Update an antique chair with some simple steps.
Antique chairs can be a great buy and a beautiful addition to your home, but many times -- especially with older chairs -- the seat is stained or cracked. Taking it into a professional to get it reupholstered is easier than doing it yourself, but it's also more costly. Reupholstering yourself may seem intimidating at first, but if you have the right tools and follow instructions closely, you can completely reupholster your chair within a matter of several minutes. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Cut a piece of foam that's approximately the same size and shape as your chair cushion.
2. Cut a piece of upholstery material that's about 6 inches larger than your chair cushion on each side.
3. Remove your chair's cushion. If it's screwed in, unscrew it with a screwdriver first before popping it off.
4. Set your chair cushion face up on a work bench or table.
5. Pour glue all over the piece of foam. Not every millimeter needs to be covered, but try to cover as much of the surface area as you can, making lines both vertical and horizontal.
6. Set the piece of foam on top of the chair cushion. Line it up, as best as you can, and let it dry for at least an hour. It's a good idea to turn the cushion upside down, so that it's pressing down on the foam portion as it dries.
7. Lay the upholstery fabric out face down. Place the cushion, foam side down, in the middle of the upholstery fabric.
8. Pull up tightly on one side of the material and fold it over the cushion. Using a staple gun, insert one staple into the middle of this line of material, near the edge of the cushion. Repeat this step until all four sides have a staple in the middle of them.
9. Work your way from the middle staples to the outside, inserting the staples about an inch apart, remembering to pull up tightly on the fabric as you staple. Don't staple the corners yet.
10. Cut about 1 or 2 inches of excess material from the corners of the upholstery material.
11. Pull up very tightly on the corners of fabric before stapling them to the underside of the cushion. It's OK if you still have excess material. This will look normal when you turn the cushion right-side up again in a little while. You may need to insert a few staples in each corner to hold down all the material.
12. Place your newly reupholstered cushion back onto the chair. Screw it back in from the bottom if you have to.
Tags: chair cushion, your chair, your chair cushion, piece foam, about inches