How to Reupholster a Chair
Give an Old Piece New Life with New Paint and Fabric
Either you have an old chair that looks hideous or an old chair that has sentimental value, and this guide will show you how to give it a new life in your home.
Reupholstering a chair is a great way to give it a new life and bring it into the style of your home. With a few supplies and the chair of choice, you can make your chair look entirely new and very stylish.
Materials
You'll need your chair, plus some wood glue, a staplegun, some batting and your chosen fabric (upholstery weight!), fine-grit sandpaper plus some paint or stain, depending on how you want to finish the wood parts of your chair.
Prep Work
First you need to do some de-assembly. Go ahead and remove any screws and take apart parts of the chair that aren't feeling so strong. Then reassemble those parts with wood glue and clamps, and screw the screws back in. This way, you're sure the chair is as strong as it can be. Now you'll want to do some sanding. Make sure you sand all the painted areas (down to the wood if you plan on staining, but you don't have to take all the paint off if you're painting). Now give the chair a wipe down with a damp cloth and leave to dry.
Paint and Stain
If you're staining, follow the instructions to apply the stain with a rag. Make sure you've applied it evenly and in all cracks. You may need two coats of the stain to get an even coating.
With paint, you'll want to use a small brush and delicate strokes to cover all the wood in the chair. You'll probably need two coats, for even color and for even texture. Remember that a high-gloss finish will be more durable over time.
Upholstering cushions
Depending on your chair, you may need to upholster just one seat cushion, a seat and back cushion or the majority of the chair. But that's okay, because the process is the same for almost all cushions. First, you'll want to take the wood base of the cushion and set it on some thick batting, meant for upholstery. This is what makes the seat soft and fluffy. Trace around your wooden seat form. Now lift the batting onto your fabric (upside down) and place the wood on top (so it's like a batting sandwich) and pull the fabric taught toward you and staple on the underside of the seat platform. Start by anchoring two points across from each other, then work your way to the corners, stapling as much as you need to and making sure it's pulled as tightly as you can across the top surface. Now trim extra fabric from the bottom and turn it over.
Now you can put together the chair, cushion and all, and get ready to sit in style!
