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Bring the furniture you love back to life
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At Christophe Living, we restore sofas, armchairs and dining chairs for clients across Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs, Inner West, North Shore and beyond. Each piece is fully stripped, rebuilt to its timber frame, and recovered in fabric of your choosing — by hand, in our workshop, the way it has been done since 1987.
Send us a photo. We’ll reply within 48 hours with an indication of cost and what we would do.
WhatsApp: 0412 744 711 · Call: 02 9328 3352
Sofa Reupholstery
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From classical Louis-style settees to fully upholstered contemporary silhouettes. We strip your sofa to the timber frame, repair any loose joinery, replace foam with new high-density Australian-made foam (10-year warranty), and recover the piece in your choice of fabric.
Armchair Reupholstery
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Bergères, fauteuils, wingbacks, club chairs and modern occasional armchairs. We handle the full restoration — frame repair, refinishing or repainting the timber, gilding where required, and recovering in fabric chosen at home in natural light.
Dining Chair Reupholstery
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Louis XVI, Louis Philippe, Provincial, Georgian, mid-century — restored as sets of two, four, six, eight or more. Sets are matched precisely; fabric is sourced in volume to ensure dye-lot consistency.
Every Piece, Fully Restored
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Each restoration is a combination of structural repair and finish choices.
1 FRAME REPAIR
Loose joinery re-glued. Broken legs and stretchers repaired. Damaged carving restored. Webbing and springs replaced where required. Done before any new fabric goes on.
2 SOFA AND CHAIR FEET
Choice of solid timber feet — natural, walnut, ebony, painted, or gilded. We’ll match existing feet, swap to a new design, or have new feet turned to your specification.
3 PREMIUM EUROPEAN FABRICS
Hundreds of fabrics from the great French and European houses. Toile de Jouy, jacquards, velvets, damasks, linens, embroidered fabrics. Sampled in your home.
4 REFINISHING THE TIMBER
Stripped, sanded, re-stained and sealed in oak, walnut or mahogany — light, medium or dark. Restores the original character of the timber and adjusts the colour to your interior.
5 PAINT FINISHES
From classical white through grey, antique cream, soft blue and bespoke colour-matched finishes. Hand-applied to bring out the carving.
6 GILDING
Genuine gold leaf, silver leaf, or metallic finishes applied by hand. From subtle accents on carved detail to fully gilded frames in the French luxury tradition.
The Details That Matter
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FRAME REPAIR
SOFA AND CHAIR FEET
STUDS
Decorative upholstery studs in antique brass, polished brass, hammered bronze, gunmetal, or brushed silver. Spaced single, double or close-set — your choice. Used to define the line of an arm, the edge of a back, or as a continuous border.
PIPING
Self-piping (in the same fabric as the body) for a quiet, classical finish. Contrast piping for a sharper graphic line. Or no piping at all for a more contemporary silhouette. Single, double or flange piping — to your specification.
BOLSTER CUSHIONS
Bolster cushions, scatter cushions, traditional T-cushion seats, French-style boxed cushions, feather-and-down or high-density foam — every cushion variation common to French and classical upholstery, plus contemporary alternatives if you prefer.
SCATTER CUSHIONS
Fabric – the soul of the piece
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Australia’s finest French and European upholstery fabric library.
The fabric you choose is what transforms a piece of furniture into an heirloom. At Christophe Living, we curate one of Australia’s most extensive selections of upholstery fabric in the French and classical tradition.
Our library includes embroidered fabrics, the luminous depth of jacquards, the poetic storytelling of toile de Jouy, the grandeur of Versailles prints, and the quieter sophistication of plain linen, damask, stripes and small patterns.
Each fabric is chosen for its faithfulness to classical interiors. Each is sampled in your home, in natural light, against your existing pieces — because fabric never looks the same in a showroom as it does where it will live.
Refinish and Timber Options
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The beauty of a piece often lies in the finish that completes it. At Christophe Living, every timber frame is finished by hand, allowing you to personalise your furniture down to the finest detail.
