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San Antonio · Austin · Texas
Hand-tailored chair, dining-seat, ottoman, and antique-chair reupholstery across San Antonio and Austin since 2013. We specialize in chairs, seats, and small upholstered pieces — not full sofas or sectionals. For larger pieces, we’re glad to refer you to a dedicated sofa workroom.
Reupholstery done right is a complete rebuild — old fabric stripped, frame inspected and repaired, springs re-tied, foam renewed, and new fabric tailored on-piece. Choose designer fabric or bring your own (COM).
Reupholstery is the complete rebuild of an upholstered piece — old fabric stripped to the frame, springs re-tied, foam and padding renewed, and new fabric tailored on-piece. Weathersby Guild reupholsters dining chair seats, dining chairs, accent and wing chairs, ottomans, benches, and antique chairs across San Antonio and Austin, with hardwood frame repair included. Labor typically runs from $80 for dining chair seats up to $1,200 for accent chairs (fabric quoted separately), and most jobs finish in two to five weeks once fabric arrives.
For inexpensive furniture — anything that started life as a flat-pack from a big-box store — buying new is almost always cheaper. The frames are particle board or staple-built and cannot reliably hold new fabric for long.
For everything else, reupholstery wins on cost-per-year. Recovering a quality vintage accent chair for a few hundred dollars keeps it in service for decades, while the same money at retail buys a flat-pack chair that disintegrates in a few years. The math favors reupholstery for anything with a hardwood frame, hand-tied springs, sentimental value, or design uniqueness you cannot replace at retail.
If you only have one torn seam or one sagging cushion, you probably do not need full reupholstery — see upholstery repair for spot work. Send us photos and we will tell you which path makes more sense for your specific piece.
Volume I — What We Reupholster
Removable drop-in seats lifted out, stripped, re-padded, and recovered with durable fabric — the fastest, most affordable way to refresh a dining set.
Fully upholstered seats and backs, parsons chairs, and side chair sets — recovered with durable performance fabrics rated for daily dining use.
Wing chairs, club chairs, and accent chairs — recovered with attention to original lines, welt placement, and button tufting where applicable.
Storage ottomans, cocktail ottomans, window benches, and end-of-bed benches — recovered with crisp corners and tight box construction.
Pre-1950 chairs and seats stripped to the frame, original 8-way hand-tied springs preserved or rebuilt, period-correct horsehair or modern foam — your choice.
Pricing — By Piece Type
These ranges cover labor only. Fabric is quoted separately based on yardage and grade. Mid-grade fabric runs $40 to $80 per yard; designer fabric runs $80 to $250 per yard. Most jobs fall in the middle.
Antique and large-pattern fabric work runs 15% to 30% higher due to additional fabric and pattern-matching time. Every quote is itemized in writing.
Decision — Reupholstery or Repair
Only one area damaged? See our upholstery repair service — it is 50% to 80% cheaper for localized fixes.
Volume II — Choosing Fabric
Fabric choice matters more than people think. The right fabric can make a $1,000 reupholstery look like $5,000. The wrong fabric — too thin, wrong weight, poor durability — fails in two years and costs you the whole job again.
Crypton, Sunbrella, and Revolution fabrics — stain-resistant, fade-resistant, and built for households with kids, pets, or south-facing windows. Best choice for everyday family rooms.
Linen, cotton, wool, and linen blends for formal living rooms and design-forward spaces. Higher maintenance, beautiful drape and patina with age.
Cotton velvet, performance velvet, and mohair for chairs and accent pieces. Mohair is exceptionally durable — heirloom-grade fabric that outlasts the family.
Aniline, semi-aniline, and protected (pigmented) leathers for chairs and seats. Faux leather options like Ultraleather available for budget or vegan preferences. We also offer leather repair on existing pieces.
Choose designer fabric or bring your own (COM, Customer Own Material) — we welcome it. Bring your fabric and we handle the rest, from inspection to pattern-matching to cutting.
Volume III — The Craft
Every reupholstery job starts with a complete strip — old fabric, padding, and webbing all removed so we can inspect the frame and spring system before rebuilding.
Loose joints re-glued, broken rails spliced, and corner blocks added wherever the frame has weakened. No charge to fix what you cannot see — it is part of doing reupholstery right.
Traditional spring systems are re-tied with jute twine, eight knots per coil, anchored to a hardwood frame. Modern zig-zag springs replaced when fatigued or rusted.
1.8 to 2.5 lb high-density foam cores, wrapped in Dacron polyester or down-feather blend. Cushion feel is matched to the original — firmer or softer on request.
Fabric is cut, fit, and stitched directly on the frame — not pre-sewn from a pattern. Welts, skirts, and cushion covers all custom-tailored to your specific piece.
