – When searching for a quality upholstery service for your cherished chair, chaise, or sectional, look for a company with extensive experience. Choose a furniture restoration service that has been in business for a minimum of several years, staffed with craftsmen who have honed their skills over time.  This ensures they have the expertise to handle a variety of furniture pieces, materials, and fabrics.
2. Skilled Craftsmen – The quality of an upholstery company is directly tied to the skill of its craftsmen. As you evaluate potential shops for your furniture repair or reupholstering project, inquire about the professionals who will be working on your furniture.  Are they experienced with different types of fabric and furniture styles?  Skilled craftsmen are essential for high-quality results.
3. Evaluate Craftsmanship – Ensure that the upholstery service you choose delivers superior craftsmanship. Read customer reviews and, if needed, ask for references. A reputable furniture restoration service takes pride in their work, demonstrating a passion for fine furniture and a commitment to achieving the desired results for their customers.

In Northeast Florida, there are many good furniture repair shops and upholstery services, but Jax Furniture Refinishing & Upholstering stands out as the best furniture upholstery shop Jacksonville homeowners trust with their fine furniture.  Our passion for furniture covers everything from contemporary to antique pieces.  With years of trusted service, we are dedicated to delivering exceptional quality and customer satisfaction to our neighbors throughout Southside, Riverside Avondale, Ponte Vedra Beach, Atlantic Beach, and downtown Jacksonville.

When to Reupholster Leather

A question we get frequently from customers is, “When should I reupholster my leather furniture?”  Though ultimately the decision is yours, here are tips from our professional furniture upholsterers for whether you should have your leather furniture reupholstered.

• Rips or Tears – If your leather sofa sustains a rip or tear, it’s generally not possible to make a quick repair. Instead, you should plan to have the furniture reupholstered by a high-quality furniture refinishing shop in your area.
• Dirt or Grime – When you notice buildup of dirt, grime, or oil on your favorite leather furniture, you can usually call on a good upholstery cleaning company (such as First Coast Home Pros), but if the soiling is extensive, you can also opt to have the furniture completely reupholstered in new leather. For this job, call on the best professional furniture refinishing company in your area and trust the job to experienced craftsmen.
• Worn or Cracked – The best leather furniture tends to get a lot of use, and when you notice areas that are extensively or unevenly worn, it’s time to consider a new upholstery job for the piece, or at least for the affected cushions. When leather furniture is not cared for properly, it can crack, in which case you’ll need to find the best furniture refinisher and schedule their high-quality leather reupholstery service.
• “New Look” – Even if the leather on your favorite chair or settee is in good condition, you may be averse to its color or texture, or you may simply want a new look for the piece. If this is the case, find the best furniture refinishers and upholsterers and schedule the work.

When the time comes to have your sectional, chair, ottoman, or other leather furniture reupholstered, be sure to find the best furniture restoration service in your area.  Handling leather is not for novices; furniture refinishing with leather requires great skill and precision together with experience.  Northeast Florida homeowners consider Jax Furniture Refinishing & Upholstering the best leather furniture refinishers in town. Our craftsmen are indisputably talented and experienced, with an eye for quality and detail work.  If you live in Avondale, Riverside, Mandarin, the Beaches, or anywhere in Jacksonville, please give us a call when you are ready to have your leather furniture reupholstered.

Upholstery That Will Last

It’s finally happened: your favorite spot on the sofa has worn so thin that it’s time to have it reupholstered.  Or maybe you’ve repainted the living room and now the chairs, sectional, and ottoman need new upholstery in order to look good with the new wall color.  Or perhaps you’re just tired of looking at the fabric print on your loveseat and want a new look.  In any case, choosing fabric that will stand the test of time, and selecting a good professional furniture refinisher for the job, can seem like big tasks.  So, how do you choose furniture fabric that will last?

Here are three good tips for selecting the right upholstery for your furniture:

• Neutrals – Neutral fabrics can disguise light stains, pet fur, etc. until you’re able to clean up. They’re also able to stand the test of time better than, say, a bright and up-to-the-minute trendy pattern or design.
• Tweed or Herringbone – The fine patterning of tweed and herringbone can also work to hide the wrinkles, pet hair, and other earmarks of everyday life that can befall upholstered furniture and can add warmth to the feel of the room.
• Durability – Durability is something to consider when choosing the best fabric for your furniture. Fine silk can be a good choice for an antique settee that is almost never used, but may not be wise to choose for a sectional in the family room that gets daily use from kids, pets, and the entire family.  For furniture that receives a lot of use, choose something durable that is able to sustain cleaning.
• Skill and Precision – When it comes to refinishing your favorite furniture, trust the job to high quality professional furniture refinishers and upholsterers, and don’t settle for less. Your home deserves the skill, precision, and craftsmanship that the best professional furniture restoration company in your area can provide!

