Learn to Reupholster a Chair Seat
Hello friends! I just love this style of chair. Anything with caning – sign me up! However, I was not loving the mustard yellow fabric, so needed to reupholster the chair seat. While it may seem intimidating, as long as the cushion itself is in good shape this is an easy update, I promise! I’ve been doing this to my dining room chairs for years (redoing them when I get bored), long before I started my furniture refinishing business.
The project
The wood and cane on this chair were in very good shape and the chair had nice detailing. I decided I wanted a light and bright look, so I decided to paint the body of the chair. For more details on how to paint a piece of furniture, check out this article. To get started, I had to separate the chair from the cushion. It was simple in this case – I just flipped the chair and unscrewed the 4 screws holding the cushion in place. After painting the body in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old White, I turned my attention to the cushion.
How to reupholster the chair seat
Time to turn my attention to the cushion. I found this fabric at JoAnns and purchased a yard, although half a yard would have been enough.
Sometimes you can just cover the existing fabric, but in this case, I didn’t for two reasons. One, I was worried the darker yellow would show through the white a bit; and two, the cushion was already very tight fitting in the frame of the chair and another layer of fabric would have made it even worse. So off came the old fabric. Using needle-nosed pliers, I pulled out the staples and carefully removed the fabric.
I laid the fabric down on top of the cushion to see how I wanted the pattern to line up and then cut, making sure there was enough overhang to staple it back underneath. Since it was a geometric pattern, I put a mark in the center of the seat so that I could line up the pattern exactly. I stapled the bottom first since it was straight, starting in the center and working my way out. Next came a staple on the center top, then I worked my way down either side. For the curved edges, simply create a number of small folds, stapling after each one. If things aren’t lining up well or get bunchy, pull out the staples and redo.
And that’s it! I finished it up by putting the cushion back on the chair frame and screwing it back together. This is a project that anyone can do and is a great way to refresh your furniture. All you need is some pliers, a staple gun, and some new fabric!
Helpful Reference Articles:
I hope I’ve inspired you to try something similar, let me know your thoughts or questions in the comments below. Want to learn about all things furniture? Make sure to sign up for my newsletter for more!