How To Reupholster A Chair – Makeovers To Inspire You

Furniture inevitably gets old and there’s a point when we look a chair and we decide it’s time for a change. Sometimes that means a brand new chair is in order but sometimes not all hope is lost and a makeover is planned? Not sure how to reupholster a chair? No worries. The following projects will show you exactly what you need to do. Each of them show the transformation of an old and ugly chair into a beautiful one that looks like new. We hope they’ll inspire you to give your own chairs a second chance when the time comes.

old French chair Before and after Reupholster

Let’s start with this old French chair featured on Lostandfounddecor. It didn’t look very good and things only got worst after the old fabric was removed. After getting rid of the old nails and painting the frame, the old pieces of fabric were used as templates and new ones were cut. They were then sewed together into a beautiful new cover. The finishing touch was the trim which hid any imperfections between the fabric and the wooden frame.

old French chair Before and after Reupholster

Reupholstering dinner chairs can be a bit easier. It’s important to cut out fabric squares that are big enough to wrap around the sides to the bottom so be sure to measure your chairs correctly. Once you have a piece of fabric ready, remove the chair bottom and get rid of the old upholstery and any staples that might hold it in place. Put the new fabric on and make sure it’s tight around the edges. Staple it in place, trim the excess fabric and then staple a smaller square of fabric over it, on the bottom of the seat. Reassemble the chair. {found on southernmomloves}

old French chair Before and after Reupholster

There’s also a project on househomemade that shows how to reupholster dining chair cushions. It’s pretty similar to what we mentioned so far. You can check out this tutorial for more details and for a new perspective on the redesigning of old chairs and what this process involves. In this case, the makeover doesn’t completely reinvent the chair but merely refreshes its look while maintaining the same style.
old French chair Before and after Reupholster

Stools deserve a second chance too. Let’s see how the process goes in this case. We’ll use the project on aliceandlois as reference. The first step is to remove the stool’s legs. any old staples are removed as well. The old pieces of fabric can then be used as templates to cut the new fabric pieces. After the new fabric is stapled in place, holes are cut in the fabric where the stool legs are attached. The legs are attached and secured with glue.

old French chair Before and after Reupholster

Reupholstering an old footstool is very easy if the design is anything like the one on maidenmag. This also actually got a complete makeover as its frame was spray painted gold. The seat was reupholstered with faux suede fabric and it looks quite elegant. All you really need to make this happen is the fabric and a staple gun. It’s just a matter of cutting it to the right size and attaching it to the back of the seat.

old French chair Before and after Reupholster

You can recover just about any old chair or stool with a bit of patience and some basic diy skills. First things first: find an old stool/ chair with a frame that’s still in good shape. Remove the seat and give the base a makeover. A fresh coat of paint should do the trick. Then it’s time to focus on the seat. Remove the old fabric and cut new one making sure it’s slightly bigger than the piece you removed. Fold it over the seat and staple it in place. Staple a second piece over the edges to give it a neat look. After that you can reassemble the chair. All of this is described in more detail on threadbarecloak.

old French chair Before and after Reupholster

Finding an antique chair that’s still in good shape is pretty great because you can keep the frame intact and simply reupholster the seat and backrest, making the chair look almost like new. You can even maintain the same style and choose new fabric that looks similar to the old one. It’s a nice strategy if you want to recover an old piece and not change too much about it. Check out lostandfounddecor for an inspiring example.

old French chair Before and after Reupholster

Can you imagine what reupholstering an entire wingback chair would take? It wouldn’t be an easy or very quick process but it can definitely be done, as shown by this project on sixseeds.patheos. What’s particularly interesting is that this massive armchair was reupholstered using a no-sew method. It looks great and you could do something similar if you follow the steps described here.

old French chair Before and after Reupholster

No-sew chair reupholsters are great and that’s mainly because you don’t need a sewing machine and thus you don’t waste time with that part. You can reupholster an entire chair using the no-sew method. The project we just showed you is one of the examples you can use as inspiration. We have another one prepared for you. It’s similarly complex and the transformation is quite impressive. It starts like most such projects, with the disassembly of the chair. In this particular case, everything had to be removed since it was so old and in such a bad shape. You may be able to salvage some elements if your chair is in better condition so give it a chance.

old French chair Before and after Reupholster

It’s amazing what some new upholstery can do for a chair. It’s something to keep in mind next time you find your furniture boring and outdated. Have a look at the transformation showed on fromgardens2bergers to see how an old and plain chair was turned into a chic piece any modern home would be lucky to have. The black and white stripes suit it well and give it a particularly elegant and timeless look.

old French chair Before and after Reupholster

Can’t decide what color or pattern to use for the new upholstery of your old armchair? Perhaps you’d like to combine two types of fabric to give the chair more character. You could upholster the back using one type of fabric and the seat and armrests using a different kind. Curious how that would turn out. Check out amyscasablanca for a detailed description of a reupholstered chair that went from old and boring to new and vibrant. It’s one of the best transformations we’ve seen so far.

old French chair Before and after Reupholster

Dining chairs can get dirty and ugly in a relatively short period of time and it comes a point when cleaning them just won’t do much difference. That’s when you can start thinking about new upholstery. A practical tip that we found on creatingreallyawesomefunthings is that taking the time to remove all the old fabric and all the staples doesn’t really make a difference in some cases. You can leave it on and just put new fabric on top of that. Check out this project to see how that turned out.

old French chair Before and after Reupholster

As it turns out, old and ugly chairs can fit beautifully in modern homes and all you need to do is to reupholster them. This can be a fairly simple project if the design and structure of the chair allow it. In some cases, it can be a pretty lengthy and difficult process but even then it’s worth the time and effort. Have a look at this cool transformation showed on sherwooddrive. The after pictures show a very stylish chair.

old French chair Before and after Reupholster

Sometimes, if the construction of the chair allows it, you can sew covers for the seat and backrest and you can just slip them on and secure them in place. These side chairs showed on providenthomedesign are a nice example. Originally, they had leather upholstery and removing it was not exactly a practical option so it was just covered in fabric.

old French chair Before and after Reupholster

This elegant chair showed on tidbits got a new seat cover as well. It’s a cute skirt that’s tied around the legs, giving the chair an elegant and chic look. But that’s not the only thing that was changes. The frame of the chair and the backrest were painted to better suit the new look. After the transformation, this look like a French country style chair that could look great in any home.

old French chair Before and after Reupholster

Let’s say you’ve decided to reupholster an old chair. While you’re at it, you could also make some minor design changes as well which could help define the new look that you have in mind for that particular piece. For example, you could paint the frame and get rid of the buttons if the chair had a button0tufted backrest, like the ones showed on whatsurhomestory.

Another idea is to reinvent the chair by giving it a completely new type of seat. After you remove the old upholstery you don’t necessarily have to replace it with new one. You can think of something else entirely. For instance, you could weave a new seat out of jute strips or belts. A nail head trim would complete the new look perfectly. If you like the idea, we have a special tutorial showing how to make a jute chair seat.