An upholsterer for Colchester, from a Heybridge workshop
Reupholstery, handmade curtains, roman blinds and shutters for the oldest recorded town in Britain, made on site at our workshop near Maldon, about 19 miles and 29 minutes along the A12.
Simon Houlding Upholstery makes reupholstery, bespoke furniture, curtains, blinds and shutters for homes across Colchester, all built at our workshop in Heybridge, near Maldon. By car it is about 19 miles and 29 minutes to the city centre, through Tiptree to the A12. The workshop has run since 1997 and holds 162 five-star reviews across Google, Facebook, Yell and Houzz, at a perfect 5.0 on every platform. You can read the reviews before you decide. We are not based in Colchester.
Stock Chase, Heybridge, near Maldon
About 19 miles, about 29 minutes by the A12
1997
162 five-star, 5.0 on every platform
More than 55,000 cloths from over 40 houses
8am to 4.30pm Monday to Friday, weekends by appointment
Colchester, a cloth town
Colchester made its name on cloth. Flemish weavers settled from the 1560s in what is still called the Dutch Quarter, and the town became known across Europe for its bays and says. The trade shaped the streets north of the High Street, and it is a fitting thing to keep in mind when you dress a window or recover a chair in a house of that age.
The cloth is still the heart of the work. Our library holds more than 55,000 fabrics from over 40 houses, a short drive from the city at the Heybridge showroom and fabric library. Narrow it by colour, material, use and house with the fabric finder, from a deep velvet to a hard-wearing linen, before anything is cut.
Colchester homes by age, and what each window asks for
The oldest recorded town in Britain holds houses of every century, and each age sets its own problem for a window and a frame.
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1
Timber-framed, before 1700
The Dutch Quarter, and villages such as Coggeshall and Dedham
The windowsLow beams and short drops rule out a full curtain in many rooms, so a roman blind made to the exact width often works better and shows a pattern well. Reveals are rarely square, so each window is measured on its own. Where a cottage is listed, fixings and what can be altered are limited, and we work to that from the first measure.
The furnitureThese houses tend to hold older frames, which are usually the best to keep. We strip a piece to the wood and rebuild it with hand-tied springs, fibre and horsehair, so it stays true to its age and fits the low-ceilinged room it has always lived in.
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2
Georgian town houses, 1714 to 1830
North Hill, East Hill and the streets off the High Street
The windowsTall sashes with working shutter boxes set the character. Curtains hung high make the most of the ceiling, lined and interlined for a full drape against period joinery. A pinch pleat or wave heading keeps the window its proper shape. Where the original shutters survive, the curtains are set to clear them so they can still be used.
The furnitureA taller Georgian room suits a larger piece, and the proportions carry a club chair or a well-built sofa. Older frames that come down a family can be restored without losing their character, rebuilt by hand to sit comfortably in the room again.
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3
Victorian and Edwardian villas, 1840 to 1910
Lexden, and the streets off Lexden Road and Maldon Road
The windowsLexden's villas have deep bays and tall sashes, often with the original cornice above. Curtains on a track shaped to the bay stack back to the sides and leave the glass clear, and our fitter measures every face of it. On streets where the front room is close to the pavement, shutters or a roman blind keep the room private and still light.
The furnitureThese houses often carry inherited chairs and sofas worth keeping. We take a tired piece back to the frame and rebuild it by hand, and a bay-windowed reception can take a fuller bespoke piece built to the dimensions the room actually is.
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4
Converted garrison buildings, Victorian and Edwardian
South of the city centre, on the old garrison site
The windowsConverted military buildings bring large, regular openings and good ceiling height, which take a fuller curtain well. We set tracks to carry the weight of a lined and interlined pair, and a wave heading stacks back cleanly against plain modern walls. For a south-facing room a UV protection or sheer blind behind the curtain cuts fade and glare.
The furnitureOpen-plan conversions suit a larger, considered piece rather than a shop sofa that will not fit. A bespoke sofa or a pair of club chairs built to your proportions earns its place, on solid beech with sprung seating.
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5
New estates and waterside houses, 2000 onward
Stanway, Mile End, and the waterside at Wivenhoe and West Mersea
The windowsNew estates at Stanway and Mile End bring wide bi-fold and patio doors that need shade without losing the garden. A perfect fit blind sits inside the frame with no bulk, and a Blindscreen unit on a low-threshold track gives blackout one way and a fly screen the other. Waterside houses take strong light, so we steer toward cloths that hold their colour.
The furnitureLarger living spaces take a bespoke sofa or armchair built to the room, and outdoor rooms by the water suit weatherproof upholstery in UV-resistant fabric, with cushion platforms set at the right height for comfort.
Keeping an old Colchester room warm
Draughty single-glazed sashes are part of life in the older Colchester streets, and cold falls off the glass through the evening. Curtains that are lined and interlined add a soft, dense layer that slows that heat loss and gives a full, heavy drape. All our curtains are lined and interlined as standard, so they do real work as well as looking right.
A roman blind adds another layer at the glass, and shutters bring a solid panel that softens noise and holds privacy with a partial close. Each does a different thing: curtains for warmth and drape in the evening, a blind to show a pattern and use less cloth, shutters for daytime light and order. We advise once we have seen the room.
Upholstery for Colchester homes
Reupholstery
Sofas, armchairs and dining chairs go back to the bare frame and are rebuilt by hand, layer by layer. In Colchester's older houses the frame is often better than anything sold new, so we keep it and rebuild it, with hand-tied springs, fibre and horsehair.
