UK Material Costs in 2026: What Has Gone Up, What Has Stabilised

For anyone who has been quoting upholstery jobs from memory rather than live supplier prices over the past three years, the reckoning is uncomfortable. UK material costs in the furniture sector have shifted substantially since 2021 — not uniformly, and not in ways that follow general inflation headlines. Some materials are dramatically more expensive. Others have stabilised or even softened. Getting your quotes right in 2026 means knowing which is which.

Flexible Foam: Still Elevated, Stabilising

Flexible polyurethane foam — the most widely used core material in domestic upholstery — saw dramatic price increases from 2021 through to mid-2023, driven by a combination of petrochemical supply disruptions, energy cost inflation at manufacturing facilities, and logistics pressures. UK foam prices roughly doubled between Q1 2021 and Q3 2023.

The good news is that since late 2023, prices have stabilised. As of Q1 2026, benchmark foam grades (HR40 and HR35, the most common seat grades) are approximately 15–20% above their 2020 baseline, but have shown no significant upward movement in the past 18 months. CMHR (Combustion Modified High Resilience) fire-rated foam, required for domestic upholstery under UK fire safety regulations, follows a similar pattern.

Timber and Frame Materials: Back to Near-Normal

Kiln-dried softwood for furniture frames — primarily the 50mm × 25mm and 50mm × 50mm sections used in basic upholstery framing — spiked dramatically in 2021 and 2022 as global construction demand collided with supply disruptions. By 2024, this had substantially normalised. As of early 2026, standard construction-grade and joinery-grade timber is broadly in line with historical pricing trends, with year-on-year increases of around 2–4% — consistent with general producer price inflation.

Hardwoods for visible frame elements — beech, oak, and birch ply for show-wood furniture — remain somewhat elevated, partly due to European supply constraints, but the extreme volatility of 2021–22 has passed.

Webbing and Springs

Elasticated webbing — the dominant support system in modern domestic upholstery — has tracked general polymer and elastomer price movements and sits approximately 8–12% above 2020 levels. Traditional jute webbing, used in period and restoration work, has seen higher increases due to reduced UK demand making supply less competitive; expect to pay 15–25% more than in 2020.

Coil springs and sinuous (zig-zag) wire springs have also tracked steel price movements. After significant increases in 2022, steel-based materials have partially retreated. Spring materials are currently around 10–15% above their 2020 baseline.

Fabric: The Complex Picture

Fabric pricing is complicated by the sheer range of the market. At the lower end, synthetics and polyester blends have tracked petrochemical prices and sit modestly above 2020 levels. Natural fibres — wool, linen, and cotton — have seen more significant increases, partly from farm-gate pricing and partly from energy costs at UK and European weaving mills.

Designer fabrics at the high end have followed a different logic: many suppliers have taken the opportunity of the inflationary period to rebase prices, and there is limited prospect of significant reduction. Clients specifying premium upholstery fabrics should expect to pay meaningfully more than pre-2021 prices and budget accordingly.

What This Means for Quoting

The practical implication is straightforward: always price from current supplier invoices or recently confirmed pricing, not from memory or historical estimates. For jobs being quoted in spring 2026, the key positions are:

• Foam (HR40, standard grades): check current trade price — budget around 15–20% above your 2020 baseline
• Softwood timber (frame work): broadly normalised; standard pricing with modest annual inflation
• Elasticated webbing: approximately 10% above 2020 baseline
• Jute webbing and natural fibre materials: 15–25% above 2020
• Standard synthetic fabric: modest increase on 2020
• Premium and natural fibre fabric: significant increases; confirm with supplier

The businesses consistently quoting accurately are those with active supplier relationships and regular price checks built into their workflow. In a volatile materials environment, guessing is not a business strategy.