Upholstering a Dining Room Chair
- By Joan
- June 16, 2016
- 3 Comments
On Monday I told you the story of my sweet sister who braved the elements and rescued a bunch of furniture from her neighbors trash pile.
OK, it hadn’t started raining yet, but it could have.
In case you missed Monday’s post, that little drop leaf table in the center is now red and sooooo cute. The stripes had to be sanded off or they would have shown under a coat of paint. But a bit of black chalk paint followed by red and a coat of tinted wax and he is all fixed up.
Well now it’s time to give the chair on the left it’s makeover. It’s in terrific shape and only missing one tiny little detail…the seat.
The last chairs I picked up curbside had the frame for the seat intact as well as the webbing. This chair actually reminds me of those chairs… a lot…do they know something I don’t know, should I be tossing out these dining room chairs? All I know is that the chair is sturdy, it has beautiful wood and it deserves a second chance.
Since the frame that holds the padding was missing entirely it would have to be rebuilt.
A chop saw set at 5 degrees gave me the perfect shape for my frame. In case you hadn’t guessed, this is oak pallet wood…the perfect scrap wood.
The frame was attached with pocket screws from a Kreg jig. If you don’t have the pocket screws you could also use L brackets and wood glue.
I purchased webbing from the upholstery section of Joanns. Weave the pieces together and staple in place.
Use the frame you made as a template to cut 2 inch foam for the chair seat. Cut the foam slightly larger than the actual seat so that you won’t be able to feel the hard edges of the wood frame around the edges of your cushion.
Cut a 45 degree angle on the pad to soften the foam edges.
Quilt batting is then cut large enough to fit around the entire seat.
Staple the batting in place. You don’t need a ton of staples just yet, just enough so that the batting won’t shift when you add your material.
Just like the batting, cut your material large enough to fit around the entire seat. Any extra can always be trimmed off later.
Working from the center and alternating sides work your way out to the corners of the seat cushion pulling tight and stapling as you go. Trim off any excess fabric and batting.
I decided to cover all my staples and webbing with a piece of scrap material, folding over the edge and stapling in place.
The seat works beautifully, and if you like the natural wood look then feel free to stop here.
I wanted the chair to fit in my gray bedroom, and since my floors are already a dark wood, this chair is getting painted. Started with a coat of primer followed by a coat of semi-gloss white trim paint.
For a little character, sanded off the edges to have a little of the natural wood peek through.
If you have any chairs you would like to put curbside, feel free to just bring them over directly to my house that way we can skip the middle scavenging step.
Join me again tomorrow as I guest post over at My Repurposed Life. See you then.
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That chair turned out lovely especially in white!
I love the chair in both dark wood and white. This chair certainly didn’t deserve to be thrown away. Great job!
Your chair looks absolutely beautiful. You have inspired me to refinish a chair I have. Thanks for the great instructions.