Your furniture is an important part of your home and needs to be maintained.  The best professional furniture restoration companies can help with that.  There are many good local furniture refinishers but Jax Furniture Refinishing and Upholstering is the best professional furniture refinishing shop Jacksonville FL homeowners rely on.  Our commitment to high quality craftsmanship and attention to detail set us apart from other furniture repair shops and upholstery shops.  We’ve served neighbors throughout Ponte Vedra, Atlantic Beach, downtown Jacksonville, Riverside, and all over the First Coast, and we’d love to take care of your furniture too.

Durable Furniture Upholstery

When planning a furniture reupholstery project, most people want to know how to select the best upholstery for their home and lifestyle.  More and more of our customers in Southside, Riverside, Ponte Vedra Beach, and Jacksonville are asking for our expert advice in choosing a beautiful fabric that feels good and will last, even with children, pets, and frequent use.

Here are our tips for choosing furniture upholstery that looks great and is durable:

• Leather – Leather remains one of the most durable and yet luxurious materials available for furniture upholstery. Leather upholstery is the first choice of many homeowners who have kids and pets because it can withstand the general “wear and tear” of day-to-day life and yet is still easy to keep clean and maintain.  Handling leather and upholstering furniture with leather requires extensive skill and experience, so find the best furniture refinishing and upholstery service in your area and trust the professionals with the job!
• Wool Fiber BLEND – Wool fibers resist staining, fading, and wrinkling, and when blended with synthetic fibers, become even more durable and better able to be cleaned.
• Cotton Fiber BLEND – Cotton is not ideal for furniture, since it is susceptible to soiling and wrinkling, but it can be blended with certain synthetic fibers to increase its durability and its ability to withstand wear.
• Synthetic BLENDS – So what should cotton and/or wool be blended with to create these desirable, durable fabrics?  Nylon is highly durable and strong, as well as resistant to staining.  Acrylic resist wrinkling, soiling, and fading.  And olefin resists stains, sunlight, and many types of chemicals.  The right blends of these fibers together with natural fibers like cotton, wool, or even linen, can create fabrics that are strong and durable while still comfortable and resistant to stain, wrinkling, and pilling, and therefore ideal for upholstered furniture.

Choosing the right upholstery for your furniture is a big decision, and it’s followed by another big decision: choosing the best upholstery service to do the job for you!  Custom upholstery projects require skill, time, and attention to detail in order to achieve great results, so focus on finding the highly rated professional furniture refinishing and upholstering shop in your area, and then give them a call to find out if you want to trust them with your beloved furniture.

Northeast Florida is home to many great furniture refinishing companies, but for the heirloom furniture you love, call on Jax Furniture Refinishing and Upholstering.  We’re the best furniture restoration service Jacksonville FL residents trust for their custom upholstering, and we’d love the opportunity to take care of your beloved furniture, as well.

Upholstery Shop Demonstrates Making Cloth Face Coverings

With the CDC recommending on April 3, 2020 that the general public wear cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain, The First Coast Home Pros Family of Companies’ Jax Furniture Refinishing and Upholstering decided to put their upholstery shop to work during the crisis making fabric masks. This video demonstrates how to make these masks and provides some ideas for maintaining them. Please refer to the CDC’s official recommendations here and here for the best information. Also note that cloth face coverings (or fabric masks) are an additional, voluntary public health measure to help slow the spread of the virus, as an additional complement to prior CDC recommendations. The First Coast Home Pros Family of Companies is sharing this video for informational purposes only and does not intend to suggest that these masks can stop COVID-19.

4 Tips for Selecting the Best Furniture Upholstery

When deciding on the perfect fabric for your custom upholstery project, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the seemingly endless array of choices!

Here are tips for choosing a great fabric for your upholstery project:

1. Be sure to choose an upholstery-weight fabric. Upholstered furniture receives heavy use, some pieces more than others, and you want to be sure you’ve found a fabric that can withstand the stress of everyday life.
2. Choose a fabric for your lifestyle. If you have kids and pets, you’ll need something far more durable than you would otherwise.  If you have a busy household, steer clear of delicate or textured options like silk, which can easily snag and are easily stained.
3. Consider the shape and size of the furniture. If the furniture you’re reupholstering has a lot of curves to it, try to stay with solid color fabric and avoid stripes and patterns. Consider the size of the furniture too. For small pieces, for example, you might feel more apt to choose a bold, trendy “statement” fabric, whereas for a large sectional sofa, you might choose a solid color in a more neutral tone.
4. Consider the other elements in the room. If you have a favorite work of art hanging in the same room as the furniture you’re reupholstering, you’ll want to be sure the fabric you select goes well with and enhances the item.  Or if you know you love the wall color, or the particular Oriental rug you have in that room, make sure to examine your fabric options next to these things to be sure they’ll look great together when you get the furniture back from the custom upholstery shop.

Still feeling overwhelmed at the prospect of determining which fabric is best for your chaise, chair, or sectional sofa? The good news is that a great upholstery shop or refinishing shop will be staffed with experts to help you with the decision!  The best furniture upholstery services stock innumerable fabric swatch books for you to pour over, and encourage their craftsmen to meet with you to discuss the fabric – and other parts of the reupholstery process – so that you’re thrilled with the results.

