Reupholstery for the furniture a Billericay family uses hardest
A sofa the children and dogs have claimed, dining chairs worn thin, a chair nobody will give up. Every piece can go back to the bare frame and come home rebuilt by hand, ready for Billericay family life once more.
Simon Houlding Upholstery reupholsters sofas, armchairs and dining chairs for Billericay homes from a workshop at Stock Chase, Heybridge, near Maldon, about 18 miles and about 30 minutes from the town centre by car. Tired pieces are stripped to the frame and rebuilt by hand, layer by layer, for another twenty years of use. The workshop has been at it since 1997 and holds 162 five-star reviews. We are not based in Billericay.
The pieces a Billericay family wears out
A town of family houses is a town of hard-used furniture.
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1
The family sofa
Sagging seats, worn arms, flattened cushions
What wears outChildren bounce on it, dogs climb on it, and three people land on it every evening. The seat sinks because the webbing or springs have gone, the arms wear through where hands and heads rest, and the cushions lose their shape and never come back.
What we doWe take it back to the bare frame, re-tie the springs by hand and rebuild with natural fibres, then cover it in cloth you choose. See our work on reupholstery.
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2
Dining chairs
Thin seats, loose joints, grubby cloth
What wears outSat on three times a day, dining chairs take more wear than people expect. The seat padding packs down to nothing, the frame starts to rock as glued joints loosen, and the cloth stains and thins where it is used most.
What we doSeats are re-padded and recovered, frames re-glued where they have worked loose, and the whole set brought back to one standard, in your cloth or ours.
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3
The armchair nobody will give up
Worn through, but too loved to replace
What wears outThere is usually one chair that has to stay. The cover has worn through on the arms and the front edge, the seat has dropped, and no new chair feels the same when you sit in it. The frame underneath is often sound.
What we doWe strip it to the wood and rebuild by hand, keeping the shape and the comfort you know. A club chair can come back the same way.
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4
A headboard or ottoman
Scuffed fabric, tired padding, dated look
What wears outA headboard takes nightly leaning and marks where hands and heads fall. An ottoman at the foot of the bed gets sat on, stood on and knocked. Both show their age in the cloth long before anything structural gives way.
What we doHeadboards and ottomans are recovered and re-padded in our workshop, in a cloth matched to the room, so the bedroom reads as one piece again.
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5
An inherited or antique piece
Loose frame, perished stuffing, old cover
What wears outA chair or sofa passed down carries something no new one has. The frame is usually better than anything sold today, but the stuffing has perished, the springs have dropped, and the cover has long since given up.
What we doWe strip to the wood and rebuild with hand-tied springs, fibre and horsehair, keeping it true to its age. See our traditional upholstery.
A Billericay sofa can change shape, not just change cloth
Some customers could not find a replacement for their much-loved deep buttoned sofas, so they sent us a photograph of the more contemporary style they had in mind. We used their original frames as the foundation and built the new look onto them.
The result was a refreshed suite with the updated shape they wanted and the comfort they already knew. If you like how a frame sits in the room but not how it looks, that gap can be closed. See the re-modelled sofa.
Matching a new piece to one you keep
A sofa to match
We once built a new two-seater by replicating the design, proportion and detailing of a customer's existing three-seater, so the two sit together as a pair. The same can be done to extend a suite you do not want to replace.
No piece too large
The longest sofa we have reupholstered is a twelve seater, so a generous family sofa or a run of seating in a big room holds no fear for the workshop. One piece or a whole room, the work is the same.
Cloth that takes family life
The fabric finder narrows more than 55,000 cloths by colour, material and use, so you can filter for hard-wearing weaves that stand up to children, dogs and daily sitting before you commit to anything.
Choosing cloth for a Billericay family room
A family room needs a cloth that takes punishment and still looks right. Our library holds more than 55,000 fabrics from over 40 houses, and the fabric finder lets you narrow it by use, so you can start with cloths made for daily seating rather than scrolling through everything.