Club chairs
Our signature build: a deep, sprung club chair hand-finished on a solid beech frame, in leather. A club chair built to your proportions suits a Georgian reception or a garrison conversion, and an old one can come back to the workshop to be rebuilt.
Bespoke commissions
Furniture made to the size the room is. Useful under the beams of a timber-framed cottage, or where a second sofa has to match one you already own. Each is built on a solid beech frame with sprung seating.
Commercial and contract
We take on work most local workshops turn away, made across five units by our own team. Our contract work includes Fortnum & Mason, Selfridges, Wembley Park and Moot Hall in Maldon, with fire-retardancy handled and a clear lead time on every quote.
How a Colchester job runs
For a piece of furniture
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1
Step 1
Send a photo of your piece and a few words about the room. We reply personally, and for reupholstery we quote using an average price fabric so you have a real figure to work from.
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Step 2
Once you approve the quote, we arrange an appointment either at the Heybridge showroom or in your Colchester home, and go through fabrics with you from the library at no extra charge.
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Step 3
The piece is built on site at Heybridge, every stage overseen by Simon, stripped to the frame and rebuilt by hand with hand-tied springs, fibre and horsehair for another twenty years of use.
For a window
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1
Step 1
Send a photo and a few words about the room, with rough measurements if you have them, so we can quote the curtains, blinds or shutters you have in mind.
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2
Step 2
Our own fitter carries out an in-depth measure before any work begins, taking each reveal on its own where a window is out of square, as the older Colchester houses tend to be.
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3
Step 3
Curtains and roman blinds are made in our Heybridge curtain room. Our fitter fits the tracks, and Simon delivers, hangs and dresses the curtains himself.
“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 Colchester and nearby places
Measured by car from Unit F, Stock Chase, Heybridge, Maldon CM9 4AA on 12 October 2026, by the usual route through Tiptree to the A12.
- Tiptree: 6 miles, about 13 minutes
- Coggeshall: 11 miles, about 19 minutes
- Marks Tey: 13 miles, about 20 minutes
- Stanway: 14 miles, about 22 minutes
- West Mersea: 15 miles, about 25 minutes
- Lexden: 16 miles, about 26 minutes
- Colchester city centre: 19 miles, about 29 minutes
- Mile End: 19 miles, about 30 minutes
- Wivenhoe: 23 miles, about 36 minutes
- Dedham: 24 miles, about 33 minutes
What reupholstery costs for a Colchester home
Reupholstery costs about what a new piece of similar quality would. There is no price list, since the work in a wing chair is nothing like the work in six dining chairs. Send a photo and a short description and we reply with a personal quote, worked out on an average price fabric so the figure means something.
After you approve it we arrange an appointment, at the showroom or at home in Colchester. The one thing with a known price is the leather club chair: around £5,000 including VAT new, and around £5,000 including VAT for a full restoration, depending on what the old chair needs.
Places near Colchester
Witham
6 miles, about 12 minutes from the workshop
Silver End and its Crittall steel windows ask for dressing hung clear of the glass.
Braintree
13 miles, about 26 minutes from the workshop
The silk town, where silk still earns its place on the right window at home.
Clacton-on-Sea
35 miles, about 47 minutes from the workshop
A favourite chair or suite made comfortable again, and curtains for Frinton's avenues.
Send a photo from Colchester
A picture of the piece or the window and a line about the room is enough for a personal quote.
Questions, answered.
Simon Houlding Upholstery, established 1997, in Heybridge near Maldon, about 29 minutes from Colchester. It is the most reviewed upholsterer in the area, with 162 five-star reviews, and Simon oversees every stage. Reupholstery, bespoke pieces, curtains, blinds and shutters are all made on site.
The workshop is at Stock Chase, Heybridge, Maldon CM9 4AA, about 19 miles and 29 minutes from the city centre by car, through Tiptree to the A12. Lexden is about 26 minutes and Stanway about 22 minutes. We are not based in Colchester itself, and keep no premises there.
Yes. In a listed building, fixings and what can be altered are limited, and we work to that from the first measure. Timber-framed cottages often have low beams, short drops and reveals that are out of square, so we measure each window on its own and often suggest a roman blind where a full curtain will not sit well.
Yes. All our curtains are lined and interlined as standard, which adds a soft, dense layer that slows the heat lost through single-glazed sashes. Cold falls off old glass through the evening, and the extra layer, with a full heavy drape, makes a real difference to comfort as well as looking right.
Both work on wide openings. A perfect fit blind sits inside the frame with no bulk or movement. A Blindscreen unit runs on a low-threshold track and pulls one way for blackout and the other for a fly screen, which suits the wide bi-fold and patio doors on the new estates. We advise once we see the doors.
Yes. Generally, older furniture has the best quality frames. We strip everything back to the wood and rebuild using traditional techniques and materials such as hand-tying the springs and using fibre and horsehair. This keeps the chair true to its age and allows many more years of use, without losing its character.
Yes, both are fine. You can choose from thousands of fabrics through the houses we trust, with design guidance included at no extra charge, or work with your own material. If you are supplying your own cloth, send us the details and we will advise whether it suits the piece or the window.
Most reupholstery runs a few weeks once the fabric is in. You get a clear timeline with every quote, so you know where you stand before any work begins. Timing depends on the piece and the cloth, which is why we give a timeline against your own job rather than a blanket figure.
Yes, by appointment. The showroom is built into the workshop at Stock Chase, Heybridge, Maldon CM9 4AA, open 8am to 4.30pm Monday to Friday, with weekends by appointment. It is about 29 minutes from Colchester.