Upholstery Dubai: Sofa Reupholstery, Headboards and Majlis Seating
Renovel's Dubai upholstery workshop recovers sofas, armchairs, dining chairs, headboards, ottomans and Arabic majlis seating, and builds new upholstered pieces to measure. Free inspection, an honest answer on whether your piece is worth saving, fixed pricing per piece, and collection and return delivery included.
Recover It, or Replace It?
This is the only question that matters before you start, and the honest answer is not always the one that earns us more. Reupholstery makes sense when the frame is worth the fabric going onto it. A kiln-dried hardwood frame will outlive three sets of cloth, so recovering at 40 to 60 percent of the cost of a new custom piece is good value. A stapled softwood or particleboard frame will not survive the stripping, and putting AED 4,000 of fabric onto it is money you will not see again.
The other strong case for recovering is fit. Dubai apartments and villas are full of pieces that were bought or inherited for a specific alcove, majlis wall or window bay, and no showroom sells that exact size any more. Keeping the shape and changing the surface is the cheapest way to keep a room working.
We inspect free, in your home or from photographs, and tell you which case you are in. If the answer is that a new piece makes more sense, we build those too: see custom sofas in Dubai.
Upholstery Services
Sofa Reupholstery
Complete recovering of an existing sofa: old fabric stripped, frame checked and repaired, webbing or springs renewed where needed, new foam, then your chosen fabric or leather. Far cheaper than replacement when the frame is sound.
Armchairs and Accent Chairs
Single seats, wing chairs, tub chairs and occasional chairs. Often the piece worth saving, because a well-made armchair frame outlives three sets of fabric.
Headboard Upholstery
Recovering an existing headboard or building a new one to your bed width and wall height. Flat panel, channelled, buttoned, panelled or curved, in fabric, velvet, boucle or leather.
Dining Chairs
Seat pads only, or full seat and back. Matching sets for home dining rooms, restaurants and private dining. Commercial-grade cloth available where a set takes daily use.
Arabic Majlis Seating
Traditional floor-level and elevated majlis seating, recovered or built new. Continuous runs along two or three walls with matching backrests, bolsters and floor cushions, priced per linear metre.
Ottomans, Benches and Bed Bases
Storage ottomans, end-of-bed benches, window seats and upholstered bed bases, recovered to match a headboard or a sofa already in the room.
Cushion and Foam Replacement
Where the fabric is still good but the seat has collapsed. New high-resilience foam cores, refilled cushion wraps and new zips, keeping the existing covers.
Commercial and Hospitality Seating
Restaurant banquettes, hotel lounge chairs, office and reception seating. Contract-grade fabrics with a high rub count, fire-retardant backing and construction built for constant use.
Reupholstery Cost in Dubai (2026)
Upholstery is priced per piece, and for seating it works out roughly per seat: budget AED 1,200 to 2,200 per seat in a mid-range performance fabric. These ranges assume a sound frame, new seat foam, new inner covers and zips, and collection and return delivery within Dubai. VAT at 5 percent is added.
| Piece | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Dining chair, seat pad only | AED 150 to 350 per chair | Drop-in pad removed, refoamed and recovered. A set of six is usually AED 900 to 2,100. |
| Dining chair, seat and back | AED 400 to 800 per chair | Fully upholstered chair. Buttoning or piping adds to the labour. |
| Armchair or single-seat chair | AED 1,200 to 2,500 | Consumes 5 to 7 metres of fabric. Wing and tub chairs sit at the top of the range for the pattern work. |
| 2-seat sofa | AED 2,500 to 5,000 | 10 to 14 metres of fabric. Assumes the frame is sound and the springs are reusable. |
| 3-seat sofa | AED 3,500 to 7,000 | 12 to 18 metres of fabric. The most common reupholstery job we do in Dubai. |
| L-shape or large corner sofa | AED 6,000 to 12,000 | 20 to 30 metres of fabric, and the chaise section is effectively a second piece. |
| Headboard, king or super king | AED 800 to 3,500 | A plain flat panel recover starts near AED 350. Deep buttoning, channelling and curved wings take it to the top of the range. |
| Ottoman, bench or window seat | AED 600 to 2,000 | Depends on size and whether the lid mechanism and hinges are being replaced. |
| Majlis seating, per linear metre | AED 700 to 1,800 per metre | Covers the seat run, backrests and bolsters. Floor cushions are quoted per piece. |
| Foam replacement only | AED 250 to 600 per cushion | New high-resilience core inside your existing cover. The cheapest way to fix a sagging but otherwise good sofa. |
What pushes the price up
- Leather, which adds 40 to 70 percent over the same job in fabric because hides yield less
- Patterned cloth needing repeat matching, adding 20 to 30 percent to the metreage
- Deep buttoning, channelling, studding and hand-tied detail, which are bench hours
- Frame repairs, replaced springs or corroded fittings found once the old cover comes off
- Loose covers rather than fixed, since every panel is effectively made twice
What brings it down
- Replacing foam only, and keeping covers that are still in good condition
- A plain weave rather than a napped or patterned fabric
- Doing a sofa, two armchairs and the dining chairs in one order and one fabric run
- Delivering the pieces to our Al Quoz workshop yourself instead of booking collection
- Keeping the existing trim style rather than adding piping or studding
Fabric Cost and How Much You Need
Fabric is normally the largest single line in an upholstery quote, so it is worth understanding before you choose a colour. A dining chair seat takes 1 to 1.5 metres, an armchair 5 to 7, a three-seat sofa 12 to 18, and an L shape 20 to 30. Multiply the metreage by the price per metre and you have most of the difference between two quotes.
