How to Reupholster Wood Dining Room Chairs
Begin the Upholstery Project After the Fabric is Selected
Sep 4, 2009
Dining room chairs tend to be heavily used. This heavy use sometimes means the chairs have to be either replaced or reupholstered more often than other furniture. Heavy use also makes fabric strength and stain resistance important when choosing upholstery fabric.
Upholstery fabric is normally 54" wide so 1/2 yard will normally cover two dining room chair seat pads. Many fabric stores provide a chart that relates pictures of furniture with the amount of fabric required. The chart makes selection easy because it is as simple as finding the picture that looks like the item being reupholstered.
Gather the Supplies Needed to Reupholster the Chair Before Beginning the Project
The upholstery tools and supplies needed for dining room chair seat reupholstery are screwdrivers - foam (1/2"- or thicker - as desired for comfort), dark colored chalk, tack and staple puller, a small quantity of glue, fabric, and staples and stapler - or short trimmers upholstery tacks and a tack hammer. If the thicker foam is used an electric knife is helpful as well because it will slide easily through thick foam while scissors do not cut foam well. Any regular hammer can be used but an upholsterer's tack hammer is easier to control for this type of work. If the wood is damaged add plywood and a saw to cut it to the list of needed items.
Pre-Upholstery Step: Disassemble the Chair
This basic furniture upholstery repair job is easy to begin. Turn the chair upside down. Make a small "f" mark on the front of the seat and a "b" at the back. There should be four inset screws holding the seat pad to the frame of the chair. Remove the four screws and the frame should lift off of the seat pad. The frame can be set aside at this point unless woodwork needs to be repaired. The old seat pad upholstery will be either stapled, tacked, or a combination of the two.
It is possible to cut the fabric away or simply place the new cover on top of the old one. It is, however, best to repair the seat properly by removing the old cover and foam. Use the tack and staple puller to remove the tacks and/or staples. Set the old cover aside. If there is a problem - sometimes it helps to look at the old cover.
Chair Upholstery: How to Reassemble
Set the wooden seat board on the foam and trace around the board. Cut the foam about 1/4" to the outside of the chalk line. This step is optional but will be helpful later - put a few drops of glue to attach the foam to the seat board. Place the upholstery fabric face down on a clean flat surface. Place the padded board - padding side down - on the fabric. Cut fabric with approximately 4" of overhang. (If the foam and board are very thin 2" would suffice.)
Pull the fabric until it is snug in the center of each side of the seat pad and fasten in place with staples or tacks. (It will not look or wear right if it is applied loosely.) Pull the corners into place and fasten next. Work evenly around the seat pad, fastening and smoothing the fabric a small section at a time. When the fabric is secured - trim off any excess fabric. Screw the seat pad back onto the chair frame. Flip it back over, and enjoy your newly reupholstered dining room chair.
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