We offer a refined selection of timber finishes to suit every interior. In walnut, choose from light, medium or dark tones — each bringing warmth and depth to the frame. Our oak finishes range from a soft, airy light oak to a rich, characterful dark oak, with a warm medium oak in between. For a more dramatic result, mahogany delivers a deep, luxurious tone that anchors any room with quiet confidence.
Whether your interior is classical or contemporary, each finish is carefully applied by hand to enhance the natural grain of the wood and create a truly timeless result.
Finish options
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Gilding and trimming options
Refined details that define the character of each piece. Our gilding and trimming options are meticulously hand applied, enhancing the natural beauty of the timber while adding depth, contrast and sophistication. From subtle gold accents to fully gilded finishes, each option allows you to tailor the chair to your project’s aesthetic.
Paint finishes
Our paint finishes offer a refined palette designed to complement both classic and contemporary interiors. From pure white to antique white, each finish is carefully applied to enhance the details of the carving while bringing softness and elegance to the piece.
Custom colours are also available, allowing you to tailor each chair to your project’s aesthetic.
How it Works
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From photograph to finished piece — usually 4 to 6 weeks.
- Send us a photograph — Front, side and any close detail. By WhatsApp, email or through our contact form. We reply within 48 hours with an initial assessment and a price indication.
- Showroom consultation — Visit us in Double Bay, tell us about your project and your interior, and Jean-Christophe will personally guide you through our fabric collection — so you can touch, compare, and find exactly what you’re looking for.
- We collect, restore, return — Your piece is collected from your home, brought to our workshop. Fully strip to the frame, reinforce frame if needed. We use premium foams and can make any improvements you require, such as adjusting seat height and firmness.
- Delivery and installation — We deliver and install the finished piece — placed exactly where it belongs. All restorations come with a ten-year warranty on materials and workmanship.
Indicative Pricing
Dining chairs $350 – $700 per chair + fabric
Armchairs $850 – $1,800 per chair + fabric
Sofas $3,500 – $5,000 + fabric
Final pricing depends on the condition of the piece, the chosen fabric, and the scope of work — frame repair, refinishing, gilding and so on are quoted separately. We provide a fixed written quote before any work begins.
We Also Make Sofas to Order
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A sofa is the heart of a room, and at Christophe Living every piece is crafted to reflect the home it belongs to. We specialise in custom-made and reupholstered sofas, tailoring each project to your exact vision. From fabric selection to final stitch, every sofa is handcrafted with care and precision, ensuring a piece that is truly one of a kind, built for you, and built to last.
We work in two distinct styles:
Louis sofas – timber frame:
Classical French silhouettes with exposed carved timber frames. Available in 1, 2, 2.5 and 3-seater configurations.
Fully upholstered sofas:
Contemporary or classical silhouettes with the frame fully wrapped — clean lines, sculptural arms, choice of leg style.
Made to your exact dimensions, upholstered in your choice of fabric, and finished in gilded, painted or natural timber. Made to order. Made for your home.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Reupholstery cost depends on the piece, the fabric, and the scope of work. As a guide: dining chairs from $350 to $700 each plus fabric. Sofas from $3,500 to $5,000 plus fabric. Armchairs and bespoke pieces are quoted individually. We provide a fixed written quote before any work begins, with no obligation.
Typically four to six weeks from collection to delivery. The timeline depends on the complexity of the work, fabric availability (some European fabrics are made to order), and the season. We confirm a delivery window before starting work and update you at each stage.
Yes — we restore furniture for clients across all of Sydney. Our workshop is in Double Bay, but we collect from and deliver to homes throughout the Eastern Suburbs, North Shore, Inner West, Northern Beaches, Inner City, and the Hills. We also undertake interstate commissions on request.
For most quality furniture, reupholstery is the better economic and environmental choice. A solid timber-frame sofa was likely built to last 50–80 years; the upholstery is the part that wears out. Reupholstering preserves the piece — its proportions, its joinery, its provenance — at typically 40–60% of the cost of replacing it with comparable new furniture. Mass-produced furniture from low-cost retailers is often not worth restoring; pieces from heritage makers, family heirlooms and antique furniture almost always are.
