Your Maldon upholsterer is a mile away, in Heybridge
We are the Maldon upholsterer you can walk in to. The workshop and showroom sit at Stock Chase in Heybridge, a mile from the High Street, where reupholstery, curtains, blinds and shutters are all made by our own hands.
Come to the Maldon workshop and showroom
The showroom is at Unit F, Stock Chase, Heybridge, CM9 4AA, a mile from the High Street. It is built into the workshop itself, so the sample book library, the upholstery benches and the curtain room are all under the same roof. Open 8am to 4.30pm Monday to Friday, with weekends by appointment through the contact page.
Bring something with you. A photograph of the room, a corner of an old cover, or the chair itself in the back of the car. Seeing the piece next to a cloth settles most questions faster than any description. The sample books hold more than most people expect, and it helps to touch the weight of a fabric before anything is cut.
Yes. Simon Houlding Upholstery has made reupholstery, bespoke furniture, curtains, blinds and shutters since 1997, from a workshop and showroom at Stock Chase in Heybridge, a mile from Maldon High Street and about 4 minutes by car. You can walk in during the week, bring a chair or a photograph, and go through the sample books in person. The business carries 162 five-star reviews across Google, Facebook, Yell and Houzz, rated 5.0 on every platform. Read the reviews before you decide.
Work done in and around Maldon
A few of the pieces made near home, on buildings you will know.
Moot Hall, Maldon
The restoration of the historic Moot Hall. We installed UV protection roller blinds to help preserve the interior, and worked with a silk for upholstery, pelmets and soft furnishings, all to suit the building's heritage.
Beeleigh Abbey
The renovation of the cottage at Beeleigh Abbey, just outside town. Curtains, pelmets and Roman blinds, with discreet sheer UV filter blinds for light, privacy and protection from the sun through the day.
The Purleigh and Wickham Bishops rooms
Through our partner Mannequin Interiors, a dining room in Purleigh re-floored, re-curtained and lightened, and a room in Wickham Bishops redrawn in green and stone with botanical sheers on a wave heading.
Maldon by its streets, and what each one asks for
A hilltop town over the Blackwater estuary sets its own problems for a window and a frame.
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The High Street
Georgian fronts on older timber frames
The windowsTall Georgian sashes run up these fronts, many set into much older timber behind. Curtains lined and interlined sit well against period joinery, hung to their full drop. Where the original shutter boxes survive, we set the heading to clear them so they still fold back.
The furnitureA taller room carries a larger piece, a well-built sofa or a club chair in proportion. Older frames that come down a family can go back to the bench and be rebuilt by hand to sit in the room again.
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2
The Hythe and the quay
Quayside cottages with small windows
The windowsThe cottages by the Thames barges on Hythe Quay hold low beams and short, narrow openings where a full curtain crowds the room. A Roman blind made to the exact width shows a pattern and leaves the sill clear, and each out-of-square reveal is measured on its own.
The furnitureSmall rooms suit a compact piece built to fit, rather than a shop sofa that will not turn the corner of the door. We strip a tired chair to the wood and rebuild it with hand-tied springs, fibre and horsehair.
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Heybridge and the Basin
Cottages by the sea lock, newer homes round them
The windowsAlong the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation to the Basin, homes range from lock-keeper cottages to newer builds with wide openings onto the water. A perfect fit blind sits inside a bi-fold frame, and a sheer behind the glass cuts the glare that comes off the cut.
The furnitureThe damp estuary air is hard on soft furnishings, so we steer toward cloths that cope. A bespoke piece built on solid beech with sprung seating earns its place in a waterside room.
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The villages
Period cottages and farmhouses round the town
The windowsOut at Great Totham, Goldhanger, Wickham Bishops and Purleigh, beamed cottages and farmhouse rooms bring awkward angles and deep reveals. We measure each window alone, and a wave or pinch pleat heading can be set to suit the drop the room actually allows.
The furnitureThese houses often hold inherited chairs and sofas worth keeping. Taken back to the frame and rebuilt by hand, a piece fits the room it has always lived in and lasts another twenty years.
Seating for Maldon boats and estuary gardens
With the marinas and moorings along the Blackwater, our outdoor work takes in boats as well as gardens. We upholster in UV and weather resistant fabrics and foams that take the weather without losing the look. Tell us where it lives and how hard it has to work.
A garden by the water asks the same of a cloth. Weatherproof upholstery for a terrace, a bench or an outdoor sofa, in striking prints or a calmer palette. The height of a seating platform is often set wrong, so Simon can advise the measurement that gives real comfort. See the outdoor living work.
