Why Does Custom Upholstery Cost More Than Buying From IKEA?

It is a fair question. You can walk into IKEA, choose a sofa, and see a fixed price on the tag. Then you ask an upholsterer to recover an old sofa or chair and the quote can be higher than a new piece of flat-pack furniture. From the outside, that can feel strange.

The reason is simple: custom upholstery is not factory furniture. It is skilled labour applied to one individual piece, with individual problems, individual measurements, and individual choices.

At Kennington Upholstery, we explain this often to customers around Central London. A sofa brought to our Tottenham Court Road workshop is not treated like a product on a production line. We inspect it, strip it, repair what needs attention, rebuild the comfort, cut fabric to suit the frame, and finish it by hand.

That process costs more than mass production because it is slower, more specific, and more accountable.

IKEA is built for repeatability

Large furniture retailers are excellent at repeatability. They design a model once, manufacture it in huge numbers, buy materials at scale, and make each part fit the same pattern. The frame, foam, fabric, legs, packaging, storage, and delivery are all designed around efficiency.

That does not make the furniture bad. It makes it different.

A factory can cut thousands of identical fabric panels at once. It can use templates, automated cutting, and a supply chain built around one product. The sofa is designed to be made quickly and sold at a predictable price.

Custom upholstery starts from the opposite position. Your chair may be 20 years old, 80 years old, previously repaired, oddly shaped, handmade, damaged, altered, or built in a way that does not match modern furniture. There is no factory template waiting for it.

The first cost is time

Labour is the largest part of most upholstery quotes. A proper job takes time before the new fabric even appears.

The upholsterer may need to remove the old covering, take out staples or tacks, check the padding, inspect the webbing, look at the springs, assess the frame, and decide what can be reused. Sometimes previous work has been done badly and has to be corrected. Sometimes the outside fabric looks tired but the inside structure is sound.

Once the piece is open, the work becomes more accurate. That is why a workshop inspection can matter. Photos are useful for an initial quote, but the real condition is often hidden under the fabric.

Mass-produced furniture avoids this uncertainty by starting with new parts.

You are paying for repair, not just fabric

Many people think upholstery means replacing the visible fabric. In practice, the fabric is only one layer.

A good upholsterer may also deal with:

• Loose joints
• Damaged frames
• Weak webbing
• Broken or tired springs
• Flattened foam
• Old horsehair or stuffing
• Lumpy arms
• Collapsed seat edges
• Poor previous repairs
• Uneven cushions

If these problems are ignored, the finished piece may look smart for a short time but still feel wrong. This is why a cheap upholstery quote can be misleading.

Fabric quality changes the price

The fabric you choose can make a big difference. A simple hard-wearing weave will cost less than a premium wool, velvet, leather, or specialist contract fabric. Patterned fabrics may require more material because the pattern has to be matched. Stripes, checks, large repeats, and directional velvets all need careful cutting.

With a mass-produced sofa, the fabric is chosen by the retailer to hit a price point. With custom upholstery, you choose the finish. That choice is part of the value, but it also affects the cost.

For family seating, we may suggest stain-resistant fabrics, tight weaves, or materials that cope with regular use. For restaurants, offices, pubs, or hotel seating, we may need to consider contract durability and fire safety requirements.

Craftsmanship is not priced like assembly

There is a difference between assembling a new standard sofa and reworking an existing piece. Custom upholstery requires judgement at every stage.

How much padding should be added? Should the old material be reused? Does the seat need firmer foam or a softer wrap? Will the fabric pull cleanly around the curve? Will the pattern sit straight from the front?

These are not abstract details. They affect whether the finished piece looks right in your home and feels right when you sit on it.

In our workshop, we often handle pieces that mean something to the owner: a chair inherited from a parent, a sofa that fits a difficult room, dining chairs from a matched set, or commercial banquettes that work hard every day.

Old furniture can be better than it looks

One reason custom upholstery makes sense is that older furniture often has a better frame than many modern low-cost pieces. A solid hardwood frame can be worth saving, even if the fabric is worn and the cushions are tired.

Modern budget furniture may use lighter materials, staples, thin boards, and designs intended for a shorter life. That does not mean it is useless. It means it may not be built with the same repairable structure.

If your old sofa has a strong frame, comfortable proportions, and a good shape for your room, reupholstery can give you a better long-term piece than replacing it with something cheaper and less substantial.

This is why we often ask for photos of the underside, legs, arms, and back as well as the obvious worn areas. We want to know whether the frame is worth the investment.

Custom upholstery is also about fit

London homes are not always easy for furniture. Narrow hallways, period rooms, small lifts, and awkward corners can make buying new frustrating. Many customers already own a piece that fits the room properly. They want the one that already works, just restored.

Custom upholstery lets you keep the scale, comfort, and proportions, while changing the colour, texture, and finish.

That can be more valuable than buying a cheaper sofa that almost fits but never feels quite right.

Why transparent pricing builds trust

Nobody likes a vague quote. A good upholstery quote should explain what is included as clearly as possible. Labour, fabric, repair work, cushion filling, collection, delivery, and special requirements should be discussed before work starts.

At Kennington Upholstery, we prefer practical conversations. Send photos, tell us how the furniture is used, and say what you want to achieve. We can then advise whether custom work makes sense or whether buying new may be more practical.

FAQ

Why is reupholstery sometimes more expensive than a new sofa?

Because the work is not mass-produced. It involves skilled labour, inspection, stripping, repairs, rebuilding, fabric cutting, and hand finishing for one specific piece.

Is IKEA furniture bad quality?

Not necessarily. It is designed for affordability and repeat production. Some pieces are useful and practical. The comparison is really between mass production and individual craft work.

Can I reduce the cost by choosing cheaper fabric?

Sometimes. Fabric choice affects the total price, but labour is still a major part of the job. A cheaper fabric will not remove the time needed to repair and upholster the piece properly.

How do I know if my sofa is worth reupholstering?

Look at the frame, comfort, shape, and sentimental or practical value. Clear photos can help us give an initial view, but a workshop inspection gives the best answer.

Does custom upholstery last longer?

It can, especially when the frame is good and the right materials are used. Durability depends on the structure, the fabric, and how the furniture is used.

CTA

If you are comparing a new flat-pack sofa with restoring the one you already own, send Kennington Upholstery a few photos. We will give you a straight view on whether the frame, shape, and condition justify custom upholstery, and we can provide a no-obligation quote from our Central London workshop.