Sunbrella would be another choice. Also high-performance.

Years back, Ethan Allen used fabrics. I think you can also buy fabric from Robert Allen.

I would look at their fabrics.

Try going to other furniture stores that might sell you just fabric.

There are lots of places online that will send you samples. Some charge, some charge but refund if you return the samples, some give a credit, and some are completely free. Look at the Double Rubs number, you want it to be high for a couch. We recently redid our sofa (1969 with iron frame - Pearsall) and first visited a bunch of fabric stores and furniture stores to narrow down the general idea - color wise. Then I searched for things that were in the general arena, got samples and stared at them awhile. Here is one website I got samples from: https://www.interiordecorating.com

Your best bet is a "performance velvet" , Both in terms of price and wear, and cleaning factor. But you need close to forty yards depending style, skirt and sofa details, and that is a solid fabric, no repeat. I would consult a local interior designer, BEFORE even contemplating the recover. We are in the new land of back orders, delays, etc. I would absolutely not go this route all alone . You need a sturdy basic, but that much yardage purchased online? No. An example ? This.

https://fschumacher.com/

I feel compelled to add.........

A sofa from 40 years ago can be very well made indeed.

However.......... Wood frames, at that age? Can surprise you. I re did a sofa for a client, one of a pair. Surprise! The frame simply cracked. I got a call from the upholsterer in panic. "the couch is all torn down, is up on the blocks, cracked to no repair as we lifted it. " The fabric is all cut............

Given that I had a mate at the house, we used it. So far, so good. But. I wouldn't again do a forty year piece. That is a lifetime - literally, as it applies to a sofa made in 1982. Wood is subject to drying out over forty years. yes. even hardwood from really reputable makers

Get some interior design help. You may decide to cover the sofa, get some new chairs: ) Or even abandon the idea of a recover- it's costly even to do that. A lot of investigating seems in order.

Now this scares me. The frame seems extremely solid. No shifting, creaking, etc. ever. Cushions are firm yet comfortable. I am wondering if I should pay the upholsterer to pull apart the loveseat to assess the frame, then decide.

If I could find a high quality sofa and loveseat the same size and height I might buy new. These are low profile from Scandinavian Design made by Thayer Coggins. I have done a lot of looking in stores and on line. Haven’t seen anything. I have Smith Brothers of Byrne sofas in the family room. Two new ones from them will cost me over $6000 and they do not have anything this low profile. So much in the stores today is junk.

An interior designer can get you Thayer Coggin. You will spend all of 4K TO 5K REDOING WHAT YOU HAVE.

At least post a photo of the "victims" : )

Here is the style we like. So tired of the red.

Theoretically an upholsterer would give you access to all fabrics available including the top of the line stuff. Depending on where you are located, you could go to one of the design places and visit in person. Although the stuff might only be sold to the trade, a professional would be able to order it. My friend does has that arrangement with her designer. But as advised, I would not take responsibility for ordering fabric as only a professional would be able to deal with all of the variables.

However I question why you want to reupholster the old sofa. When I remodeled I did used a local upholstery shop for custom pieces and also had some chairs reupholstered. However, the chairs were absolutely unique because of the wood frames that showed and would be impossible to duplicate. There would have been no point in reupholstering the fully upholstered pieces and I was able to configure the "new" pieces exactly how I wanted - depth of seat; height of seat; height of back; style and how the pieces would feel in terms of the "stuffing".

I am all for salvaging and repurposing vintage furniture but I am not sure why you would do so with your specific example since you could duplicate it exactly - or even better - by having a new build done.

In my experience having a custom piece done isn't cheap so it depends what you are comparing the costs to. My pieces were about what I would have paid for relatively good quality standard retail stuff but the actual result was probably more comparable to the very high end custom designer stuff especially taking into consideration the fabric options. For example, I had liked the style of two Baker chairs and the cost for EACH chair would have been about $8000. The style was easily duplicated as there wasn't a fancy frame showing and my custom one was about half the price but even better since I had a better fabric choice and some details which I customized are even better - e.g. lucite legs which make them appear to float.

You can purchase your own fabric and supply it to the upholstery workshop.

Don't select anything with acrylic. That will pill. Any upholstery house that supplies the fabric marks it up.

We don't know where you live. Down here in Florida, we have Calico Corners and Boca Bargoons which offers great fabrics at often discounted prices.

https://www.fabricguru.com/crypton

https://www.modern-fabrics.com/j-b-martin-lille-cafe-upholstery-pillow-fabric.html

You will need to allow 12 yards of fabric for a 72 inch long sofa with two cushions. You will need to increase this to 14 yards for a sofa measuring 84 inches long. You will need to include an additional 1.5 yards of fabric for each cushion for sofas with more than two cushions.

You do the math once you find the cost of the fabric you love. Then get a quote for the work.

Betting you could buy a very nice new sofa for close to what you pay to restore the old.

This 93" sofa from Crate and Barrel is $1900.00. My understanding is Lee Industries makes the furniture.

Try sailrite.com. Order samples. I just ordered my fabric for two wing chairs. Well packaged, delivered quickly, I am very pleased.

For a wide fabric selection you need to find your nearest To-the-trade design showroom. Most of them allow retail customers to browse, but you would need a tax/business number to be able to purchase. The best ones I've been in were in LA with all the major manufacturers/designers having showrooms, but I have a decent design company, not too far from me here in FL, that carries the major fabric companies.

