Custom Upholstery in Florida: Boats, Cars, RVs, Golf Carts, Aircraft

Most upholstery shops in Florida do one thing well. Some are marine shops, some are auto trim shops, a few do furniture. If you have a boat, a truck, a camper and a golf cart, that means four phone calls and four different standards of work. We built our shop in Venice, FL to handle all of it under one roof, and this post explains what custom upholstery means to us and how it differs from job to job.

What custom upholstery actually means

Custom is an overused word. For us it means three things. We pattern every cover to the actual seat in front of us, not to a generic template. We cut the foam to the thickness and firmness the owner wants, not whatever is on the rack. And the owner chooses the materials, colors and details, from a straight factory match to a two-tone diamond-stitched design that nobody else has.

The craft behind that is the same whether we are working on a pontoon or a pickup: measure, pattern, cut, sew, fit. What changes is the specification. Materials that are perfect in a car will fail in a season on a boat, and materials that are fine on a boat are not allowed in an airplane. Knowing which is which is most of the job.

Marine upholstery

Boats are the biggest part of our work. We rebuild helm seats, bow and stern seating, leaning posts, cooler cushions, pontoon lounges and sun pads, and we build custom marine covers, T-top canvas and clear vinyl enclosures to go with them. Every marine seat is built with marine-grade vinyl that resists UV, mildew and salt, closed-cell marine foam that will not hold water, UV-resistant thread and stainless hardware.

Owners of center consoles, pontoons, deck boats and cabin boats from Sarasota down to Boca Grande bring us their seating, and the full story of how a marine rebuild works is on our boat upholstery services page.

Car, truck and classic car interiors

Automotive work ranges from a single torn driver's seat to a complete interior on a classic truck. We reupholster seats, door panels, headliners and consoles, and we install Katzkin leather seat kits for owners who want factory-style leather in a vehicle that came with cloth. Automotive-grade vinyl and leather are chosen for abrasion resistance and the heat of a closed car in July, which is a different problem from the one a boat seat faces.

Two of our favorite recent projects show the range: a 1946 Chevrolet pickup finished in black leather, and a Jeep with custom black and yellow seats. Details on what we do for vehicles are on the car upholstery services page.

RV and camper upholstery

Custom RV upholstery is one of the most requested jobs we get, partly because so few shops will take it on. Dinette cushions, jackknife sofas, captain's chairs, cab-over and bunk mattresses, and valances all wear out, and factory replacements are often unavailable for older rigs. We pattern new cushions to the existing frames, cut high-density foam to the comfort level you want, and cover them in fabrics or vinyl that handle the heat and humidity inside a parked camper.

If you are planning a trip and the bed is the problem, our guide to custom camper bed padding covers foam choices in detail. Campers can also be kept on our fenced storage lot next to the shop while we do the work.

Golf carts and ATVs

Golf cart seats live outdoors in Venice and Englewood year-round, and factory covers crack and fade fast. We recover golf cart and ATV seats in marine-grade vinyl, which is the right material for anything that sits in the sun and gets rained on, with new foam where the old has gone flat. An 8-seater golf cart we finished in two-tone grey and black is a good example of what is possible.

Small aircraft interiors

Aircraft interiors are a specialty. Seats, side panels and trim in small private airplanes must be built with FAA-compliant materials, and that is what we use for every aircraft job. The craftsmanship is the same as our automotive work, with a stricter material list. See the small airplane upholstery page for details.

Outdoor, patio and commercial seating

The same marine materials that protect a boat seat make excellent patio and pool deck cushions, and we build a lot of them, including curved cushions for a poolside fire pit. We also rebuild restaurant booths, lobby seating and club furniture for businesses along the Gulf Coast.

What sets our custom work apart

• Foam cut to your thickness and firmness, not a standard slab
• Your choice of colors, two-tone combinations, stitching patterns and trim
• UV-resistant, mildew-resistant fabrics and threads on anything that lives outdoors
• Marine, automotive and FAA-compliant materials kept in stock and used where each belongs
• A family-owned shop with room to drop off a boat on a trailer or a full-size RV

We were voted Best Upholstery Service in the Venice Gondolier's Best of Venice 2024, and most of our customers come from referrals and repeat work. You can browse finished projects in our gallery or read more about the shop.

Get a free quote in Venice, FL

Whether it is a boat, a classic car, a camper or a golf cart, we would like to see it. Call (941) 786-4100 or send a few photos through the contact page and we will give you a free estimate.