The Budget-Friendly IKEA Way To Buy Upholstery Fabric

Finding beautifully upholstered furniture can be a challenge, as mass-produced pieces (which are sometimes all you can find) tend to sacrifice charm and elegance for affordability. Getting furniture custom upholstered is an option, but it can cost a lot to reupholster a couch and other furniture pieces. This is not just due to labor costs but also the price of upholstery fabrics. There is a budget-friendly IKEA upholstery fabric hack, though, that you can use to elevate the look of your furniture. It involves using IKEA's stylish and affordable curtains to reupholster a small furniture piece instead of buying pricey upholstery fabric. For this IKEA curtain hack, you will need to choose a style, color, pattern, and fabric that work well for your space. 

This is such an easy and budget-friendly way to reupholster furniture. You can use this hack on an old furniture piece that needs a makeover or a new piece that's a few sheets of fabric away from being exactly what you want. What's especially great about this hack, though, is that it works with many IKEA furniture pieces. The compact furniture size that IKEA carries has a decent chance of working with the curtain panels. You can use any furniture piece you like, as long as the sections to be upholstered are small enough to be covered by a curtain panel. Although this is a genius upholstery hack, there are important considerations to keep in mind. 

When choosing IKEA fabric for your upholstery project, you will want to match the colors and patterns of the curtain fabric to your room's existing décor. IKEA has a ton of curtain styles to choose from, which makes this a fairly easy task. For a bright and sunny sunroom, IKEA's VILDPERSILJA curtains have a fun, flowery pattern that might work well. This same set of curtains can also brighten up an otherwise dull living room or sitting room. For a room with neutral, muted tones, the MAJSMOTT curtain set from IKEA would look nice. To implement an ultra-fancy furniture touch, a BORGHILD curtain panel can be attached to a white or cream-colored backing and used to upholster a chair or bench. This sheer-style curtain can also be used for a skirt addition, while a solid IKEA curtain covers the furniture piece.

Upholstery fabric is generally sturdier than curtains, which means this hack may not be well-suited for furniture pieces that are regularly used, like a family room couch. If you are reupholstering an item that will be used frequently, be sure to choose heavy curtains with a high thread count. IKEA's LENDA and ROSENMANDEL curtains are both good options. Many of IKEA's curtain options are made of polyester, which is highly durable. If the IKEA curtains you like are not durable enough, like the BORGHILD panels, you can add a knit backing to them for reinforcement. 

While this is a straightforward project, there are a couple of extra things you will need to do to make sure it turns out well. The first thing is to iron the curtains before you start the project. Since the curtains come folded tightly in a package, they are going to have creases that need to be flattened. When you finish reupholstering your furniture, you may want to spray it with a product to help the fabric repel water and stains. Some upholstery fabric comes pre-treated for stain resistance, but since you will be using curtains, you will need to treat it yourself, and you can also try an upholstery cleaning hack to keep your couch looking new. This is especially important if you are upholstering dining room chairs. As mentioned earlier, this project requires furniture pieces that are on the smaller side, due to the size of the curtain panels. So, if you want to reupholster an oversized couch, this may not work.

Two more things that are important to note are that upholstery fabric and drapery fabric are held to different manufacturing standards. Upholstery fabric is fire-retardant, and curtains are not. Since fires that start on upholstered furniture are the leading cause of fire-related fatalities in the United States, this might be a dealbreaker for some. Also, this project involves flipping furniture over, mitering corners, and using a staple gun. Some may find these tasks too difficult, especially those without reupholstery or DIY experience.