There are lots of indoor/outdoor rated fabrics available these days that look amazing. Long gone are the days of the canvas like Sunbrella fabrics being your only choice for a durable material.

Love all the helpful comments. The real problem is today’s sofas are so much deeper. This sofa and loveseat are only 34” deep and are perfect for my size of living room. I have looked Crate and Barrel. The sofas are too deep.

That is why it might make more sense to just have a new piece done by the upholsterer. When I ordered my sofa and arm chairs I was able to specify everything - depth of seat. height of back, height of arm rests, height of the sofa as well as every configuration like the back and the cushion.

For an arm chair in my bedroom my designer measured the length from my knee to my feet so that I wouldn't have my feet dangling.

Understand that your current sofa works for you but you can replicate what you like but maybe better because the only thing you will be retaining if you have it reupholstered is a 30 year old frame.

It's not the overall depth of the sofa but the front-to-inside back inside depth that would be important to get right for you. What is the dimension you require for that?

My two cents. They look to be in good shape. You hate the red, you're sick to death of it.

I absolutely would stick to a performance velvet. !00 % polyester. I'd do a Schumacher Empress in a heartbeat. You're up against oak trim, red was probably never a great idea. A soft white, warm and deep camel , a deep gray.....a spa green, ...........

I've used performance velvet on too many sofas to count, especially in homes with kids in family rooms. A solid is always a best bet - this is what decorative toss pillows are FOR. Don't reinvent a wheel : )

You can have a fabric like this from Pottery Barn for as little as 30.00 a yard.... or a Schumacher online for 75.00 . !00,00 double rubs wear factor. You'll be dead before you wear it out.

You buy whatever the upholsterer says you NEED, and it should include an extra few yards to skip any potential flaw, and some left for you for ...who knows what -it's always wise.

More than a few online sources for it on line. All are basically 75 a yard....that's VERY moderate btw

Even Chairish has it : )

Note...... ASK ANY DESIGNER. In these times: supply chains, mills, and the fact that MANY of these fabrics come from China? Especially all those in the performance category? Get your head around working with the best of what you can have. I've lost count of the hours spent chasing goods. Of any type. .............just believe it.

New sofas? HA, Start from 30 to 38 weeks to anything half decent and just as long for junk like Crate and Barrel. ( yes, it is junk ) Where you will be limited to very basic colors, anyway.

Whatever you decide, do it now.......the prices and timelines are NOT going to get better any time soon.

PS? time to lose the 1980 "Insulation quilted" shade. Just sayin.....: ) They always read/felt like a mattress pad, and they still do.

https://www.chairish.com/product/1786792/schumacher-empress-performance-velvet-fabric-in-pewter

Thanks. Oh, I give my husband lots of negative feedback on the shade. He is so into energy conservation. I went with it long ago and he won’t agree to get rid of them unless we find something with as high of an R value.

PS. I hate the oak trim too, but again, he will never agree to painting it white.

You married an engineer or "granola guy" ?? : )

Tell him that shade is just plain ugly. Call the folks near you that carry Hunter Douglas....look at Trielle

and bet it beats the daylights out of what you have in heat loss gain etc

Trielle: Latest Innovation in Honeycomb Shades

By Ross Howard

First there was Duette®, the original single, double and triple honeycomb shade. Next came Duette® Architella®, a revolutionary shade with honeycomb-within-a honeycomb construction. The latest innovation in honeycomb shades is the Duette Architella Trielle honeycomb shade with six layers of fabric, five insulating air pockets and the largest 1.5” pleat size. With its revolutionary design, Trielle honeycomb shades offer 20% more energy efficiency than the original Duette Architella shade. Not only does it provide climate control for every season, it is exquisitely beautiful.

We have quite a few honeycomb shades elsewhere where I REMOVED the quilted shades. What he hates is there is always at least a 1/2” space of air between the window frame and the edge of the shade which does allow for cold air to come around the shade. To counter that, I have curtains to pull over the shade. One of my windows is 97” wide. Another dilemma in a single drop down shade. Yes, Hunter Douglas can make them that wide, but it would need to be lightweight. First, fix, however, is the two sofas!

Clearly, the issue is NOT the shade, but the window itself. You can sit on top a new window, there is no cold or hot air.

If you like the shape and comfort of the sofas, I would absolutely reupholster them. It is absolutely correct that most higher end sofa manufacturers are 30+ weeks out right now. If the sofas you have are perfect for you other than the fabric, I think reupholstering is a great option.

I was really pleased with a lot of the Crypton fabrics I saw as options. Several of the pretty Sunbrella fabrics I liked were fade resistant but low rubcount unfortunately. So definitely check the rubcount listed on any fabric you select. As much as I visually would have loved the idea of a performance velvet as suggested, my dog seems to be the worst shedder on the face of this earth and the velvet samples I tried picked up hair like velcro. So definitely think about how you live to know what type of fabric works for you. Make sure to bring samples home to see them in the lighting in your house at different times of the day.

Regarding the shade, could you have another layer of fabric over top of the quilted fabric if you want to change the look?

I did that in my first floor bath. Made it tolerable. It would never be flat enough in the living room because those windows are so wide. Now I am going to fight for new shades. My husband is in the camp of once you buy something, you keep it for life. 👎