What we make for Maldon homes
Reupholstery
A tired sofa or set of dining chairs taken back to the bare frame and rebuilt by hand, layer by layer. Older frames are usually worth keeping, so we hand tie the springs and use fibre and horsehair.
Curtains
Made, measured and hung by us, lined and interlined as standard for drape and warmth. Wave, pinch pleat or eyelet, suited to a Georgian sash or a wide modern opening. Simon delivers, hangs and dresses each pair himself.
Blinds
Roman blinds made in our own curtain room, checked by two makers before a single cut. We also fit roller, venetian and UV protection blinds, useful for a south-facing room facing the estuary light.
Shutters
Measured and fitted to any shape of window, a quiet alternative to curtains and blinds. They tame glare, hold privacy with a partial close and gather none of the dust that curtains do.
How far the workshop is from Maldon and the villages
Measured by car from Unit F, Stock Chase, Heybridge on 12 October 2026, nearest first.
- Maldon High Street: 1 mile, about 4 minutes
- Heybridge Basin: 2 miles, about 5 minutes
- Great Totham: 3 miles, about 6 minutes
- Goldhanger: 4 miles, about 6 minutes
- Wickham Bishops: 4 miles, about 7 minutes
- Danbury: 7 miles, about 12 minutes
- Purleigh: 6 miles, about 13 minutes
- Tollesbury: 9 miles, about 16 minutes
- Burnham-on-Crouch: 14 miles, about 29 minutes
What reupholstery costs for a Maldon home
Reupholstery comes in at about the price of a new piece of similar quality. We keep no fixed list, because a wing chair and a run of six dining chairs are entirely different jobs. Send a photo with a few words, and the reply is a personal quote worked out on an average price fabric.
Once you approve it, we arrange an appointment at the showroom or in your home. The one piece with a set price is the leather club chair: around £5,000 including VAT new, and around £5,000 including VAT for a full restoration, depending on the work the old chair needs.
Places near Maldon
Witham
6 miles, about 12 minutes from the workshop
Silver End and its Crittall steel windows ask for dressing hung clear of the glass.
Chelmsford
12 miles, about 22 minutes from the workshop
New houses arrive with bare windows, so we dress them room by room.
Colchester
19 miles, about 29 minutes from the workshop
An old cloth town of houses read by their age, each window its own measure.
Walk in, or send a photo
Bring the chair or the room to Stock Chase, or send a picture and a line about it for a personal quote.
Questions, answered.
Yes. Simon Houlding Upholstery is at Stock Chase, Heybridge, a mile from Maldon High Street and about 4 minutes by car. Reupholstery, bespoke furniture, curtains, blinds and shutters are all made on site. Established 1997, with 162 five-star reviews, it is the most reviewed upholsterer in the area.
Yes. The showroom is open 8am to 4.30pm Monday to Friday, with weekends by appointment. It is built into the workshop at Stock Chase, Heybridge, CM9 4AA, so you can walk in during the week and go through the sample books.
Yes. Bringing the piece itself is often the simplest way to start. Seeing it on the bench next to a cloth answers most questions quickly, and we can talk you through what it needs. A photograph and a few words work just as well if the chair is awkward to move.
Yes. The showroom holds the sample book library, drawn from more than 55,000 fabrics across over 40 houses. You can browse the fabric finder first to narrow it by colour, material, use and house, then come in to feel the weight and see the colour in the light before anything is cut.
Yes. Roman blinds are made in our own curtain room, checked by two makers before a single cut. We also supply and fit roller, venetian, vertical and UV protection blinds. Our own fitter takes an accurate measure before any work begins, and the workshop is about 4 minutes from the High Street.
Yes. Tall sashes on the High Street suit curtains lined and interlined, hung to their full drop for a heavy drape against period joinery. Where the original shutter boxes survive, we set the heading to clear them. Our fitter measures each window on its own, as older fronts are rarely square.
Yes. Our outdoor work covers boats as well as gardens, in UV and weather resistant fabrics and foams. The same cloths suit a garden terrace or bench by the estuary. Tell us where the seating lives and how hard it has to work.
Yes. We cover the whole of Essex, and the villages are close: Great Totham about 6 minutes, Wickham Bishops about 7, Purleigh about 13, Tollesbury about 16. An appointment can be at the showroom or in your home, and our fitter measures and fits curtains, blinds and shutters.