Cardenas Upholstery

Oh my god the whole family has this attitude like you just interrupted their Sunday afternoon… Seriously. Like you did something wrong and invaded their space!
That being said, you won’t find a better craftsman than Sr. Cardenas. Price is awesome too. Best part is it’ll be done in a day or two and done well. But a few puppies may get kicked in the process.
Bring your thick skin and get your upholstery work done here.

Great service, great upholstering! Will recommend to anyone who needs an upholsterer. I will happily go back again for my next project.

i have an insane story about the chair these guys reupholstered for me, which you can read here if you’re interested:

but for real, these guys are amazing. they took my chair, which was basically a trash chair not even fit for hobos, and turned it into something amazing that i am stoked to lounge in. not your typical customer service experience, but that shouldn’t deter you. this place rules.

I can’t believe these guys were right around the corner! Santiago repaired my 70’s vinyl chairs in one day. Reasonable pricing is another bonus…

I am a very, very happy customer! The other reviewers are correct in saying that this is not a «fancy» shop. Laura was extremely helpful with information on how much fabric was needed, pricing and what to expect. The workmanship is detailed and beautiful. The work on my two wing chairs was done ahead of schedule and for the reasonable price that I was quoted. I’ll be a repeat customer.

I had a great experience with this company. They were very responsive to my calls and emails throughout the process, they estimated the fabric needs perfectly and I was very happy with the quality of the end result. Also, I felt the price was very competitive to the other places I have used in the past. I highly recommend them! I’ve attached my finished love seat that shows off their great work.

Santiago is a great guy and does beautiful work at affordable prices. We took in my husband’a office chair and he did great work. We are very pleased an happy we found his business!

I took a motorcycle seat to Briley’s Upholstery and they were not able to compete the work. This is mainly because they do not specialize in automotive, however, they were willing to give my project a shot. They suggested that I check out Cardenas and see if they could compete the project.
Cardenas didn’t even flinch. I was very impressed with the pricing, expertise, and quick turnaround I received. I was able to wait as my seat was repaired and it only took about 30 minutes. The craftsmanship and the pricing were spot on. I’ll definitely be using them for all of my upholstery needs from now on. I highly suggest these guys.
Only thing that I would say is don’t judge them by the appearance of their shop, as it is not that nice. However, the quality of work is legit.

Great job, fair price, reasonable time.

I contacted this shop based on the glowing reviews on Unilocal and it was a scary experience to say the least. I ordered my fabric based on the quote from the pics and measurements I sent in to this shop. Some was ordered locally but one in particular came from England and was a real pain to order with customs and $ conversions, anyway when I brought the first few pieces in I thought I was prepared for the location since my expectations were low, let me say «dump» is a compliment, it was raining and all the furniture is stored under a tarp in a parking lot. No one acknowledges you, you just wander around saying Hello, until someone bothers to look up from their work. Mr. Cardenas proceeds to tell me that the fabric yardages I ordered are insufficient. He then tells me he was out of town when Laura, I think her name was, quoted me and she made a mistake on the yardage. Red flags are going up, but I ignore them, fool that I am and leave several pieces that I do have the fabric for. I get home and try to add to my order from England and get an e-​mail saying all of the prices Laura quoted are too low and the new quotes are about 30% more, he refused to honor her previous e-​mail quote or even meet me in the middle. I have zero confidence in this shop at this point, and decide to pick everything up, but Mr. Cardenas said he already tore into some of the chairs, so I let him finish those and pick up the rest. Bottom line, the seat cushions he did complete turned out great, but the level of professionalism is close to nill. I really wish it could have worked out because he does nice work but I can’t do business with people who treat you so badly and waste your time.

Mr. Cardenas is one of those local guys who makes me happy that I live in Austin. He won’t win Mr. Congeniality, but his gruff demeanor belies the heart of a true artist who takes serious pride in his work.
I hemmed and hawed about reupholstering a few chairs because of the high hassle factor and price tag that comes with changing out the fabric. When I called Cardenas Upholstery, I was pleasantly surprised by how easy and affordable it was. Mr. Cardenas and I spoke on the phone, I sent him an email with photos of each chair from various angles, and he called me back 20 minutes later with an estimate of how much fabric I needed and how much it would cost to redo each piece. Admittedly, reupholstery is a pricey endeavor, but Mr. Cardenas charges at least 30% less than other shops around town.
I dropped off the first chair on Monday and was amazed when he called on Thursday to say it was ready. The workmanship is beautiful. Every tuft, bit of welting, cushion zipper, and tricky 1960s skirt fold was executed perfectly. I’m heading back there this week with a beloved wingback and keep looking around the house to see if anything else needs some spiffing up.

