Guide · upholstery in Melbourne
When something goes wrong with a good piece of furniture, most places quietly make it your problem. The retailer points you back to a warranty that has run out, the manufacturer is slow to answer, or you are told it is easier to just buy new. We take the opposite view. If it is a quality piece and it is worth saving, bring us the problem and there is a very good chance we can fix it, whether it is in warranty, out of warranty, or long past the point anyone else wants to help.
Last updated: September 2026
Get a free quoteCall 0425 832 619We are a family upholstery and furniture-restoration workshop in Eltham North, servicing all of Melbourne, with close to a hundred years of combined craft between our upholsterer, machinist and restorer. A lot of our work now comes from people who own a King Living lounge, a Natuzzi recliner, a Moran sofa or a Jardan armchair, love the piece, and simply cannot get it looked after through the original store. This page is for them: what we can fix, the brands we work on, and how a repair actually happens.
Not just recovers. All sorts of things go wrong with furniture, and most of them are fixable. Common jobs include:
If your piece is not on the list, it is still worth asking. If it is furniture and it is broken, worn, uncomfortable or not sitting right, send us a photo and we will tell you honestly whether we can help.
A lot of people assume an upholsterer only fits new covers. We do far more than that. Because we have an upholsterer, a machinist and a restorer under one roof, we can take on the jobs that would otherwise mean chasing three different tradespeople.
Loose joints, cracked timber, a leg that has torn out, a seat rail that has given way. We reglue, rebuild and reinforce frames so the piece is solid again, then re-cover only if it needs it.
Foam collapses long before a good frame does. We renew seat and back foam in high-resilience Dunlop HR35, the same foam we use on new work, so a tired lounge feels supportive again rather than sunken. We can also add padding or firm up a seat that was never quite comfortable to begin with.
Manual and electric recliner actions, sofa-bed frames, modular connectors. We work around the mechanism, renew the worn padding, and get the action running smoothly again, rather than telling you the whole chair is a write-off.
Peeling, cracking, scuffs, tears and sun-fade. Depending on the damage we repair, recolour or recover in a matching leather or fabric, and we will tell you plainly when a patch will do and when a full recover is the honest answer.
Moved house and the storage bed, modular sofa or dining setting will not go back together properly? We can sort out furniture that has been dismantled, knocked about in transit, or assembled incorrectly.
Here is the honest reason people end up with us. Big retailers and manufacturers quietly avoid service calls, because a one-off repair is not very profitable for them. So the job gets pushed back onto you: the warranty "does not cover that", the emails go quiet, or you are left chasing someone who was never that keen to help. It is frustrating, and eventually most people give up and look for an independent who will just sort it out.
That is us. We are a small workshop, so you deal directly with the people doing the actual work. You get a straight answer about what is wrong and what it will take, we do not disappear halfway through, and we turn up to the problem instead of away from it. Good communication and actually finishing the job sound like a low bar, but they are exactly what sends people our way.
We regularly work on furniture from the better makers, the pieces that are built to be repaired rather than replaced. If you own one of these and something has gone wrong, you are in the right place.
Australian and designer makers: King Living, Moran, Molmic, Jardan, Arthur G, Grazia&Co, Coco Republic, MCM House.
Italian and European luxury: Natuzzi, B&B Italia, Minotti, Ligne Roset, Roche Bobois.
Contemporary and design-store brands: Camerich, BoConcept, West Elm, GlobeWest.
Recliners and mid-century: La-Z-Boy, plus collectible Australian mid-century pieces by Featherston, Parker and Fler.
We do not chase the throwaway end of the market, the flat-pack and value-range furniture that is built to be replaced rather than repaired, because once the structure goes there is not much sound piece left to build on. If you are not sure which camp yours is in, send a photo and we will tell you straight.
Dylberry Design is an independent upholstery and furniture-repair workshop. We are not affiliated with, authorised by or an official service agent of any of these brands. Brand names are used only to describe the furniture we repair and remain the property of their respective owners.
A twenty year old Natuzzi leather lounge, long out of warranty, with sunken seats and scratched hide. Rewebbed and refoamed throughout and the leather colour repaired. The owner left this on our Google profile afterwards, reproduced word for word.
