Scavenger Chic

Recovering a Dining Room Chair with a Padded Back

• By Joan
• January 21, 2018
• 6 Comments

Today I bring to you my latest thrift store find.  A beautiful $12 chair.  Super sturdy,  no spots, no wear, probably sat in the corner of someones dining room.  If it doesn’t match your dining room chairs, perhaps it could be a bedroom chair or a desk chair.

So why, you may ask, am I giving it a makeover?

Half of you will probably be saying don’t touch it, it’s perfect just as it is.. and to you I say, look away, there is nothing to see here.

To the other half, the chair is a bit too formal for my rusty crusty furniture and I think I had some of that pink/mauve color in the 80’s.  Time for a make-under.  Time to de-glam this chair.

First things first, take off the seat cushion which is only held on by 4 screws in the bottom.

If there is a dust cover cloth, take it off and save it.  Usually it’s found under couches to keep the dust out but here  it’s just there to hide the ugly wood and edges.  If you have to replace your foam, you’ll have to take off the fabric from the cushion as well.

Here,  I didn’t even bother taking off the old fabric because my foam was in such good shape and any day I can get away with not removing more staples is a good day.  

Cut you seat cushion fabric using the old cushion as a pattern.  It’s always good to cut the fabric a little larger than you think you’ll need.  

Attach your new fabric with staples working from the center into the corners alternating sides as you go.

Reattach the dust fabric.

Now for the back of the chair…remove the seat back and all it’s staples.  May I recommend a Heavy Duty Staple Remover?  The staples still put up a fight but it is a little bit easier than just sticking a screwdriver under the staple.

One of the things that was so pretty about this chair was it’s carved woodwork.

This was the carving from the last chair I made over.  This one was painted with chalk paint then lightly sanded to bring out the details.

I’m doing things a little different for this chair since the wood was in such nice shape.  This time I worked some white wax into the grooves then wiped off the excess.

You’ll need to cut two pieces of fabric for the back of the chair either the same fabric or coordinating fabrics.  Use the old chair backing as a pattern and add about 3/4″ on all sides to be folded under

Alternating sides again and working your way into the corners, secure your back panel to the chair with staples with the right side facing out. Try not to pull too tightly or you’ll get puckers.

What you’re stapling into, is this groove that goes around the inside of the chair.  Notice all the holes from the past staples.

Replace the foam and batting, cutting new if yours is in bad shape.

The fabric for the back of my chair is a piece of canvas dropcloth.  I never have actually used this piece as a dropcloth, I just liked the weight  and sturdiness of the canvas. It feels like it would hold up to some use without being stiff.

Again, I used the old chair backing as a pattern and added about 3/4″ on all sides to be folded under.  

Note: If you are using a heavy weight upholstery fabric you  will still need the extra 3/4″ but you won’t want to fold it over.  After stapling, you’ll have to trim off all the excess close to the staples.

Staple in place, alternating sides  and working your way into the corners.

Find some kind of trim that both coordinates with your fabric and is wide enough to cover up all your staples. Use hot glue to secure in place.

You can find my last french style chair makeover here.  And  I can tell you right now that this will not be my last chair upholstery job.  I picked up a couple more chairs over the weekend and I can’t wait to get started.

Have a wonderful week.  Stay inspired.

Shared at Metamorphosis Monday,

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