Should You Reupholster Antique Furniture?

An antique piece of furniture can be a quirky, eclectic and timeless all at the same time. It can be beautiful and dainty, or strong and stable. With all of these differences, there is one factor that is the same no matter what type it is, the age. Antique furniture is usually quite old and sometimes, quite valuable. Making any changes to it, even if it is to make it look better or become more usable, can affect its overall value and beauty. This brings up the question, should you reupholster antique furniture? Remember, once you reupholster or restore your antique furniture, there is no turning back. It will never look as it once did and you may not like the results when you are done. The first step in deciding if you should reupholster a piece of antique furniture is to look for any specific markings that could tell you who made the furniture. If the piece is particularly old or valuable, it is sometimes best to leave it as it is. Some very rare vintage pieces of furniture may even look worse when reupholstered as they lose their characteristic charm. If you do decide to reupholster a piece of vintage or antique furniture, try to recreate the original look with period-correct fabrics and legs that will keep it as close to original in looks as possible. This will give you the reupholstered look you were after while still preserving some of the pieces originality. When it comes down to it, the furniture is yours to do with what you like. If you find a piece that you must have and you want to change it to suit your tastes or to look better with your home’s décor, go for it. That’s the beauty of being able to restore and reupholster your own furniture, the choice is yours and you have many options available to you.