Did you know that the UK government recently introduced new laws that change how furniture must be disposed of? Most sofas and other upholstered pieces are filled with POPs (Persistent Organic Pollutants), which now have to be incinerated. You can’t just take old furniture to a tip anymore; you have to pay for it to be disposed of. This is expensive, and can cost as much as £200 per piece! This applies whether you’re a domestic user or commercial operation, so everyone is affected.

Luckily, disposal isn’t your only option. Instead, why not consider reupholstering or repairing your old furniture? It’ll be saved from landfill and you’ll save money by not having to pay for a new suite or to get rid of your old one! Whether you have saggy cushions that need new foam, old springs that need replacing or even a sofa that needs completely reupholstering, we can help.

Who Are We?

We’re Southwest Upholstery, a local, family owned company that have been reupholstering and restoring old furniture in Bristol for over 24 years. Our expertise in all things upholstery means we know all the options available to you. We want to educate local residents about this, as well as the benefits, both economical and environmental, of reusing furniture. In a world where planetary levels of pollution are at an all time high, we need to think differently.

Your Options

If you have an old piece of furniture that’s seen better days, not to worry! There are several things you can do to revitalise it. First, give us a call! We’ll be able to help you understand what needs to be done and then discuss the best options.

It may be that your cushions are sagging and are no longer supportive. In which case, just replace the foam! It’s easy to do yourself, and we recently published a guide which you can read here. Alternatively, we can cut the foam to size and send it to you, or you can collect it from our workshop.

If your sofa’s springs are worn out, then consider replacing them instead of the whole sofa. It can make a massive difference to the comfort and support of the sofa and make it feel brand new again. It only costs around £150 to replace the springs in a 3 seater sofa, so it’s very cost effective!

Perhaps, though, your item needs a change of appearance? If your old sofa is looking worn, or you’re redecorating and it won’t fit with the new aesthetic, you don’t always need to replace the whole thing! We’ve built our name on reupholstering old furniture and making it look better than ever. We have over 40,000 different fabrics to choose from and even offer an interior design service to help you. Give us a call on 0117 171 0167 for more info, we’d love to hear from you.

The Benefits of Reusing Furniture

Reusing your old furniture has a number of benefits. As mentioned already, it’s almost guaranteed to save you money over buying new and disposing of the old. It’s also great for the environment, especially now that POP filled furniture has to be incinerated. By reusing, we can prevent that from needing to happen and also prevent harmful pollutants from entering our air and atmosphere. It also gives you complete control! You can truly customise your furniture when you have it reupholstered, so you get something completely bespoke. If you want to read more about the benefits of reusing old furniture, then you can read this article on our blog.

We hope this blog has shown you that you don’t always have to dispose of old furniture. In fact, it’s often better for your pocket and better for the environment to reuse it! If you’d like to find out more, or even discuss your own reupholstery project, then give South West Upholstery a call today!