Classic Slipcovers or Furniture Upholstery?
Deciding between classic slipcovers and furniture upholstery can be a difficult decision. I looked at all the pros and cons and came to an easy decision. And I love the outcome.
When it comes to having chairs and sofas redone, there are usually two choices, classic slipcovers or furniture upholstery.
Either will give you a lovely end result – a new outside garment for a piece of solid furniture. But how do you decide between slipcover or upholstery? It’s important to consider the use, the condition of the furniture piece, and cost.
We have a lot of slipcovers in our home. I have two slipcovered sofas in the living room, a chair and a white sectional with slipcovers in the family room, and two slipcovered sectionals and a slipcovered sofabed in the beach house. I also have three slipcovered chairs in our home, including one I made myself!
This was my first slipcover project and it’s far from perfect. But I love this slipcovered chair.
Classic Slipcovers or Furniture Upholstery
So which is it? Slipcovers or upholstery?
Here are some questions to consider when making this choice:
- How is the piece of furniture used?
- Is it likely to get dirty and will you want to be able to throw the slipcover in the laundry?
- Is there a lot of wood on the piece that might make a slipcover not practical?
- Is your piece of furniture worth saving?
If your couch or chair is well built and sturdy then you will probably want to invest the money and pay to have your piece reupholstered or slipcovered. If the furniture is well made and has quality workmanship, then do it.
If the furniture is cheap and flimsy, don’t bother. I think second-hand or vintage furniture is usually well made and better constructed than what most of us are buying today. Unfortunately buying quality, new furniture today is very expensive.
A few years ago I was trying to decide what to do with my living room sofas. I absolutely loved the slipcovers that my friend Liz Marie Galvan had in her home. Those pleats are to die for!
I love the look of Liz Marie Galvin’s slipcovers
I finally decided to send our living room couches out to be slipcovered. That’s because they use to look like this. The couches were well made but dated and “grungy looking”.
I really wanted a lighter and more neutral palette in our living room. And you can find out why here.
All I did was print a photo of Liz’s chairs and hand it to my local upholstery guy. I told him I wanted my couches to have a pleat like hers! Please feel free to do the same with mine!
Which is More Expensive?
I found it interesting that the labor was much cheaper for slipcovers. For example, it cost me $300 to have a slipcover made for a chair whereas it was $400 to have the same chair upholstered. It also costs $300 more to have my sofa upholstered than to have a slipcover made.
The fabric yardage amount and cost were the same for a slipcover or upholstery. I chose slipcovers because they are more practical to wash (especially since I chose white fabric) and I just like the look more of slipcovers versus upholstery.
Cleaning
I think cleaning is the biggest variant between classic slipcovers and furniture upholstery. I love that I can take a slipcover off, spray it with stain remover, and bleach it in the laundry. About 99% of the stains come out using my slipcover cleaning formula (it will be on the blog tomorrow). After a few years, you can always get a new slipcover made.
With upholstered furniture, you have to spot clean, and sometimes the stain doesn’t come out So what’s the alternative? Getting the entire couch reupholstered? Hmmm.
The End Result
Don’t these slipcovers look a gazillion times better than the “before” photo above?
Here are some of the items featured in our living room.
Plus, look at how the style of the couches even looks different. In the before photo, the style looked dated. But now, with the white slipcovers, they look great.
And the best part?
The fabric was prewashed so I can wash them anytime. The slipcovers are also sprayed with Stainmaster which helps prevent stains.
Be sure and check back tomorrow with my post on how to clean and wash your slipcovers.
Links to Items Similar to this Post
Did you know Amazon carries slipcovers for IKEA Extorp furniture? There are some links below.
Pin the image below to your Remodel or Home Decor boards on Pinterest (just click the Pin button in the top left corner). You can also follow along with me on Pinterest!
For more real-time updates, follow me on Instagram @My100YearOldHome
Your advice is so practical yet elegant. I love the fresh, crisp look of the furniture. Absolutely beautiful.
Thank you very much!
Just spent over $500. to have a slipcover made from a high end retail store. It took both my husband and I to tackle the slipcover together to get it to fit correctly. Lots of difficult tucking. I can not imagine going through this again if I ever have to launder it. At its best it still looks “rumpled”.
Hi..then it’s either too big of too small…give it time for the fabric to relax and see how it fits at that point.
Several years ago, I had two beautiful antique wing-back chairs reupholstered in a beautiful neutral fabric. The fabric that was on them was in perfect condition but I was tired of looking at the floral tapestry they had been wearing for thirty years! I suppose because I lived in a small rural town with only one business that did re-upholstery, they capitalized on that fact, and it cost me nearly $2000! Long story – short, my cat has decided she loves the new fabric, and has turned the chairs into her personal scratching posts. I have decided to slipcover!
