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Furniture Replacement vs. Repair: A Guide for Spend-Savvy Homeowners

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Owning a home means being a responsible homeowner. It’s your job to keep your property looking clean, respectable, neat and tidy. Part of this is maintaining your furniture, and admittedly, it’s one of the more expensive parts. If your furniture becomes damaged or worn out, you’re faced with the dilemma of deciding whether to save money by repairing it, or shelling out to buy a replacement.

 

This helpful article has prepared a guide for spend-savvy homeowners to help you decide if you should repair or replace your damaged, worn or faded furniture.

Kitchen Benches

If your stone kitchen benchtop is chipped, cracked, or otherwise damaged, you might be wondering about the cost of stone benchtop repair versus outright replacement. This is a dilemma indeed because a chipped or cracked stone benchtop can ruin the effect of a polished and pristine kitchen, as well as cause potential hygiene issues with food and bacteria getting stuck inside the gaps. However, replacing a stone benchtop can involve an entire kitchen renovation or at least clearout to be able to reinstall a new surface, not to mention the cost.

 

Whether you should replace or repair your furniture depends on the extent of the damage. If your stone benchtop has small chips or cracks, these can often be filled with a special epoxy resin that closely matches the original stone colour. Scratches, depending on their depth, can usually be polished out. Some light stains can be removed with proper cleaning materials and techniques. For slightly larger structural or aesthetic issues, it’s wise to enlist a professional to make sure you don’t make the damage worse and can conduct repairs that last years, not months.

 

However, major cracks can compromise the structural integrity of the stone benchtop and be difficult to repair properly. Extensive, deep, or widespread staining, and significant wear and tear, such as heavy pitting and multiple chips can also be difficult to remedy. In this case, it might be worth splashing out to replace your stone benchtop, since it is often the focal design and functional point of a kitchen.

Desks & Dining Room Table

Now let’s discuss the centrepiece of your dining room, and your home office. If your dining table or desk is scratched and marked, you can usually repair it without too much trouble. Remove scratches by sanding the surface back and applying a new coat of varnish. You can also fill small dents and cracks with wood filler to smooth out the surface and repair minor cosmetic issues.

 

While you’re at it, check for loose screws or joints on the legs of your dining table or desk and tighten them up. If your desk or table requires complex work, such as veneer patching or major structural repairs, consider consulting with a professional furniture repair company or contractor.

 

It’s better to consider replacing your desk or table if it has extensive structural damage, such as a compromised frame with large cracks or broken legs. Water damage, such as from a ceiling leak or prior property flooding, will also affect the timber’s integrity. If the cost of replacing or repairing your dining room table is too steep, consider making your own from scratch, for a more personal touch in your home.

Sofas & Chairs

If you’re updating your interiors without planning a full-scale renovation, sprucing up a couch that’s worn out, damaged, or otherwise in need of some care can make a big difference to your living space. For a leather couch, consider whether applying leather conditioner or treatment is enough to breathe a new lease of life into it. If it’s a fabric couch and has minor tears in the fabric, these might also be repairable.

 

However, there are some signs that your couch needs replacement, such as if it’s absorbed spills and has a strong odour. Alternatively, if the leather or fabric has major tears that are beyond a simple patch or sewing repair, or if the couch no longer provides lumbar support and is sagging and uncomfortable, replacement is the best approach.

 

If parts of your dining room, recliner or office desk chairs are loose, a simple tightening of the joints may be enough to repair them. Wobbly chairs can be fixed by tightening the mechanism or bolts. You can also wipe down and restore leather chairs with the right materials and treatment. However, if the seat cushion is sagging, cracked or flattened, it may be time to replace them. Ultimately, if the chair is fundamentally uncomfortable to sit on because its base or legs are cracked or broken or the castors are damaged, replacement is best.

Beds & Bedding

Beds are often the type of household furniture that lasts longest. You’ll frequently be able to replace the mattress before you need to replace or repair the entire bed frame. Generally, it’s recommended to replace your mattress every 6 – 8 years anyway, as it will lose support and build up dust, dust mites and other tiny skin and dirt particles over its lifetime.

 

Repairs for the bed itself might look like improving structural integrity, polishing the wood or steam-cleaning the fabric. However, if the mattress is sinking in, the wood is damaged or rotten, or there’s excessive creaking when you move around, that’s an indicator you might want to replace your bed frame before it collapses in on you in the middle of the night!

 

Generally, it’s recommended to replace rather than repair your bedding furniture. It’s important to prioritise comfortable and restful sleep, so this is one area you don’t want to compromise on.

Replacement vs. Repair: In Conclusion

This helpful article has shared some knowledge on what to consider when it comes to repairing or replacing home furniture items, from stone kitchen benchtops to tables and chairs, to home office desks and of course, your trusty bed. We’ve shared what can easily be repaired, and when an outright replacement might be the best course of action.

 

For the individual furniture items you’re dealing with, consider how integral it is to your daily life, and how sentimental you feel towards it. If the costs of repair are already pretty pricey, investing a little more in a quality replacement might be worth it to secure a long-term solution.

 

That said, there are many items of furniture that can be brushed up and restored to almost-new status, reducing your maintenance costs and consumption, as well as the need to go on the hunt for a new item that matches your decor and tastes.

 

If you’re looking for the right tools to give furniture repair a go, or even to try your hand at your own DIY furniture-building project, check out the premium tools available to hire near you today.

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