| Fabric type | Cost | Where it suits |
|---|---|---|
| Cotton and synthetic blends | AED 50 to 120 per metre | Budget recovers, guest rooms, low-traffic pieces. Fades faster under direct Dubai light. |
| Performance woven fabric | AED 120 to 250 per metre | The workhorse choice. High rub count, stain resistance, good UV stability. What we recommend for family sofas. |
| Velvet and boucle | AED 180 to 400 per metre | Where the look leads. Velvet marks with pressure and boucle catches on claws, so worth thinking about with pets. |
| Contract and hospitality grade | AED 200 to 450 per metre | Restaurants, hotels, offices. High Martindale rating and fire-retardant backing as standard. |
| Faux leather | AED 90 to 220 per metre | Wipe-clean and consistent. Good for dining chairs and commercial seating, less convincing on a large sofa. |
| Genuine leather | AED 200 to 450 per metre equivalent | Priced by hide, not by running metre, and yield is lower because of natural edges. Expect to add 40 to 70 percent over a fabric recover. |
Choosing for the UAE. Check three numbers on the sample tag before the colour. Lightfastness, because direct Dubai sun through glass bleaches weak dyes inside two years. Martindale rub count, where above 30,000 suits a family sofa and above 50,000 a restaurant banquette. And whether the cloth carries a moisture or stain treatment, which matters in rooms that swing between humid outdoor air and cold dry air conditioning every time a door opens.
What Gets Replaced Under the Fabric
A recover that only changes the cloth is a cosmetic job, and the sofa will still sag in the same place. Stripping the piece is the opportunity to fix everything underneath, which is where most of the value in reupholstery actually sits.
Frame repair
Loose joints re-glued and dowelled, corner blocks refitted, split rails replaced. A hardwood frame that creaks is usually repairable in an hour at the bench, and that hour is what makes the whole job worth doing.
Webbing and springs
Elasticated webbing renewed or sinuous steel springs re-clipped and re-tensioned. If a seat has dropped in the middle, this is normally the cause rather than the foam.
Seat foam
High-resilience foam at 35 to 40 kg per cubic metre for seats. Quality HR foam holds its shape for 8 to 15 years, where the 20 to 25 kg foam in most budget sofas flattens within two.
Back and arm fill
Softer foam, polyester fibre or a feather-down wrap in the backs and arms, so the piece is firm where it carries weight and yielding where it does not.
Cushion covers and zips
New calico inner covers, new zips and, where wanted, removable outer covers so they can be dry cleaned rather than replaced.
Trims and finish
Piping, studding, buttoning, skirt or a clean tailored edge. Legs stripped and refinished or replaced with timber, powder-coated steel or brass.
The Process, and How Long It Takes
Dining chairs are back in 3 to 5 working days, an armchair in 4 to 7, a two or three-seat sofa in 5 to 10, and a large sectional or full majlis run in 2 to 3 weeks. Imported designer fabrics add 2 to 4 weeks of shipping, so we confirm the cloth before we book collection.
Free inspection
In your home or from photographs. We check the frame, the suspension and the foam, and tell you whether recovering is the right call before quoting anything.
Fabric selection
Samples brought to you so you can see them in your own light, with the rub count, lightfastness and metreage explained for each option.
Fixed quote
A line-by-line price naming the fabric reference, the metreage, the foam density and any frame repair. Nothing changes later unless the strip-down reveals damage, which we photograph and quote before proceeding.
Collection
We collect from your address anywhere in Dubai, wrapped and protected, at a time that suits your building access rules.
Workshop
Stripped to the frame, joints checked and repaired, suspension renewed, new foam cut and wrapped, fabric cut with pattern matched, then hand-finished at the bench in Al Quoz.
Return delivery
Delivered back, carried to any floor, placed where you want it, with a fabric care sheet and a written warranty on workmanship.
What Is Included, and What Is Not
Included in the quoted price
- + Free inspection of the piece, in your home or by photograph, with an honest recommendation on whether it is worth recovering
- + Fabric and leather samples brought to you, and a fixed quote naming fabric reference, metreage and foam density
- + Collection from your address anywhere in Dubai, and return delivery after the work
- + Stripping, frame inspection and minor repair, new foam and fill as quoted, and full recovering
- + Pattern matching across cushions and back panels, new zips and inner covers
- + Fabric care sheet and a written warranty on workmanship
Not included, quoted separately
- − VAT at 5 percent, added to the quoted sum
- − Major structural frame rebuilds, which we quote separately after stripping and photographing the damage
- − Client-supplied fabric, which we are happy to work with but cannot warrant for wear or colourfastness
- − Specialist stain-protection treatments beyond the mill finish already on the cloth
- − Deep cleaning or odour treatment of an existing piece before work begins
- − Imported designer fabrics ordered to your specification, which carry their own 2 to 4 week shipping lead time
Why Renovel
A lot of upholstery in Dubai is quoted over the phone from a photograph and priced on fabric alone. We inspect the frame first, because that decides whether the job is worth doing, and we name the foam density and the fabric reference in the quote so you can compare it against anyone else honestly.
