Howard's Custom Upholstery

Jonathan Cohen

[My wife wrote this] We have been going to Howard’s Upholstery for about 20 years now; in fact, every piece of upholstered furniture in our house was done by Howard’s, including two sofas (we still use both of them) and a storage bench that they built from scratch. Working with Howard’s has been one of my great joys. Elaine and Tavi have been wonderful to us, and in particular, Elaine has been a full collaborator in helping me realize my design concepts. Since the very first piece of furniture we brought to them—a small chair that we covered in a beautiful black tapestry woven with birds and flowers—Elaine has shared my joy in these projects and has offered wonderful advice. I have learned to trust her judgment when she says that a seat will be too high, or the pitch of a sofa back will be too steep, or the color of a complementary fabric too pink. She just has a good eye and many years of experience. She also is a wizard with placing and cutting fabric to show a pattern to the best advantage. A couple of times I have brought in a roll of fabric with insufficient yardage to cover the whole piece. No problem: Elaine figures out how to cut the pattern so that you would never see the insufficiency. In one case, she sent me to the fabric showroom to pick out a complementary fabric to fill out the back and sides of a sofa they were making for me. With Elaine’s expert cutting of the patterned fabric and the complementary fabric I picked to go with it, the sofa turned out much more beautifully than it would have if I had had enough fabric to begin with. In addition to her a wealth of experience and good judgment, Elaine works to save us money on these projects. She and Tavi and their absolutely super craftspeople do their best to make my projects the most beautiful, comfortable, and practical they can be. Working with them has been a complete pleasure. My only regret is that I don’t have more furniture to bring to them!

Liz B

Our sofa, loveseat and dining chairs, circa 1990, were worth keeping, but very much in need of a “professional makeover.” We looked for an upholstery business dedicated to quality work, and were absolutely delighted to discover Howard’s Custom Upholstery in Mission Viejo. Tavy Guzman has decades of experience and a deep knowledge about furniture; he listened to our requests and thoroughly explained the process and materials. Elaine Roberts assisted with fabric selection as well as design, and she recommended updates that modernized our pieces. Communication throughout the project was excellent. Due to the pandemic and holidays, the wait time was a couple of months, but once the pieces were in the shop, work progressed quickly. The wait was so worth it! Tavy, Elaine and their skilled team did an exceptional job, and the workmanship and attention to detail is evident. We love the results and look forward to enjoying our furniture for another 30 years. Bottom line: Howard’s Custom Upholstery does outstanding work – we highly recommend!

D.L. L

Absolutely fabulous work!!! The best ever! Thank You!!!!

Tracy Cochran

I called for advice on reupholstering my sofa and the person I spoke with was very helpful. Excellent customer service.