Austin, TX

Give me your tired, your stained, your ripped, your retched refuse, yearning to be recovered.

Are you tired of looking at that nasty chair hiding in your corner with a blanket draped over it? You know the one I mean. The chair that’s gone past broken-in and well-loved and has moved into the category of broken down and gross but you can’t afford to buy new?

Then gather up your furniture and get enrolled in an upholstery class at Austin Community College.

Classes are small, with a limit of 5-6 people per class, intimate and a ton of fun. You supply the fabric, foam and furniture and they supply most of the rest. You will need to purchase a few tools like scissors and a staple puller. You’ll learn how to strip your furniture down to its frame and how to get it back to its original beauty.

I’ve been taking classes at ACC for a few years now (some people never learn) and I’ve reupholstered 4 chairs, several ottomans and a couch. Here is a picture of the couch, a recent project:

This piece was once furniture roadkill. Seriously. A couple of my friends were driving down MoPac one day and saw an old sofa that had evidently fallen from someone’s truck. As more of a joke than anything, they called me and asked if I wanted a roadkill sofa. I asked them what it looked like and when they told me it was a camel back I was sold! They loaded it up in their truck and brought it to me. It was beat up and the fabric was beyond repair. It also needed some structural repair as it hadn’t been constructed all that well. I stripped it, did some frame repair (thanks to the help of my instructor) and then it sat in my guest room for nearly two years. Best laid plans, y’know? About that time my best friend got his first apartment and I offered to upholster it for him. I did and the above is the result of that effort.

As a funny aside, my friend Adam has a dog named Charlie. When we went looking for fabric we took a few swatches and I told him to rub them against the dog and we’d go with the one that showed the dog hair the least. The fabric we went with is a tawny chenille and we used leather for the contrasting welt cord. Adam’s brother laughingly said that the sofa matches the dog so well it’s like Charlie camouflage.

I’m currently working on a very cool three piece retro sectional which I bought off ebay for a mere $50. When I saw it I immediately thought of my brother, Kevin, who lives out on Miami Beach. Once adorned in baby blue vinyl it’s now turning into a red and black leather set that resembles classic caddy seats. At least three people have wandered through the class and pronounced “wow, that looks just like a caddy seat” which makes me very happy as that was my goal. I’ve just finished the middle piece of the sectional. Two more to go. Here is a picture of the project in process:

For comparison sake, here it is in it’s original form:

The class instructors (teasingly referred to as DEstructors), Mike Guitierrez and Paulette Defoe are top-notch. They are patient, thorough, and extremely knowledgeable. Although there are occasionally other instructors teaching upholstery classes for ACC, I would highly recommend that you take your classes with Mike or Paulette! Fear is not in their vocabulary and they will help you every step of the way to ensure you leave with a beautiful piece of furniture that will be sure to please you.

If you’ve come to this page looking for a good source for upholstery foam, I’d highly recommend Capital City Upholstery.

Upholstery, Austin, ACC, Austin Community College, DIY, Foam, Capital City Upholstery