Cord welt, double welt, fringe, gimp, and nailhead trim — all hand-applied with the same attention given to high-end custom furniture.
Volume IV — Inquiries
Cost, fabric, timing, and what to expect.
Reupholstery cost in San Antonio and Austin depends almost entirely on the piece and fabric. A drop-in dining chair seat runs $80 to $150 per chair. A fully upholstered dining chair runs $200 to $400 per chair. An ottoman or bench runs $300 to $700. A wing chair or accent chair runs $700 to $1,200 plus fabric. Mid-grade fabric adds $40 to $80 per yard. Every quote is itemized in writing — labor, fabric, supplies, and any frame repair listed separately so you see exactly where your money goes.
For low-end furniture, buying new is usually cheaper. For mid-range and high-end pieces — especially anything with a hardwood frame, hand-tied springs, or sentimental value — reupholstery wins on cost-per-year, quality, and customization. Recovering a quality vintage accent chair for a few hundred dollars keeps it in service for decades, while the same money at retail buys a flat-pack chair that disintegrates in a few years. The math favors reupholstery for anything you want to keep long-term.
Once fabric arrives at our shop, most chair and seat reupholstery takes two to five weeks. Drop-in dining chair seats are at the short end (one to two weeks). Fully upholstered chairs with frame repair, spring rebuild, and custom welting run three to five weeks. Fabric lead time varies — in-stock fabric ships in three to five days, while special-order patterns can take two to six weeks. We confirm both timelines in writing before any deposit is taken.
A drop-in dining chair seat needs about 0.5 yard of 54-inch fabric each. A fully upholstered dining chair needs roughly 1.5 to 2 yards. An ottoman or bench needs 3 to 5 yards. A wing chair or accent chair needs 7 to 9 yards. Patterns with large repeats (florals, plaids) need 20% to 40% more fabric to align the pattern across the piece. We measure every job individually and quote exact yardage before you order fabric.
Yes — Customer Own Material (COM) is welcome and very common. Just have it shipped directly to our shop, and we will inspect for flaws, calculate yardage requirements, and pattern-match before cutting. You can choose designer fabric or bring your own — we handle the rest from there.
Performance fabrics are designed for exactly this — Crypton, Sunbrella, and Revolution are the three most popular. They resist stains, repel moisture, clean with water and mild soap, and stand up to claws and spilled juice without wear-marking. Avoid silk, raw linen, or anything labeled dry-clean only. Leather is also excellent for households with pets and kids if you accept some natural patina over time.
Yes — antique chair and seat reupholstery is a core specialty. Pre-1950 chairs typically have hardwood frames, hand-tied springs, and tack-built construction worth preserving. We strip carefully to assess original construction, repair the frame and springs as needed, and rebuild with either period-correct materials (horsehair, jute webbing, hide glue) or modern equivalents — your choice. The structural work alone often justifies the cost on antique pieces.
We specialize in chairs, seats, and small upholstered pieces — not full sofas or sectionals. For larger pieces, we're glad to refer you to a dedicated sofa workroom. What we do recover in-house: dining chair seats, dining chairs, accent and wing chairs, ottomans, and benches, plus leather repair on existing pieces.
Some, yes. We can change cushion fill (tighter or softer), add or remove tufting, change skirt style or remove it entirely, switch from cord welt to flange or remove welting, and update nailhead trim. We cannot change the basic frame shape — a parsons chair stays a parsons chair, a wing chair stays a wing chair. Cosmetic style changes are easy; structural style changes require building a new piece.
Yes — we serve Austin and the greater Austin metro including Round Rock, Cedar Park, Georgetown, Pflugerville, Lakeway, Bee Cave, Bastrop, Kyle, and Dripping Springs. Complimentary pickup and delivery from our San Antonio workshop is always free, no minimum. Most Austin reupholstery jobs are scheduled within one to two weeks of fabric arrival.
Yes. All structural work — frame repair, spring re-tying, webbing — carries a one-year guarantee against repair failure under normal household use. Workmanship on fabric application (seams, welting, button tufting) is guaranteed against failure for 90 days. Fabric wear, fading, or pet damage is not covered, but anything that fails because of how we built it gets fixed at no cost.
Reupholstery is permanent — old fabric removed, new fabric stretched and stitched directly to the frame. Slipcovers sit over existing upholstery like a fitted sheet, are removable, and cost roughly half as much. Slipcovers are a good interim solution or for seasonal change. Reupholstery is the long-term answer when you want the piece to look factory-new again.
Volume V — Begin
Send photos of the piece (front, back, side) and we will quote labor and fabric within one business day. You can also visit the workshop in San Antonio to talk through fabric options — by appointment.
Request a Reupholstery Quote