Our own Al Quoz workshop
Frame bench, foam cutting, sewing room and finishing under one roof in the Dubai joinery district, so nothing is subcontracted and nothing gets lost between two companies.
Honest inspection
If the frame is not worth recovering we say so, and we will show you the joint that failed rather than sell you a job that will disappoint in a year.
Furniture and interiors together
The same team can recover the sofa, build the matching headboard, upholster the dining chairs and specify the curtains, so the room ends up coherent.
Residential and commercial
Homes, villas and majlis alongside restaurant banquettes, hotel lounges and office seating, with contract-grade fabrics where the use demands it.
For new upholstered pieces rather than recovers, see custom sofas and bedroom furniture. For a full majlis room including seating, carpets and lighting, see Arabic majlis design, and browse the wider workshop range on custom furniture Dubai.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to reupholster a sofa in Dubai in 2026?
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A two-seat sofa runs AED 2,500 to 5,000 and a three-seat AED 3,500 to 7,000 in a mid-range performance fabric, assuming the frame is sound. An L shape or large corner sofa is AED 6,000 to 12,000. A single armchair is AED 1,200 to 2,500, dining chairs are AED 150 to 350 each for a seat pad and AED 400 to 800 for a fully upholstered chair, and headboards run AED 800 to 3,500 depending on size and detailing. If only the seat has collapsed, foam replacement alone is AED 250 to 600 per cushion. VAT at 5 percent is added, and collection and return delivery in Dubai are included.
Is reupholstering worth it, or should I just buy a new sofa?
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Recover it if the frame is hardwood and still solid, the piece is a size or shape you cannot easily replace, or it has sentimental or design value. A good frame outlives three sets of fabric, and recovering typically costs 40 to 60 percent of an equivalent new custom sofa while giving you a better construction than a budget retail replacement. Replace it if the frame is stapled softwood or particleboard, if the joints have failed in more than a couple of places, or if the sofa never fitted the room properly to begin with. We will tell you which case you are in at the inspection, including when the honest answer is that a new piece makes more sense.
How much fabric does a sofa need, and what does fabric cost?
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A dining chair seat takes 1 to 1.5 metres, an armchair 5 to 7 metres, a three-seat sofa 12 to 18 metres and an L shape 20 to 30 metres. Patterned fabric needs repeat matching, which adds 20 to 30 percent to the metreage. Cotton and synthetic blends run AED 50 to 120 per metre, performance woven fabrics AED 120 to 250, velvet and boucle AED 180 to 400, and contract or hospitality grades AED 200 to 450. Leather is priced by hide with lower yield, so expect a leather recover to cost 40 to 70 percent more than the same job in fabric.
Which upholstery fabrics hold up in the UAE climate?
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Three properties matter here. UV stability, because Dubai light through a west-facing window will bleach a poorly dyed cloth within a couple of years, so check the lightfastness rating before you fall in love with a colour. Rub count, since a Martindale figure above 30,000 is what you want for a family sofa and above 50,000 for a restaurant. And moisture behaviour, because rooms cycle between humid outdoor air and cold dry air conditioning all day. Performance weaves, solution-dyed acrylics and treated microfibres handle all three well. Untreated linen and loose-weave cotton do not.
Do you reupholster headboards and beds?
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Yes, headboards are one of our most requested items. We recover an existing headboard or build a new one to your bed width and the wall height you want, in flat panel, channelled, deep-buttoned, panelled or curved-wing designs. Fabric, velvet, boucle and leather are all available, and we can match the headboard to a bench, ottoman or curtain fabric already in the room. Full bed upholstery covering headboard and base together is quoted as one job, which is usually cheaper than the two separately.
Can you reupholster Arabic majlis seating?
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Yes, and it is a regular job for us across Dubai villas. We handle both floor-level and elevated majlis, recovering seat runs, backrests, bolsters and floor cushions, and we price the work per linear metre of seating at AED 700 to 1,800. We can match a traditional damask or jacquard, reproduce an existing pattern where the mill still supplies it, or modernise the room with a contemporary plain weave while keeping the original layout. Larger majlis runs usually take 2 to 3 weeks.
How long does upholstery work take, and do you collect the furniture?
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Dining chairs are typically 3 to 5 working days, a single armchair 4 to 7, a two or three-seat sofa 5 to 10, and a large sectional or a full majlis run 2 to 3 weeks. We collect from your address anywhere in Dubai and return the finished piece, both included in the quote. If the piece cannot leave the property, small jobs such as dining chair pads and headboards can be handled on site by arrangement.
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