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Reupholstering a Banquette: Snags and Solutions

By Lorigilder @lorigilder

I love banquettes for their coziness and space-saving attributes.  They are more comfortable and capable of seating more people than most kitchen chairs and can be conveniently tucked into an odd corner or nook of your home.  Their comfort and convenience makes them a natural spot for spending relaxing time throughout the day or gathering for a casual and lingering conversation with friends and family.

A good banquette sees a lot of use and will therefore require reupholstering after a while. I was recently commissioned to reupholster a beautiful banquette for a client.  Their banquette had been well-used over the past five years, and the fabric was showing substantial wear and tear.  Though the banquette was nearly twelve feet long, the project itself was simple and straightforward, or so I thought.

We decided to use a strong and durable vinyl for the new upholstery on the banquette, and we found a beautiful upholstered vinyl fabric that looked promising and stood up well to initial tests for durability. Unfortunately, partway through the upholstering process we discovered that the embroidery on the vinyl was too delicate.  The fabric hadn’t even seen use in the home before snags started forming, and I couldn’t let the unraveling, delicate fabric into my client’s home.  I showed the supplier and immediately contacted the client about the issue.  Together we selected a simpler and more durable vinyl fabric, and the supplier was kind enough to cover the cost of the new fabric.

The “problem” vinyl fabric:

Embroidered Vinyl Banquette Cover

We have since finished the banquette and all is well. I used the lessons learned from this experience with the embroidered vinyl when recovering my own banquette in my kitchen nook.  Sometimes even the simplest projects run into their snags, but there is never an excuse to sacrifice quality craftsmanship for an easier solution.

Reselected vinyl-mid installation :

Plain Vinyl

I would love to help you redesign your space.  Contact us at Interior Makeovers Inc. by calling 310-788-0990 or emailing [email protected].


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