Reupholstery of 2000 reg symphony

I've noticed in all vans I've seen for sale that the original upholstery and curtains seems to be the norm. Is this because people like the original as I think I would like it updating a bit (as I'm not keen on blue pattern with those floral curtains) whereas my husband thinks it may affect the resale value and desirability of the van! Having changed from a very beautifully presented modern caravan I'm finding this colour quite dark and clashy! Any comments would be appreciated?

As long as it's done tastefully I doubt it would have any major effect on resale value - particularly for an older van.

However, unless you are handy with that sort of thing yourself, don't underestimate the cost of having a professional upholsterer do the work! It is likely to be quite expensive from my experience of this area of the country...

hyperspaniel wrote:I've noticed in all vans I've seen for sale that the original upholstery and curtains seems to be the norm. Is this because people like the original as I think I would like it updating a bit (as I'm not keen on blue pattern with those floral curtains) whereas my husband thinks it may affect the resale value and desirability of the van! Having changed from a very beautifully presented modern caravan I'm finding this colour quite dark and clashy! Any comments would be appreciated?

If you do happen to get yours recovered and your exisisting fabric is the same as bellow i would be interested in buying some of the old covers from you
although it sounds like you have the more paisley/flowery fabric

Regards

Hi Hyperspaniel.

As Harper22 says do not just throw away the old fabric as quite a lot of people who like to keep their vans as original as possible would readily buy it from you. A lot of fabrics are no longer available not even from AS. So fabric to complete repairs are quite in demand.
Advertise it in the forum for sale section.

Cheers. whisky.

whisky wrote:Hi Hyperspaniel.

As Harper22 says do not just throw away the old fabric as quite a lot of people who like to keep their vans as original as possible would readily buy it from you. A lot of fabrics are no longer available not even from AS. So fabric to complete repairs are quite in demand.
Advertise it in the forum for sale section.

Cheers. whisky.

Just remember who asked first lmao i only need about 2 metres tho so i will share nicely

Harper 22. wrote.

Just remember who asked first lmao i only need about 2 metres tho so i will share nicely

Sorry H. Quite right too.

Whisky.

hyperspaniel wrote:I've noticed in all vans I've seen for sale that the original upholstery and curtains seems to be the norm. Is this because people like the original as I think I would like it updating a bit (as I'm not keen on blue pattern with those floral curtains) whereas my husband thinks it may affect the resale value and desirability of the van! Having changed from a very beautifully presented modern caravan I'm finding this colour quite dark and clashy! Any comments would be appreciated?

Unless the material is damaged or badly worn, my advice (as a retired upholsterer) is keep it, have it professionally cleaned. The earlier coverings were thicker, harder wearing & much better quality than the later examples.
My Symbol is 2004 & the upholstery cloth is inferior in quality to the vans of the nineties.
Also, to have the job done PROPERLY, inc' curtains, it will cost a bomb. Keep it!

Thanks for all the comments, the fabric in our van is more swirly/florally than the one shown in the reply I think but will check tomorrow. Some very interesting comments, I did get a quote from regal for upholstery and realise it will be quite expensive. But glad to know I may be able to pass the fabric on for others. I'm just having to deal with the fact I don't like blue and I don't like floral - maybe I'll see how I feel in a couple of months and then make a decision !!

If you don't like it change it: life's too short...
Will get round to having mine done one of these days. I know some folk on here prize originality highly but I'm sure plenty more don't mind as long as what's there is tasteful and high quality.

If you can afford it, then do it. I'd love to change my curtains and am plotting that one

You can always buy some new material from Alan at the Auto-Sleeper parts department as you can buy it by the sqr mtr and they have the more recent designs in a number of different patterns and different colours, so you could just obtain a fabric that Auto-Sleepers use in the newer vans and then get an upholsterer to recover and run up some curtains etc with the supplied material.....

I find some of the combinations of uppholstery fabric/ curtain patterns , odd to say the least. I like my '97 Symphony uppholstery fabric- kind of op-art/geometric grey/ green with a touch of pink. But the curtains are hideous cream flowery chintzy things- ughhhh ! wonder if I can dye them ......? Lol.

Minniesmum wrote:I find some of the combinations of uppholstery fabric/ curtain patterns , odd to say the least. I like my '97 Symphony uppholstery fabric- kind of op-art/geometric grey/ green with a touch of pink. But the curtains are hideous cream flowery chintzy things- ughhhh ! wonder if I can dye them ......? Lol.

I have to say I thought the same when I was looking at getting my van in the first place, I think 99 was when they changed the curtains to something that matched better. I dyed my awning curtains and they came out ok but obviouysly bear in mind the rules of colour when selecting ie yellow would go green over blue etc

Ours is a 2000 reg and I have the same as Minniesmum and have the greeny blue with pinkish flashes and the curtains are the floral chintz - ick!! Whoever chose that combination at Autosleeper must love clashing designs and colours. After reading the replies I think I will definitely change the curtains, (keeping the old ones for if and when we sell the van for the purists!!), and see if that improves my liking of the van upholstery. If I still can't stand the upholstery after this season then I will definitely change it but not necessarily for autosleeper fabric. Maybe leopard print!!! (joke!!!) Thanks for all your comments.