This place was by far the most affordable and advised on how much fabric to purchase perfectly. They took the project very seriously. It seems a little unusual upon first glance but they are actually as professional as they come. They were also careful about keeping the original chair cover and all additional fabric so I could use it for making matching pillows.
The person you talk to might not be the one who delivers the work so any specific seam finish or detail should be carefully described.
They don’t take credit cards but did take a personal check. I’ll definitely be back for my next restoration project.

I could not be a happier customer! I went by his shop last week with a photo of a wingback chair. I received a very reasonable quote and he said to bring it in as soon as I could and it would take about a week. I took it in on Monday and he did the job in TWO DAYS! Not only was it a super fast turnaround, they did a beautiful job! They took great care in making sure the placement of fabric was lined up where appropriate, the attention to detail was beautiful, and the job was perfectly done. I will definitely use them again.

I would give Mr Cardenas 6 stars if I could. He perfectly matched the pattern on 2 mid-​century chairs. He had them compled before I expected and then did 4 dining chairs for $ 100 and did that a head of schedule too! It is a hole in the wall but the work is excellent and the prices are fair.

He may be a bit grouchy but he does great work. He did an old school hot rod for me and I was kind of particular about what I wanted and he grumbled a bit about what I wanted but told me to leave the truck with him for a week. I was terrified after the last couple of folks that had done work for me took multitudes longer than they had told me.
He had it done in a week at a fraction of the cost that others had quoted me and I get constant compliments on it. Cant speak highly enough of their work.

Cardenas Upholstery upholstered 2 club chairs for me and they look fantastic. I was a bit weary because his quote was just so much lower than every other place I stopped to get quotes, but he was recommended to me, so I just went with it and hoped for the best. I’m glad I did. My chairs were ready in a week and they look exactly as I imagined they should look. I don’t think I was an easy client as I needed new foam for the seats and I wanted them sewn differently than what had been on the chairs, and then I also had 2 different fabrics for different parts of the chairs. No problem for Cardenas, they really do look perfect.

Cardenas upholstery did our second set of cushions for a chair that is a family heirloom. They were fast, fair and had high quality. The building is hard to find and definately low overhead, but that did not affect the quality. I read the review below referencing the poor leather quality. He specializes in leather upholstery! and it’s great quality… that must have been a fluke. They have been in business 20 years.

Cardenas Upholstery has done two different reuphostery jobs for me — they recovered some cushions for my 1960’s wood frame sofa, and most recently they recovered some vintage chrome and upholstered Thayer Coggin chairs that I got on Craigslist. They did a great job — I would use them again in a second. I got several quotes from other people in town and the other quotes ranged from $ 150 – 200 or more per chair. Cardenas charged $ 75 per chair and got the job done in two days. Their work looks great and I’m very happy. Just to note — their shop is definitely a hole in the wall… so don’t be scared. But, you aren’t paying for their overhead!

These people may do good work with fabric upholstery, but they are terrible with leather. I had an armchair and ottoman reupholstered by them. I purchased the amount of leather they advised and they approved using it. However, the leather was cut very badly and was very loose fitting. They reworked it by adding some padding, but it still is not very good. The worst part is that the seat has an area where the leather is rough & cracked. They said it was the neck of the cow, but it shouldn’t have been used on the area of the chair that gets the most stress. This is sure to split or tear very soon. Also, when I brought them the hide I told them I could take it back and get a larger one if it was needed, but they said it was fine. What a waste of $ 325 for the hide and $ 180 for the labor.

santiago cardenas pimps out car interiors mostly and he did a great job reupholstering my dining room chairs, gave me the fabric for free, and had them done in less than a day. the place is on an out-​of-​the-​way street and kind of run down, but that means you’re not paying extra for their overhead. i will definitely go there again and refer my friends… and you. :)