Yes — antique and French Provincial restoration is one of our specialities. We work on Louis XV, Louis XVI, Louis Philippe, Provincial, Georgian, Edwardian and Victorian pieces, using traditional techniques where appropriate. We can also re-gild, refinish or repaint timber frames as part of the restoration.
Most clients choose from our curated library of European fabric houses — Pierre Frey, Nobilis, Dedar, Designers Guild, Zimmer + Rohde — sampled in your home in natural light. We can also work with fabric you supply (“COM” — customer’s own material), provided it is suitable for upholstery use. We will advise honestly on suitability before commencing.
No — we collect from your home and deliver back. The first step is to send us a photograph (WhatsApp 0412 744 711, or by email). We assess the piece remotely, give you an indicative quote, and arrange a home consultation to show fabrics and confirm the scope before collection.
All our restorations come with a 10-year warranty on the foam and a structural warranty on the frame and joinery. Fabric warranty follows the manufacturer’s terms — typically 5–10 years for premium European houses.
Yes — restoration is the perfect time to adjust. We can raise or lower seat height, change firmness (soft / medium / firm), reshape cushions, modify arm height or back angle, or replace traditional fillings with high-density foam (or vice versa).
Yes — we make sofas to order in the French and classical tradition. Both timber-frame Louis-style sofas and fully upholstered silhouettes, in 1, 2, 2.5 and 3-seater configurations. See the “We also make sofas” section above, or contact us to discuss a commission.
Reupholstery and Furniture Restoration Across Sydney
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Christophe Living is based in Double Bay and works with clients across metropolitan Sydney. Our pickup-and-deliver service brings premium reupholstery, furniture restoration and custom sofa commissions directly to your home, wherever you are.
EASTERN SUBURBS
Reupholstery in Bellevue Hill, Vaucluse, Woollahra, Double Bay, Point Piper, Darling Point, Rose Bay, Paddington, Centennial Park, Edgecliff, Dover Heights, Bondi, Bronte, Tamarama, Queens Park and Waverley.
INNER WEST
Reupholstery in Balmain, Rozelle, Glebe, Leichhardt, Annandale, Newtown, Marrickville.
NORTH SHORE
Sofa and chair reupholstery in Mosman, Hunters Hill, Woolwich, Cremorne, Neutral Bay, Kirribilli, McMahons Point, Lavender Bay, Wollstonecraft, Waverton and Crows Nest.
UPPER NORTH SHORE
Furniture upholstery in Lindfield, Killara, Pymble, Gordon, Turramurra, Wahroonga, Roseville, Chatswood, Castlecrag, Northbridge and Cammeray.
INNER CITY & SOUTH
Reupholstery services in Surry Hills, Darlinghurst, Potts Point, Elizabeth Bay, Rushcutters Bay, Kings Cross, Pyrmont, Ultimo, Redfern, Alexandria, Erskineville, Coogee, Randwick and Maroubra.
NORTHERN BEACHES
Furniture restoration in Manly, Balgowlah, Seaforth, Fairlight, Clontarf, Mosman Heights, Avalon, Palm Beach, Whale Beach, Newport, Mona Vale, Bayview, Church Point and Clareville.
SPECIALIST SERVICES
Beyond standard reupholstery, our Sydney workshop specialises in antique furniture restoration, French Provincial furniture restoration, Louis XV and Louis XVI chair reupholstery, bergère restoration, fauteuil reupholstery, wing chair restoration, and bespoke French sofa commissions. We work on heritage furniture, family heirlooms, mid-century modern pieces, and pieces brought back from overseas. Whether you need a single dining chair recovered or a full set restored, a sofa rebuilt or a new sofa commissioned, our craftsmen apply the same standard of work — by hand, in the French tradition, with materials chosen to last decades.
Whether you call it reupholstery, re-upholstery, upholstering, recovering or restoring — Christophe Living has restored Sydney’s finest furniture from our Double Bay workshop since 1987.
WhatsApp 0412 744 711 · Call 02 9328 3352 · [email protected]