New is Not Always Better: Bar Stool Redo

Recently, I had a client with a small upholstery job. Yes, we do small pieces. This involved three bar stools. She had three dilemmas to solve.

The first was that the seats had caved in and actually split the leather coverings. So, they were no longer usable. The second dilemma: now that her new home was finished, (thank you Super Storm Sandy) the brown leather seemed too harsh against her new color palette. Lastly, should she just replace them for something new and just be done.

Whether to purchase new or re-do, is a conversation I have a lot with clients. The decision is different every time. In this case, for the money it would take to replace the bar stools we made them better than new. By replacing the foam; with better quality foam, and replacing the webbing, we made them more sturdy than the original stools. As a result, they become a better quality bar stool.

So, we solved two dilemmas with relative ease. Now, for the fun part – FABRICS. We picked a beachy stripe in a bright turquoise and green, that works well in her color scheme, and really help these bar stools steal the attention.

Here are the before and afters.

Top left, are the original leather bar stool. Bottom left, are the bar stools redo. What a difference! So, what do you think now - buy new or redo?