Whether you’ve been cruising the country in your RV for many years or just purchased a well-loved rig, you may find yourself evaluating the comfort and style of its living space. Perhaps it’s time to address the tear in that seat cushion or that floral pattern from the 90s that’s just not cutting it anymore. Regardless, you’ve decided it’s time for a change.But, the big question now is: do you replace your RV furniture or just get it reupholstered?
There is no wrong answer here, but based on your goals, skills, and budget, one option may be your clear winner. Let’s go over some important considerations when deciding how to update your RV furniture.
What’s The Condition of Your Current Furniture?
Depending on how well your seats and cushions have stood the test of time, the writing may be on the wall, or better, on the cushions. If you have sunken seats, springs popping out, or structural instability going on in your RV, reupholstering isn’t going to mean a whole lot. After all, the main goal is to comfortably sit and rest after a long day of exploring.
If the underlying foam is damaged, you should replace your RV furniture, not reupholster.
If everything feels good, however, and is plenty sturdy, a new look via reupholstering your furniture can work wonders for updating the interior of your RV.
What’s Your Budget?
How much it costs to make this transformation is one of the most important factors for many RVers in making a decision. One key consideration here is the quality of furniture that you plan to update. If you have premium existing furniture with plenty of life left in it, purchasing brand new furniture of comparable quality is going to be significantly pricier than reupholstering.
On the other hand, the cost of replacing economy furniture can in some cases be similar to or cheaper than getting everything reupholstered. You are paying for both materials and labor to bring this furniture back to life if you go the reupholstering route and this can really add up. Depending on how many pieces you would like redone, though, you can sometimes get better value for the labor when reupholstering multiple items.
Can You Do It Yourself?
Are you crafty? Handy? Related to the above point about cost, you could make reupholstering a whole lot cheaper if you can do the job yourself. Of course, you’ll be taking on the responsibility for getting the job done right so if this feels a little out of your comfort zone, you may want to reconsider the DIY approach.
For those of you still reading, reupholstering is typically a fairly straightforward process that requires some basic tools (pliers, hammer, staple gun) and a sewing machine. There are many resources and how-to videos available online so you can evaluate a few different approaches and go with the one that works best for you. If you have the time and you do want to tackle reupholstering your RV furniture yourself, the extra money you’ll save without labor costs may make this the easy choice.
Reupholstering allows you to personalize your RV living space with the fabrics and patterns you want.
Size and Space
Perhaps you’ve done a little research and replacing your existing furniture might be tricky. You’ve got a very specific flow and space utilization that just can’t be met by the available options. If you end up going too big, you could end up cramping the interior which certainly doesn’t benefit your comfort. Go too small, and you may not have enough room for everyone to relax or the space might look a little hollow.
For many RVers in this situation, it might make the most sense to get everything reupholstered. You already like where everything is and ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’ This way you’ll bring your old furniture back to life without affecting the layout that you’ve become so familiar with.
Now, you could always go the custom furniture route and have replacements built to your exact specifications. This will provide the perfect scenario with fresh and clean pieces that fit neatly into their places. That’ll cost you a pretty penny, though.
Each RV and the vision its owners have for the future is a different scenario. When you decide it’s time to either replace your RV furniture or reupholster it, run through these considerations and see what makes the most sense to you. No matter which route you take, some updated furniture is a surefire way to freshen up your RV’s interior, and you can’t go wrong there.
Brandon Fritz
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