Transformation Tuesday: Reupholstering Chairs

Today, I’m going to show you a bunch of examples of how reupholstering chairs can make a dramatic change to your living spaces. 

This pic is blurry and old but look how cute Jules is! It’s hard to believe she was ever that small. I wanted to show you our dining room chair because it has been reupholstered about 4 times now. The set was bought over 12 years ago and you can say our taste has changed quite a bit since then. It originally came in this cream color and they were our everyday chairs in our old townhouse. Even though the picture is blurry, you can see the stains. It was way worse in real life. I couldn’t get rid of this set since they were still in decent condition so I decided to just change out the fabric. If you have chairs with cushions, most likely you can change out the fabric on them fairly easily. All you need is a screwdriver (preferably drill gun), staple gun, staples, new fabric and scissors. Just flip your chair upside down and you will most likely see 4 screws holding the cushion in place. Use the drill gun to unscrew them and it should come unattached. All you need to do then is to cut out fabric to wrap taut around the cushion and then staple it down all around to make sure it stays put. 

I stapled this black and cream toile fabric and re-upholstered all of them until they got dirty again. For these chairs, 3.5 yards of fabric was more than enough. Also, I didn’t remove the old, existing fabric cushions. I just stapled right on top of them. They soon got dirty again so I changed it up again. #kidsaremessy I know some of my friends who have used a vinyl type of fabric which works great if you have kids. 

When we moved to our current house a few years back, it got replaced with this geometric, blue and white fabric. I recently changed it out again to this soft, flannel fabric. I know flannel isn’t typically used on dining room chairs but I loved the softness it created in the room. 

I redid this during Christmas and had originally wanted a red plaid but am glad I decided on this one since it doesn’t scream holiday. 

  I tried taking another shot of them but someone decided she needed to photobomb. 

Here’s another example of an easy fabric change. I had two of these old chairs with a neutral fabric on them. I used homemade chalk paint for one of the chairs and reupholstered it in a modern black and white striped fabric. This chair is used for Jules’ desk in her room. 

I recovered the other in a red plaid and it’s currently being used in the toy room. 

We received two of these antique chairs from my in laws but the cushions were really old and dirty. You can’t tell from the pic but trust me, they were basically yellow with lots of stains. 

 

I used a colorful, peacock fabric and distressed some of the details on the chair with some rub-n-buff gold wax metallic finish. This stuff comes in a small tube at the craft store and a tiny bit goes a long way. 

The fireplace is flanked by two of these chairs and provide additional seating for guests. 

If you have some old chairs that need a little update, changing out the fabric on the cushions is an easy fix! You can tailor it to your style and change it up again when you tire of it or when it gets dirty. It’s a simple DIY that can make a drastic transformation. 

Happy Tuesday!

<><Yuni

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2