How to Photograph and Measure Your Furniture to Get a Quote From a Photo

Here is how we've always put it: simply send us a picture with some dimensions and we will get you a price, then you decide. No one has to load a sofa into a truck just to hear a number.

The better your photos and measurements, the closer our answer will be. This article walks you through what to capture. It takes about fifteen minutes, and a phone and a tape measure are all you need.

Take the photos first

Stand back far enough to fit the whole piece in the frame, and turn on the lights in the room. Natural daylight from a window is even better. Try to avoid pointing the camera into a bright window, because the piece turns into a dark shape.

• One photo straight on from the front, showing the whole piece.
• One from the side, so we can see the arm shape and the height of the back.
• One from the back, especially if the back has buttons, pleats or a visible frame.
• One of the underside, if you can tip it safely, so we can see the frame and the base.
• Close-ups of anything that worries you: a tear, a stain, a loose joint, sagging cushions.
• A photo of the fabric you're thinking of, if you already have one in mind.

If there are cushions, take them off and photograph the bare seat and the cushions on their own. That tells us more than you'd think.

Then measure with a tape

Use a fabric or steel tape and write the numbers down in inches, then add the unit so nothing gets confused. Measure at the widest point each time. For a typical sofa, loveseat or chair, these are the numbers that help most:

• Overall width, side to side at the widest point, including the arms.
• Overall depth, front to back.
• Overall height, from the floor to the top of the back.
• Seat height, from the floor to the top of the seat cushion.
• Seat depth, from the front edge of the seat to the back cushion.
• Arm height, from the seat up to the top of the arm.

For a dining chair, give us the seat width, seat depth and the height of the back. If the seat lifts out, measure the board itself.

Measure cushions separately

Cushions are their own job, and we do cushions of any size or shape. For each one, give us length, width and thickness. Measure the cushion itself, not the space it sits in.

If a cushion isn't a plain rectangle, say so. A cushion with a curved front, a cut corner for a bench or a tapered shape needs a quick sketch. Draw it on paper, write the measurements along each edge and photograph the sketch.

For a pune'e, give us the overall length, width and thickness, and tell us whether there are bolsters or back cushions. The same goes for a koa set: each cushion, one at a time.

Tell us what you can see and what you want

A few notes go a long way:

• Is the foam still firm, or has it gone flat?
• Are the cushions meant to be removable, or are they sewn in?
• Is there piping or trim you want to keep, or change?
• Is it going indoors or on a lanai?
• Do you already have a fabric in mind?

If you're not sure about any of these, just say so. It's a better start than guessing.

A few tips for better pictures

Put something with a known size next to the piece, such as your tape measure or a standard sheet of paper. It helps us judge scale. If the piece sits against a busy background, pull it away from the wall or hang a plain sheet behind it. If your phone has a flash, switch it off for the whole-piece shots because flash flattens detail.

Then send it over

Email your photos and measurements to johnsupholstery@hawaii.rr.com, or call John's Upholstery at (808) 236-2218 if you'd rather talk it through first. You can also text photos to (808) 271-2665. We'll get you a price, and then you decide. If you'd rather see things in person, you're welcome to come in and look through the fabric samples at our shop at 46-138 Kahuhipa St in Kaneohe.

Once your fabric is chosen and at the shop, the average turnaround is one to two weeks.