How to Reupholster a Chair Seat | Days of Chalk and Chocolate

How to Reupholster a Chair Seat

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About 6 years ago I reupholstered a chair from a matching pair I received free from a colleague. It was a simple paint/apply seat fabric job using white paint and black and white graphic fabric. I loved how it turned out. I blogged about it here.   If you don't want to go back and read here is a synopsis:

What I started with:



And what I had after:



The fabric was getting tired and faded so I reupholstered the seat again this weekend. It is so easy and there are a million tutorials out there so I'll just go through mine quickly.

I had purchased two yards of this fabric at Christmas time.  It's by Waverly I think. I saw it in the store and had no idea what I would do with it but knew I loved it.  So this is what I used.



And now my chair looks like this:



Here's the story.

Flip the cushion and take off the old fabric.

I pretty much took every tool out of Jim's toolbox to accomplish this. Let's just say
 I did a very thorough stapling job when I put this fabric on.

Replace batting and foam if needed. I did not need to do this.

Use the fabric you took off as  your pattern for your new fabric.

As I was doing this Ellie snuck up and put this here. It was cute.
She has to be involved in everything.

Years ago Jim bought a staple gun that is used with a compressor.
It makes things SO easy!  Of course, a compressor doesn't have
to be this big. We do enjoy overkill over here.

Pull fabric taut and staple, staple, staple. Pretend you don't
care how many you'll have to pull out the next time you do this. Just staple and pull
your heart out!

I like to do 2 sides first before doing the corners.

I know some people say to wrap the corners like a package but I have never been able
to do that. I just pull and staple as neatly as possible. These are not my
best corners. But I kinda don't care because you won't see them
when the seat is back on the chair.

Dizzy yet?  Yeah, I get that the cane back and the fabric
make for a woozy feeling. I am going to sew up a simple gray pillow to put on the back.


The other thing we did yesterday was to pound down every popped nail on our deck. I'm planning on staining it soon to freshen it up too. Here's my man wielding his hammer.


Watcha up to this weekend?  Anything good to report?

Cheers!
Jenny


41 comments:

  1. It looks great! Of course, it looked fabulous before too! I love it painted white! Thanks for the tutorial! :)

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  2. I just noticed your blog makeover! It looks so nice!!

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  3. I love that chair - a lot, and your blog makeover looks great too!

    Allyson
    http://cupcakescandycanes.blogspot.com

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  4. So much better now! Love the makeover! I recently did something similar to this project to my kitchen chairs.
    Have a lovely Sunday!
    Love, Olga
    P.S.: now also following via Bloglovin'!

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  5. your chair looks amazing, I love reusing old things

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  6. Looks fabulous. Inspires me to finish the one in my bedroom. Would you share?
    http://www.decoratinginsanity.com/2012/03/furniture-friday-11-link-party.html
    xo...mONICa

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  7. Blog makeover looks great! And I love the new fabric on the chair. Great job!

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  8. So gorgeous! I love this fabric - gray is one of my new favorite colors (this month, anyway). Love the new header especially :)

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  9. Tha chair looks fantastic! You did a great job both times :)
    Wish you a great day!

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  10. great job jenny, love the chair and the blog make over :)

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  11. great fabric choices, both times.
    Kathy

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  12. Stopping by from the Just Something I Whipped Up Hop! http://queenofsavings.com

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  13. So beautiful. I love the shape of the chair and the fabric. Megan

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  14. Oh I love that fabric you chose! It looks great!

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  15. oh may, what a gorgeous make-over.
    Ok. such cuteness must be brought to the awareness of my readers :-)
    Come link it up: http://www.finecraftguild.com/party/
    (in future, we prefer tutorials, but inspirational eye candy is welcome also! We all need both.

    Have a great week!
    R

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  16. Great mini-makeover, I love the fabric!

    Kelly @ herringbone lane

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  17. As I'm sure you know... this is the fabric I'd like to use in the home office, for memo boards. Did you find this at JoAnn's? Thought I'd have to order this one online. Would love to know which fabric store, excited to get that project completed! Thanks! :)

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  18. Love this chair makeover - it looks so fresh in white and the new fabric is gorgeous! Love your blog :) xx

    Anna (My Design Ethos)

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  19. That char beautiful and the new fabric makes it look so inviting. You have a wonderful blog and I am excited to be a new follower on GFC and Linky. I would like to to come visit my blog @ http://www.arosiesweethome.com/
    and share in my link party @ http://www.arosiesweethome.com/2012/03/welcome-to-our-3rd-link-party-we-are-so.html
    Hope to see you there
    Rose

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  20. I love the material! and it will look perfect with your hutch!

    --Katie

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  21. Love the new fabric. Much lighter and fresher.

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  22. oh my lord, jenny!!!!! i LOVE LOVE IT! it's gorgeous- the fabric, style, paint.... every ounce of its being!

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  23. Turned out beautiful! I love that fabric we have some in our house too!

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  24. I love the fabric against the white chair. It looks so pristine!

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  25. That char looks great. Nice work!

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  26. I love the fabric that you chose for this! Thanks so much for sharing at Beautify It Monday - We hope you'll come back next week!

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  27. Fantastic tutorial, and I adore the fabric you chose! Thanks for sharing at oopsey daisy! :) Always look forward to seeing what you link up!

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  28. Your chair looks fantastic! I absolutely love the new fabric! Stopping by from At the Picket Fence.

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  29. The chair looks amazing! I love the gray fabric although the old fabric was nice also. I'm working on a chair myself but I haven't picked out fabric yet. I think that's my hardest part. We have the same compressor it is huge...and very loud.

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  30. fabulous and SEXY even!

    hope you'll stop by my blog where i'm hosting a great giveaway:
    http://hellolovelyinc.blogspot.com/2012/04/april-giveaway.html

    smiles.

    michele

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  31. Wow. You did such a great job on that chair. It's beautiful.

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  32. This is AMAZING.. I am certainly featuring YOU tonight.. THANKS SO MUCH for sharing this fantastic project.. SO lovely.. PINNED IT ;))

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  33. I'm visiting from Cre8tive Motives. I LOVE this chair. It is so beautiful! The shape of the chair and the fabric is just fabulous! I'm a new follower. :)

    Angie

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  34. I'll be featuring you on Thursday. Thank you so much for sharing at {wow me} wednesday. :)

    Ginger @ gingersnapcrafts.com

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  35. Oh my goodness! LOVE this chair makeover! Thank you so much for sharing it with us at Inspiration Friday Jenny, we're featuring it this week!

    Heather

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  36. That chair is just beautiful. I just love the fabric. I saw you featured over at At The Picket Fence. I am your latest follower.

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  37. Found you over at Mandy's! I love your chair and the tutorial! Thanks for the inspiration!

    blessings,
    karianne

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Thanks for your comments!