“Dylan did a great job reviving my over 20 year old Natuzzi leather couch that had sunken areas and scratches. He pulled the whole couch apart and replaced webbing and foam throughout and sourced suitable ‘paint’ to repair scratched areas. I was kept informed during the repair process and the couch was returned promptly looking like it had just come out of the showroom. I’m grateful to Dylan for extending the life of my much loved couch.”
Out-of-warranty work is a lot of what we do, and it is often where people are most stuck. When a manufacturer's warranty has expired, or it never covered wear, comfort or accidental damage in the first place, you are usually on your own, and the maker's own recover service can be slow and expensive. An independent repair is very often the better value, because the frame and structure are the costly parts and yours are still good. Most repairs cost far less than replacing the piece with something of the same quality.
If your piece is still in warranty, it is worth going back to the retailer first for anything they will genuinely cover. When they will not, or the process stalls, that is exactly when to come to us.
1. Send us a photo and a quick note on what is wrong. From a few pictures we can usually tell you whether it is fixable and roughly what is involved, most often within 24 hours, at no charge and no obligation.
2. We give you an honest answer. If it is worth doing, we will say so and explain the options. If it is not, we will tell you that too, rather than take on a job that is not worth your money.
3. We sort it out. Some smaller repairs we can do on-site at your home. Larger jobs come back to our Eltham North workshop, where we have the machinery to do them properly. A call-out fee applies for site visits, and we will always work out the easiest way to get your piece to us and back, and tell you upfront which way suits it.
We are a family workshop with an upholsterer, a machinist and a restorer, close to a hundred years of craft between us, working out of Eltham North and servicing all of Melbourne. We use high-resilience Dunlop HR35 foam and nine-way hand-tied springs on the seating that calls for it, quality Austex vinyls and a wide range of fabrics, and we back our frame work with a thirty-year frame guarantee. Most of all we bring an honest, frame-first eye to every piece: we tell you what is genuinely worth doing, and we finish what we start.
Good to know
We do. Dylberry Design is an independent upholstery and furniture-repair workshop in Eltham North, servicing all of Melbourne, and out-of-warranty repairs on quality brands like King Living, Natuzzi, Moran, Jardan and Molmic are a large part of what we do. Send a photo for an honest, no-obligation answer.
Almost always, yes. Out-of-warranty and post-warranty work is one of our most common jobs. The frame is usually still sound, which is the expensive part, so a repair is generally far better value than replacing the piece.
Usually. That is exactly the kind of job we take on, the repair the retailer or manufacturer did not want to deal with. We will look at a photo and tell you honestly whether we can sort it.
No. We repair all sorts of furniture: dining chairs, bed heads, storage beds, ottomans, modular lounges and more. Frames, foam, mechanisms, leather, covers and reassembly. If it is furniture and it is not right, ask us.
No. We are a fully independent workshop and are not authorised by or connected to any manufacturer. We simply repair their furniture, which we are free to do. That independence is why we can often help when the brand's own service cannot.
Send us a photo of the piece and the problem, along with your suburb. We give you a clear written quote, usually within 24 hours, with no obligation.
Some smaller repairs we can do on-site. Larger jobs come back to the workshop where we can do them properly. A call-out fee applies for site visits, and we will work out the best option for your piece when you get in touch.
It varies more than on standard furniture, because these pieces are often built in ways that take longer to take apart and put back correctly. Foam and interior work moves reasonably quickly. Frame repairs need curing time. Sourcing a leather or fabric that genuinely suits the original is frequently the longest part, and we would rather wait for the right material than rush the wrong one onto a good piece. You get a realistic timeframe in writing with the quote.
We get as close as the market allows, and we are straight with you about the gap. If the original material is still available we source it. If it has been discontinued, which is common on older designer pieces, we bring you the nearest options and look at them against the piece in your own light rather than under workshop lighting. Where an exact match is not achievable we will say so before you commit, because a near miss on one panel next to original material tends to look worse than a considered full recover.
Yes, and with more care than usual. These pieces are worth protecting in transit, so they are wrapped properly and we do not rush the lift. Full size items go on transport we arrange, with the cost quoted up front. Chairs and smaller pieces close to Eltham North we generally collect and return ourselves without a separate charge. Tell us about access when you send photos so we bring enough hands.
Send a photo or the dimensions of your booths, banquettes or venue seating and we'll come back with a rough price and turnaround.
Send a photo of your piece and we'll come back with a straight quote, no obligation, no pressure.
Send a photo for a quote Call 0425 832 619