Upholstery and curtains for Witham, 12 minutes away
Witham and Silver End are full of steel windows, and a Crittall frame asks for a particular kind of dressing. The workshop sits in Heybridge, about six miles off, an easy run up the B1018.
6 miles, about 12 minutes
8am to 4.30pm weekdays, weekends by appointment
162 at five stars, 5.0 everywhere
Simon Houlding Upholstery works for Witham homes from a workshop in Heybridge, near Maldon, about six miles and twelve minutes up the B1018 through Langford and Wickham Bishops. We reupholster furniture and make curtains, roman blinds and shutters, all on site. Established 1997, with every stage overseen by Simon, and the most reviewed upholsterer in the area, as the five-star reviews across four platforms show.
Why a Witham steel window is its own problem
North of Witham sits Silver End, the garden village Francis Crittall began in 1926 for the people who made his steel windows, with flat-roofed modernist houses now kept as a conservation area. Crittall made windows in Witham too, so steel frames turn up across both. Slim glazing bars and small panes are the whole point of the window, and that pattern wants to be seen by day, not covered.
A steel frame opens outward on stays, so any dressing has to clear the handles and the open casement. The reveals are shallow, with little room to fix into. And the frame is cold: it draws condensation, so cloth is kept off the glass. Each of these pulls a different way, which is what makes the window worth measuring with care.
Four ways to dress a Witham steel window
Each answer keeps the bars on show and the cloth clear of the cold glass.
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1
Curtains
Good, if hung wide and high
How it sitsHung from a track or pole set above and beyond the frame, curtains pull right off the glass, so they clear the handles and stays and keep cloth away from the cold metal. Drawn back by day, the bars stay visible, which is the point of the window.
What we makeWe make curtains in wave, pinch pleat or eyelet, lined and interlined as standard for drape and warmth, measured and hung by our own team.
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2
A Roman blind
Best mounted above the reveal
How it sitsA shallow steel reveal gives little to fix into, so a roman blind is fitted above the opening on the face of the wall. Raised by day it stacks clear of the bars, and because it sits proud of the frame it keeps the fabric off the condensation on the glass.
What we makeRoman blinds are made in our Heybridge curtain room, lined and interlined, the fabric checked by two makers before a single cut.
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3
Shutters
Possible, with care
How it sitsFitted tight inside the reveal, shutters would catch the handles and stays of a casement that opens outward, so they have to stand clear of it. They give a partial close for privacy, and they do hide the bars when shut. Whether a window can take them is settled at the measure.
What we makeShutters are measured and fitted to the shape of the window by our own fitter.
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4
A sheer or a roller blind
Light, and gentle on the bars
How it sitsA fine sheer softens the room while leaving the pattern of the bars legible through it, and a roller mounted above the reveal lifts clear by day. Both sit off the cold glass and neither fights the outward casement, which suits a steel frame well.
What we makeWe fit roller blinds and UV protection or sheer blinds, each measured by our own fitter before anything is ordered.
Witham's other houses, and what each asks for
The 1960s estate house
The estates built from the 1960s for families moving out of London carry one wide front window, a through lounge with glass at each end, and a glazed back door. The wide front is where a full curtain, lined and interlined, earns its place.
Newland Street and Chipping Hill
The two old centres hold the Georgian fronts of Newland Street, where Dorothy L. Sayers lived, and the church end at Chipping Hill. Tall older windows and awkward reveals suit a made curtain or a roman blind cut to the opening.
The villages and Maltings Lane
Hatfield Peverel, Rivenhall, Terling, Kelvedon and Feering bring period cottages and farmhouses, while the newer houses at Maltings Lane have regular openings. Beams and short drops often favour a blind over a full-length curtain.
The showroom is an easy run from Witham
The workshop and showroom share a building at Stock Chase in Heybridge, about twelve minutes from the town centre, so a visit is no trouble. A swatch tells you only so much: the weight of a velvet, the way a linen falls, the depth of a colour in real light all make themselves plain once the cloth is in your hand. Come and feel it, or send the room first through our contact page.
What we make for a Witham home
Reupholstery
A tired sofa, chair or set of dining chairs stripped to the bare frame and rebuilt by hand, with hand-tied springs, fibre and horsehair, for another twenty years of use.
Curtains
Made, measured and hung by our own team, lined and interlined as standard. Simon delivers, hangs and dresses every pair himself, from the first drawing to the final fitting.
Shutters
A quiet, dust-free alternative, measured and fitted to any shape of window. They hold privacy with a partial close and tame the glare in a south-facing room.
How far the workshop is from Witham and nearby places
Measured by car from Unit F, Stock Chase, Heybridge, Maldon CM9 4AA on 12 October 2026, usually along the B1018 through Langford and Wickham Bishops.
- Hatfield Peverel: 5 miles, about 11 minutes
- Witham town centre: 6 miles, about 12 minutes
- Rivenhall: 7 miles, about 13 minutes
- Kelvedon: 8 miles, about 14 minutes
- Terling: 10 miles, about 15 minutes
- Feering: 9 miles, about 16 minutes
- Silver End: 10 miles, about 18 minutes
What it costs for a Witham home
There is no fixed list, because a single chair and a run of six dining seats are quite different jobs, and a steel window takes a different measure to a wide estate front. The cost of reupholstery is comparable to buying new of a similar quality.
Send a photo and a few words, and you get a personal reply quoting the work using an average price fabric. Once you approve it, an appointment can be at the Heybridge showroom or in your own home, where we go through the cloth with you.
Places near Witham
Maldon
1 mile, about 4 minutes from the workshop
The home town, with a showroom you can walk in to and choose cloth in person.
Braintree
13 miles, about 26 minutes from the workshop
The silk town, where silk still earns its place on the right window at home.
Chelmsford
12 miles, about 22 minutes from the workshop
New houses arrive with bare windows, so we dress them room by room.
Show us the window or the chair
Send a photo and a few words about the room, and you get a personal reply with a quote using an average price fabric.
Questions, answered.
Yes. Simon Houlding Upholstery, established 1997, works in Heybridge near Maldon, about twelve minutes from Witham town centre. We reupholster furniture and make curtains, roman blinds and shutters on site, every stage overseen by Simon, and hold 162 five-star reviews across four platforms.
The workshop and showroom are at Unit F, Stock Chase, Heybridge, Maldon CM9 4AA, about six miles and twelve minutes from Witham by car, usually up the B1018. You are welcome to call in from 8am to 4.30pm on weekdays, and at weekends by appointment.
Yes. A steel window opens outward on stays, so we hang curtains from a track set wide and high to clear the handles, or fit a roman blind above the reveal. Both keep cloth off the cold glass and leave the slim bars on show by day, which is the point of the window.
They can, with care. Fitted tight inside the reveal they would catch the handles and stays of a casement that opens outward, so they have to stand clear of it, and closed they hide the bars. Our fitter will say at the measure whether your windows can take them, and a roman blind or a sheer is the usual alternative.
A wide front window takes a full-length curtain on a track measured to the opening, lined and interlined for drape and warmth. Our fitter measures the run before any work begins, and Simon hangs and dresses the finished pair himself so it falls evenly across the whole width.
Yes. A sofa is stripped to the bare frame and rebuilt by hand, with hand-tied springs, fibre and horsehair, in a cloth you choose, for another twenty years of use. Send a photo for a personal quote, then we arrange an appointment at the showroom or in your home.