What are the important points to consider in repairing furniture and furnishings?

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As life goes on, the furniture and furnishings present in your house also start degrading due to daily use and wear and tear.

Eventually, a time comes when you have to take action but you are stuck deciding whether to repair furniture and furnishings or buy a new one.

This article will tell you about the important points you need to consider when repairing furniture and furnishings.

What do you mean by repairing furniture and furnishings?

Repairing means taking the furniture or furnishing item that has sustained any damage and restoring it to its original condition; where it becomes usable and looks good as well.

For example, the process of repairing furniture and furnishings involves removing watermarks, fixing a dent or scratch, mechanical and structural repairs, etc.

Things to consider when repairing furniture and furnishings

If you are planning to repair your furniture and furnishings, here are the most important points you need to keep in mind:

1. Is there any sentimental value associated with the furniture and furnishings?

First of all, you need to determine if there is any sentimental value associated with the furniture and furnishings you want to repair.

For example, it is an item that has been used by the previous generations of your family; it is a memory of a loved one who is not with you anymore; it’s made from rare material, etc. It can hold any personal, cultural, or religious values.

If that’s the case, you must repair the item regardless of the repairing cost because it’s something special that you cannot afford to lose.

On the other hand, if the furniture or furnishing does not have any sentimental value, you need to consider other factors such as repairing cost and comparing it with the cost of a similar brand new item.

2. What’s the quality of the furniture?

The second thing you need to consider is the quality of furniture.

Will the furniture item last longer if you spend some money on its repair?

Or it has already lived its life and won’t last long even if you repair it?

If you believe the furniture is in good health and repairing it will further boost its life then it’s a good idea to repair it.

Otherwise, if you think the furniture is already wrecked and repairing it is a waste of time & money, you should think of other alternatives.

3. What’s the nature of the damage?

The repairing cost of your furniture and furnishings will depend on how much work is required to fix the damages.

That’s why you need to check the nature of the damages.

If there are only minor damages like dents, scratches, cracks, spots, stains, tears, and frays – they can be repaired with cosmetic fixes. It will cost you less money.

But if the damages are huge like large cracks, splits, and breaks in the wood, bents in the frame, and broken springs, it will require structural repair. Such kind of repairs requires more time, tools, and resources and that’s why they will cost you more money.

4. Compare the repair cost with the market price

Before repairing any furniture or furnishings, you need to get an estimated repair cost.

After that, you should check if you can buy a brand new item at the same price or close to it. If you can, it means it is a bad idea to repair this furniture and you should buy a new one instead.

For example, if the repair cost of your bed is $1600 but you can buy a similar but brand new bed at $2000, it is always a good idea to add some more money and buy a new bed.

But if the repair cost is around $1000 and the new bed costs $2000, you should go for repairing it as it saves you a lot of money.

This cost-benefit analysis can help you make a better decision.

5. How long can you use it after the repair?

When repairing furniture and furnishings, you also need to determine how long you can use it after the repair?

How much will the life of furniture increase after the repair? Is it worth the money spent on the repair?

If yes, you can go ahead with the repair.

6. Professional or DIY

In the end, you need to select the way you are going to repair the furniture and furnishings.

There are two options:

Will you do it yourself (DIY)? You will call a professional?

The DIY method can save you a significant amount of money but you will have to buy the necessary tools and also spend your time on energy on the project. We recommend following the DIY method only if you have the proper relevant knowledge. Otherwise, you might end up ruining the furniture.

The second option is to call a professional. This option is suitable when you cannot repair the furniture yourself OR when the repairing process is very complex and requires great expertise.

What are the benefits of repairing furniture and furnishings?

If you are stuck choosing whether to repair furniture or buy a new one, here are the advantages of repairing furniture you need to consider:

1. Save your time & money

When you repair existing furniture and furnishing items, it can save you a lot of time and money that you would spend on buying new furniture.

The reason is that repairing furniture always cost less money than buying a new one.

2. Save the environment

The world is already facing intense environmental pollution because people are dumping more and more stuff out there. No one considers recycling and reusing the existing material.

If you will repair existing furniture, you can save the world from a lot of pollution. For example, 1000 times more carbon dioxide is released into the environment while making a new furniture product.