This is America so we tend to think: New, new, new and buy, buy, buy. We often overlook the old, the tired, the handed down and the worn out. It wasn’t until I married into a family of reupholstering masters that I realized just what a mistake that was, and that all it takes to makeover a piece of junk is a new slick of fabric.

At my in-laws shop, I encountered chair after chair and sofa after sofa of complete fabulousness. Pieces featured in Elle Décor, pieces for high profile customers, pieces I was dying to get my hands on – and all stemming from old, worn pieces of furniture. My mother-in-law can literally revive the oldest, saddest looking piece of furniture into a pièce de resistance.

So here are the three big takeaways on how fabric can revamp your interior design:

One Man’s Garbage:

That junky old sofa from your parents, the dining room chairs that have seen more generations than you can count and that rickety rackety antique looking sofa left for the taking in the alley are all actually gems awaiting to be repolished!

Fabric Addiction:

Shopping for fabric is like shopping for a hot new dress. I quickly found out that fabric shopping was, dare I say—kind of addictive? And I’m not Suzy Craftmaker either. But one spin around Chicago’s Merchandise Mart or peruse around Design Divas Fabric and I bet you’ll feel the same way. Everything is available: Modern, French, Italian, Mexican, country, new age, you get the point. Shopping for fabric means you’re the interior designer. It means you get to create a one-of-a-kind piece. You can even add the finishing touches of throw pillows in matching or contrasting fabrics. The world is your fabric oyster!

Getting Started:

Visit a fabric-reupholstering expert near you to get started. Get inspired by past work and talk about your visions. Bring pictures of old, beat-up pieces you own to discuss options of reviving them. Need a name to get you started? Use my personal guru, Donna Kafel of Time Treasures.

Seen above are two chairs that almost saw the garbage until I worked with reupholstering expert, Donna Kafel to give them a new life with new fabric.

This is a guest post from Courtney Lochner. Courtney writes for Glamour Magazine, Société Perrier, Europe From a Backpack Travel Guides, The Budget Fashionista and much more. Based out of Chicago she is is also frequently found in Paris, Krakow or Rio and almost always, with a glass of wine in hand. Follow her @courtneylochner.