Minniesmum wrote:I find some of the combinations of uppholstery fabric/ curtain patterns , odd to say the least. I like my '97 Symphony uppholstery fabric- kind of op-art/geometric grey/ green with a touch of pink. But the curtains are hideous cream flowery chintzy things- ughhhh ! wonder if I can dye them ......? Lol.

Is yours like this Cath??

I don't like mine at all, perfect condition, but it never LOOKS clean, but it is, reminds me of upchuck

If it were only on the seats etc. I'd think about changing it, but its on the side-wall panels, divider supports, & rear unit frames, much too much to change.

Then, on top of all that, everything else is a sort of blue/green-ish, so its a no no for me, I'll just have to live with it

You have to be very lucky to completely dye out patterns and it is the flowery pattern that you want to make disappear. Also the thread might not turn out the same colour. It is much easier Minniesmum to make new curtains. It takes less material than you think. Measure the existing ones and work out on paper the most economical way to cut them so that you do not buy to much as I did, unless you want matching cushions. The correct tape is available on line, it is totally different from any tape I have used before. Likewise replacement hooks and runners
The worst bit was putting the curtains back but the method is different for each type of van. The result was well worth it to get rid of the floral pattern.

Louise

Some of the upholstery patterns used by AutoSleepers over the years can look rather dated, but in their defence at the time they were probably reasonably fashionable patterns and colours. The fabrics used these days are quite modern looking but in 10 to 15 yrs time they will probably seem old fashioned as well

We liked the fabric in our Trident which was a plain mintish green colour and had a light herringbone pattern in it but I've heard others say how much they hate that particular colour if you have the luxury of buying from new then at least you can choose your fabric but buying on the used market it's usually a compromise on price and the general condition of the vehicle rather than the fact you might not like the fabric. We were quite relieved when we viewed our Nuevo as we quite like the Aparo fabric which is mainly a burnt orange and beige which makes for a warm looking interior which we quite like

The cost to change the upholstery wouldn't be cheap and must take you well into four figures, having said this I've seen adverts stating have your motorhome fully upholstered in a day so it might not be such a horror story.... As others have said the older vans do seem to have better quality fabrics but the newer models now being produced seem to have nicer quality fabrics from Belgium I believe (not sure why this makes them any better) and also they now use a type of memory foam in the seating which seems to work well, certainly feels quite lush on my backside when I've tried one or two out anyway

A cheaper option might be to buy some material and get some loose covers fitted over the seating and have some matching curtains ran up which would certainly give it a facelift without spending a fortune.

CC

mines more bluey green/darker, I haven't got any internal photos yet, than yours but still not particularly attractive, and you're right loads of door panels need doing and mines only a symphony, it looks like yours has even more to cover! I'm quite surprised how many replies I had as I thought I was being a right fussy thing, but I feel loads better getting all of these comments in reply.

Reupholstering can make a really big difference, but its needs to be done in keeping with the vehicle, so as not to detract future buyers, (assuming you don’t want to keep a van forever). One of the problems with later vans is that they use a chenille fabric with no interfacing material between the foam and the fabric. The result is that it wears and rubs against the foam. A good re-upholsterer will include this material. The older A/S vas used a draylon fabric, which is very hardwearing and has a backing to protect it against the foam.

John

modelman wrote:

Minniesmum wrote:I find some of the combinations of uppholstery fabric/ curtain patterns , odd to say the least. I like my '97 Symphony uppholstery fabric- kind of op-art/geometric grey/ green with a touch of pink. But the curtains are hideous cream flowery chintzy things- ughhhh ! wonder if I can dye them ......? Lol.

Is yours like this Cath??

I don't like mine at all, perfect condition, but it never LOOKS clean, but it is, reminds me of upchuck

If it were only on the seats etc. I'd think about changing it, but its on the side-wall panels, divider supports, & rear unit frames, much too much to change.

Then, on top of all that, everything else is a sort of blue/green-ish, so its a no no for me, I'll just have to live with it

Mine is sort of like this but more geometric. I'll take a pic and post it later.

Doris wrote:You have to be very lucky to completely dye out patterns and it is the flowery pattern that you want to make disappear. Also the thread might not turn out the same colour. It is much easier Minniesmum to make new curtains. It takes less material than you think. Measure the existing ones and work out on paper the most economical way to cut them so that you do not buy to much as I did, unless you want matching cushions. The correct tape is available on line, it is totally different from any tape I have used before. Likewise replacement hooks and runners
The worst bit was putting the curtains back but the method is different for each type of van. The result was well worth it to get rid of the floral pattern.

Louise

Thanks Louise Not sure where to buy the curtain tape /hooks from- perhaps Autosleeper ? Removing and re-fitting looks like it might be fiddly. Also fitting the press-studs. I'll certainly look into replacing the curtains. The up-pholstery fabric is in perfect condition and besides I tend to cover the settee/chair with fleece throws anyway so the pattern is mostly covered up.