Jax Furniture Refinishing & Upholstering is the best furniture restoration service Jacksonville FL residents rely on for high quality refinishing and upholstering every time.  Our Southside shop is a hub of furniture restoration and renewal, and our clients throughout Atlantic Beach, Ponte Vedra Beach, Deerwood, San Marco, and Riverside know they can rely on our craftsmanship and decades of experience.  Call on us to make your upholstery project exceed your expectations!

Choosing The Right Upholstered Fabric

Finding the best fabric for your upholstery project is a big task! Before the upholstery project is even scheduled, you’ll probably find yourself sifting through an endless array of fabrics, including natural, synthetic, and blended fabrics in any color and pattern imaginable. If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by your options, you’re certainly not alone. Breathe a sigh of relief, though, because we’ve got tips for finding the fabric that is perfect for your project. (more…)

Should Foam Be Replaced When Reupholstering A Piece of Furniture?

Nothing feels better than collapsing onto your sofa at the end of the day, or relaxing on your overstuffed armchair with a good book. Comfortable padding is most likely what draws you to your favorite piece of furniture. When fabric fades and becomes thin, you likely schedule an appointment with a good furniture upholstery service to have your furniture reupholstered, but what should you do when the foam padding wears down?

Understanding Foam & Padding

The cost of replacing your cushion and the ease with which you’ll be able to do so depend on the materials used, which in turn, depend greatly on the era in which it was manufactured.

• Contemporary Furniture – Cushioning that is manufactured today is almost always made of polyurethane or a similar polymer. A spray foam of this material is poured into large blocks or “buns.” The mixture expands and cures, and then is cut into large sheets and distributed. The small pockets of air that are formed during this process give the polyurethane foam its sponginess, and as the foam ages, the sponginess decreases. This foam is easy to replace when the time comes, and is available in varying levels of density as well as cost.
• Antique Furniture – Decades ago, foam cushioning was made using rubber rather than petroleum-based polymers like polyurethane. The manufacturing system was much the same, but with a rubber spray foam, which gave cushions significantly more spring, and resulted in a higher quality product than the polyurethane foam. Rubber foam is harder to find now, so if you want to have the rubber foam replaced in your antique furniture, it will need to be reused from another antique piece, or simply replaced with modern foam.
• Heirloom Furniture – Very old antiques, of course, are made entirely of natural product. To cushion furniture in eras past, a spring unit was made by hand, then wrapped in cotton, and padded with raw cotton or horsehair. Horsehair made excellent padding for furniture because it deterred bugs and maintained its shape for decades. Believe it or not, horsehair is still available to purchase, but more commonly, it is reused from other antiques. If you are passionate about preserving the authenticity of your antique, rest assured that the best antique furniture repair shops know how to work with horsehair to maintain your antique padding. On the other hand, if you are more interested in simply enjoying your antique, a skilled upholsterer can easily replace the horsehair cushion with contemporary foam.

How To Tell If You Need New Foam

As our master craftsman, Bill, points out, “Foam is in many types of furniture, in all types of places, and it all breaks down at some point. The key is to know when to have it replaced.” As foam ages, it goes through a process of disintegration.

1. First, foam loses its elasticity. Have you noticed that your sofa, loveseat, or favorite chair is just not as comfortable as it used to be? That’s an indicator that the foam is breaking down. The foam most likely does not need to be completely replaced yet, but it may need some help. For example, a good furniture upholstery company can insert a layer of 1-2 inch foam to supplement the existing pad.
2. As the disintegration process continues, foam loses its shape. Unzip one of the upholstered cushions and look at the piece of foam. Are the corners rounded? If so, replacing the cushion is a good idea.
3. Next, the foam begins to break down. Once again, unzip the fabric of a cushion. Are there dry flakes coming loose from your cushion? That’s a sign that new cushions are needed. Craftsman Bill also mentions that “if the fabric wrinkles easily on the cushions, that means the foam has disintegrated and shrunk, and the fabric does not fit as well as it should.” Note that this will cause harm to the fabric itself, and if you don’t replace the foam, you may need to reupholster the fabric sooner than planned.
4. In the last stage of the process, the flakes turn to a powder. Is powder puffing out of the zipper or seams of your cushions? Consider that a red flag, and schedule an appointment with a great furniture upholsterer as soon as you can!

Reupholster The Fabric, Evaluate The Foam

When the time comes to reupholster your furniture, take the time to evaluate the condition of the foam cushion. If it needs to be replaced, you have many options. You likely won’t have to consider horsehair, or even rubber, but even among synthetic foams, you can choose from many densities, levels of comfort, and cost. The best thing you can do for your furniture is find a great refinishing and upholstering shop with technicians who understand foam. At Jax Furniture Refinishing & Upholstering, for example, we specialize in foam cushion replacement and know the right density to recommend for each type of furniture. Homeowners in downtown Jacksonville, historic Riverside Avondale, Ponte Vedra Beach, Atlantic Beach, and throughout Northeast Florida call Jax Furniture Refinishing & Upholstering for the highest quality care and craftsmanship for their fine furniture.