I don't agree with Bellamay, at all. Barbara Barry designed a collection for a particular furniture company, Baker. Those pieces were mass produced by Baker. They're effectively "a dime a dozen", even though they're lovely and stylish (it's a handsome collection; subtle and graceful). Antiques, on the other hand, are now old enough that in all liklihood, not many of their number (IF they're "new" enough to have been mass produced!) survive in good, let alone "pristine" condition. If the piece was made as "one of kind" to a particular client's specific order, then it will retain its intrinsic value because it's rare in the marketplace. Barbara Barry for Baker has many years to go before it attains that status, regardless of the price paid for it or its grace and subtlety. I believe the quality of "old frames" merits reupholstery. But that's my opinion, and is also a reflection of my personal taste in furniture. I regard upholstered pieces as "time capsules"; bits of by-gone eras that drift through the generations and evoke memories of long-dead forebears, social mores, etc.. I have an Empire sofa I adore (note that it shows the emergence of the Roccoco influence favored by the early Victorians; c. 1840): and several other nice pieces not nearly as old. I get a genuine kick out of seeing something old and saggy brought back to life. I wish I had a scanner to show you how the Empire beast looked before it was reupholstered (and yes, I reused all the original horsehair!).

We have purchased furnitures from Brick last year (worth of $7000) and after the first year we found some severe damage (manufacturer damage) on our sofa and informed to Brick. A field rep from Brick came to our home and took some pictures and told us that "somebody from Brick will call us". After two days from his visit, someone from Brick called us and told that "Our sofa is made by 'rexin' so the insurance will not cover for it". The worst part is, when we purchased our furnitures from Brick, the sales rep told that "the insurance will cover for fixing damages and all replacement". She never told us that the insurance will not cover somany kind os damages. At last i have called back to Brick this morning and asked them to refund the insurance. They said OK. The lession learned is, "before getting anykind of insurance, please ask the coverage details".

I have a Century English arm sofa in a chenille type fabric that is about 15 years old. I bought it from a doctor who was never home to sit on it about 5 years ago. It seemed in perfect condition. We sit on it daily for hours. It is no longer comfortable. I think the foam has worn out or something. When I called my Century dealer to get replacement cushions the price was $1300 to replace 2 spring down seat cushions on an 84 inch sofa. About $800 to replace with foam. I kept wondering what will go next? For that price I could move on to a new sofa, at least a hefty down payment. I ended up buying a MSRP $4500 small Stickley sofa on clearance for $1600 delivered. It is 8-way hand tied, spring down cushions, and Crypton. It has a small scale that fits my odd rooms. I am going to order a sheet of firm (2.8?) foam from the internet for the old Century for about $125 from the internet. It is a 6 inch thick sheet. I will trace and saw out my own replacement cushions and see if it doesn’t buy me another 5 years with it. At the very least it should be better than this original foam. The Century will be moved to the den as a home office sofa. I am currently planning a whole living room redo. This will prob take some time as I’m very slow and budget minded and DIY the things I can. I will get a new sofa I think, the Stickley will move to the office, and the Century will move to someone else’s home if it’s still alive at that point. Prior to this we had a leather Chateau D’Ax or something like that. Cheap from Macy’s. Pirelli webbing. Not well made. But! It held up to a family and 2 dogs and a cat for 10 solid years, another 5 not as solid. The leather ripped down the center of the middle seat and it got hauled away by junk removal. Junk removal cost me $125 on a groupon. Good times.

Absolutely yes, if your pieces were well built to begin with, reupholster. A reupholsterer I know told me to buy old and reupholster, because bang-for-the-buck old is usually a lot better built and will last. Your cushion foam can be completely replaced, as can all the other padding. The important part is the frame. This guy told me the old frames were done with wooden dowels, and plenty of bracing. He got called by a local furniture store to go get a sofa. A woman had vaulted one-handed over the back of it when a hot ember spit from her fireplace to her carpet. It snapped. He took it apart and found out it was nailed, and the corner gussets were *cardboard*! There wasn't one stick of bracing in the whole 6' length. You should also know that when you get a sofa or chair reupholstered, there's quite a lot they can do to change it. Skirt/no skirt. Make the arms fatter or skinnier. Add back support, and so on. Tell him exactly what you do and don't like about the stuffing -- too soft? Too firm? You'll get it back like brand new. Incidentally, there are charts out there telling you how much fabric you need. JoAnns and Calico Corners should have them, and you may find one online if you snoop around. You can save a ton of money if you find a bargain on your fabric on ebay, or see Fabric Guru.