O NO!!! Yes, slipcovers it is, haha. Thank you for sharing.
No slipcovers for me. No matter how much tucking you do they always look crooked and rumpled. And if there’s any type of skirting or pleats they look crooked. Nope, beautiful upholstery is the only way I go. No matter how much you pay, the outcome is the same. But this is my opinion only!
Leslie could you please share the type of fabric you used on your slip covers?
You don’t really live in a space that has five-year-old slipcovers that have never been washed!!
Hi there: Thank you for your beautiful blog. You provide such helpful and inspiring information.
I just love the slipcover look. And, your couches and home decor are beautiful.
I’m considering slipcovering our 2 living room couches, which we bought in the 90s from a high end furniture store in CA; paid quite a bit of money for them and they are very good quality, sturdy and well made. They are both in perfect condition and I would hate to get rid of them.
The upholsterer that I’ve consulted with asked me to pick out and purchase the fabric, however I’m not sure what to choose. What type of fabric was used for your white slipcovers? Thank you in advance for your response.
Love, love, love your slipcovers Leslie!! It makes SUCH a difference with your couch!! I’ve always had slipcovers too and everyone is always amazed that they stay so clean. The key is that I can WASH them -and you just can’t do that with upholstery. For me, it’s just more practical with having a kid and a dog. 🙂 I’m actually looking for a good (hopefully affordable) upholsterer -and I’m local. Can I DM you on IG for his/her info?
Thank you! You are right, it is so practical. Feel free to message me.
Hi again. I really love the couches and pleating too. So pretty.
Leslie, my sofa is quite nice, well made, but old and worn out from 9 small grandchildren. They are older now so want to move forward on this. The insides of the couch and cushions need refilled/rewired maybe. So even if I wanted slip covers, an upholsterer would have to rebuild it first……right?? So, maybe just reupholster $$$$ am I correct?
Hi again. I really love the couches and the pleating makes such a difference. They really turned out so beautiful. My question is simple, and I probably know the answer, but just to confirm with you (since I have never reupholstered/slipcovered anything EVER…) If my sofa is hard-wood framed and well built, but old and worn by grandchildren when they were small…..a professional would probably need to rebuild the current upholstery and stuffing, before they could even slip-cover the couch……RIGHT?????? And if that is true, as I suspect, it would cost more than just buying something new, slip-covered, from say, Pottery Barn, correct? PLEASE ADVISE. Thank you Thank you Thank you
You CAN buy something new but will never get the quality you have unless you spend a gazillion dollars. I think Leslie said that if the piece has a lot of wood, upholstering may be the better option. You do save by slipcovering but the difference seems relatively small. The benefit is the ability to remove and wash them.
So true, Judy! Thank you for your thoughts 🙂
Leslie,
Can you pls share (I will dm you too) who did the slipcovers? Also what type of fabric did you use?
Thank you!!
I loved my slipcover couches!
Could you please tell me who you used to make your slipcovers? If you live in Ca might be worth the drive for me!
Hi Leslie. Your home is stunning! I love how much info you share about your style. I live in LA and was wondering if you would mind sharing your slipcover contact. I have some old Shabby Chic couches I need to recover and I don’t think I want to go through the store.
Thank you in advance and if you do not feel comfortable I understand.
Leslie:
Which fabric did you use for your slip cover? If you are in California, who made your slip cover?
Thank-you, Jeani
I purchased a slip covered sofa and LOVE it. I wash the covers every six months or so and they look just as nice as when first purchased. And it’s white…
I make sure to dry on LOW for a while then hang to dry. works wonderfully.
Hi, I noticed several people ask about your slipcovers and where you had them made and type of material?? But never answered..maybe I missed it..I love ur whole house!!! So lovely and everything I love..especially slipcovers..thanks so much..
I had them made locally. I showed the upholsterer a photo of the pleated slipcovers and he made them exactly how I wanted! I used a heavy cotton duck and I preshrank the fabric first!
Hi Lynda! I just used a local upholstery guy for ours!
Thanks for the sharing!!
For those who fin the rumpling to be too much- make sure there is enough fabric to tuck it in where the back meets the seat. Put a piece of 1/2″ PVC pipe in the crevice to hold the fabric tight. This allows for easier removal to wash while giving a tight fit.
I love the look of your slipcovered couches!
Just curious — did you repaint the painting over the mantle? It looked more beige before and now it looks more gray (and matches your living room better, too).
Leslie please share the upholsterer you used for your slip cover . Thank you