Repair instead of buying new

Aug 02, 2026

Did you know that since last Friday, July 31, the EU right to repair has been in effect in Germany? Manufacturers are now supposed to enable repairs for certain electrical products, from smartphones to vacuum cleaners, instead of sending customers the next new device when something breaks. Our customers can also request a repair from us.

We think this is a step in the right direction. For us, however, this is basically nothing new: if something is broken, it gets repaired. Sometimes, for a sofa, this means: the frame and upholstery are actually still fine, only the cover eventually wears out.

Precisely for such cases, we have several talented seamstresses on our team. If you visit our workshop, you'll usually see two or three people busy at the sewing machines, who have been doing the job for years. It looks relaxed, but it's real precision work.

Näherin bei der Arbeit an einem Sofa-Neubezug in der Revive Werkstatt

Reupholstering a sofa takes an average of 15 to 25 working hours, an armchair 7 to 10. First, the entire old cover is removed, then the upholstery is checked and refreshed if necessary. Afterwards, the new fabric is cut and usually fitted directly onto the piece of furniture, because hardly any sofa is exactly like the next. Then it's sewn.

However, we don't do this for every piece of furniture that comes in. We look at it and consider: Is reupholstering necessary? And can the material be saved? It's always a trade-off between preserving resources and originality or what a piece of furniture needs to be usable again.

Leather, for example, is generally a good material that offers a lot. With fabric, it depends. It becomes critical if a fabric is heavily worn, faded, or torn. In such cases, reupholstering is often a better solution than trying to somehow save it.

We currently also offer reupholstering permanently for selected models, for example the Multy from Ligne Roset or some sofas from Rolf Benz. I have put together a small selection of chic reupholstered items.

My reupholstery recommendations: