Upholsterer in Prestbury.

On an old chair, the cover is usually the last thing to fail. Underneath, the webbing sags, the springs shift or lose their ties, and the stuffing packs down until you can feel the rails. Putting new fabric over that gives you a smart chair that is still uncomfortable, and it will not last.

We strip back to the frame, repair loose joints and rails, re-web and re-tie the springs, and rebuild the seat before any fabric goes on. For antique pieces we use traditional materials, horsehair, hessian and hand-tied springs, rather than replacing everything with foam. Leather can be repaired, re-dyed and patch-matched. The detail is on our repairs and restoration page, and reupholstery and rejuvenation covers the full recover.

Sometimes a chair matters for who owned it rather than what it is worth. One of the jobs we are proudest of is a late father’s wingback chair, covered in the wool of his Greater Manchester Police uniform. If you have a piece like that, send photos and tell us what it means to you. It changes what we suggest.

Choosing a fabric for an old chair is partly about pattern and partly about scale: a busy print can swamp a small nursing chair, and a thin cloth will not survive a working dining chair. Our showroom at the workshop has books from the mills we buy from, and our fabrics page gives a starting point. For a chair going back into a period room, bring a photograph of that room with you, as the pattern books make more sense beside the actual panelling, curtains or rug. You can also supply your own fabric. Send the width and pattern repeat, and we will work out the metreage before you order. Where an interior designer is handling the room, we work to their specification.

Prestbury is in Cheshire East, so collection is priced by distance and confirmed in your written quote. Mottram St Andrew and Adlington are quoted the same way. Bringing the piece in yourself is free. Most domestic jobs take two to four weeks, and a single dining chair is often back within a week. Start with photos of the front, back and underside through the quote form or on WhatsApp; the quote usually comes back the same working day.

• Repairs on armchairs and settees from Prestbury: repairs and restoration, including frames, webbing and leather patching.
• Older pieces from Prestbury: reupholstery and rejuvenation, restored the way they were built where that makes sense.
• A set of dining chairs from Prestbury: dining chair reupholstery, with one chair done first if you want to see the fabric.
• Tired covers on a settee you would rather keep: sofa and suite recovering, quoted from photos.
• Working to a designer’s brief in Prestbury: interior designers and specifiers, using their fabric and drawings.