By material, wool is resilient and keeps its shape, and a velvet with a short, dense pile wears better than its look suggests. Bring a photograph of the room and we go through the books with you, at no extra charge, until the cloth and the room agree.
Windows for a Billericay house
Curtains for a 1930s bay
The family houses round the old centre often carry a curved or splayed bay. Our curtains are made, measured and hung by our own team, lined and interlined as standard for drape and warmth.
Blinds for Queens Park
The newer houses on the Queens Park estate tend to have regular openings and tidy reveals. A roman blind, made on site and checked by two makers before a cut, shows a pattern and keeps the sill clear.
Shutters for a Stock cottage
Period cottages out towards Stock and Ramsden Heath suit shutters, measured and fitted to any shape of window. They hold privacy with a partial close and gather none of the dust curtains do.
“When it came to dressing our 300-year-old home, Simon Houlding didn't just deliver; they soared to First Class heights. Curtains so perfect they might as well have a passport to luxury, and our antique French sofa reupholstered to look straight out of a Parisian chateau.”
How far the workshop is from Billericay
Measured by car from Unit F, Stock Chase, Heybridge, on 12 October 2026, usually by the A414 to Chelmsford, the A12 and the B1007 through Stock.
- Stock: 15 miles, about 24 minutes
- Ramsden Heath: 15 miles, about 25 minutes
- Billericay town centre: 18 miles, about 30 minutes
- Great Burstead: 18 miles, about 33 minutes
- Little Burstead: 20 miles, about 34 minutes
What it costs for a Billericay home
Reupholstery comes in at about what a new piece of similar quality would cost. Because a single armchair and a set of six dining chairs are very different jobs, there is no fixed list. Send a photo and a few words, and you get a personal reply quoting your project using an average price fabric.
Once you approve the quote, we arrange an appointment either at the showroom in Heybridge or in your own home, and go through the cloth with you there. Guidance on fabric and finish is part of any commission.
Places near Billericay
Brentwood
22 miles, about 34 minutes from the workshop
Large houses and whole rooms, where furniture and curtains are made to the plan.
Basildon
23 miles, about 33 minutes from the workshop
Mid-century furniture that is often well built and worth the work.
Chelmsford
12 miles, about 22 minutes from the workshop
New houses arrive with bare windows, so we dress them room by room.
Tell us about the piece
Send a photo and a few words about the room, and you get a personal reply with a quote.
Questions, answered.
Simon Houlding Upholstery, established 1997, in Heybridge near Maldon, about 30 minutes from the town centre. Sofas, armchairs, dining chairs and antique frames are stripped to the wood and rebuilt by hand, with every stage overseen by Simon. The workshop holds 162 five-star reviews across every platform.
The workshop and showroom are at Stock Chase, Heybridge, Maldon CM9 4AA, about 18 miles and about 30 minutes from the town centre by car. The usual route is the A414 to Chelmsford, the A12 and the B1007 through Stock. We are not based in the town and keep no showroom there.
Usually it is worth it, if the piece has served you well. Most new furniture is not built the way yours was, and a good frame is worth more than its replacement. We take it back to the frame and rebuild for another twenty years of use. Send a photo and we will advise.
Yes. Seats are re-padded and recovered, frames re-glued where joints have worked loose, and the whole set brought back to one standard. You can use a cloth from our library or your own. Send a photo for a personal quote.
Yes. We have used customers' original frames as the foundation for a more contemporary look, taken from a photograph of the style they wanted. You keep the comfort and quality you know, with the updated shape you are after. Send a picture of the sofa and the look you have in mind.
Yes. We have built a new two-seater by replicating the design, proportion and detailing of a customer's existing three-seater, so the two match. A new armchair or sofa can be made to sit alongside what you already own and keep the set together.
Most reupholstery runs a few weeks once the fabric is in. The exact time depends on the piece and the work it needs, and you get a clear timeline with every quote, so you know where you stand before anything begins.
Yes, both are fine. You can choose from thousands of cloths through the houses we hold, or supply your own material. If you want a hand with the choice, guidance on fabric and finish comes with any commission at no extra charge.