How to Reupholster a Dining Chair Seat
A low-impact way to improve or change the look of any chair with a removable seat. In this example, we'll recover the fabric of a dining chair seat. Whether you have pets and children, or just love to recycle old furniture, you'll appreciate this quick refurbishing technique.
Steps
- Unscrew the seat from the bottom of the chair.
- Measure the width, length, and depth of the seat. Add 7-10 inches and multiply by the number of seats. This is the amount of fabric you need.
- Place the fabric wrong-side up in the pattern direction you want, and place the seat on it upside down.
- Cut the fabric to size, including the depth needed to cover, leaving about 3-5 inches to attach to the seat.
- Fold one flap of fabric along the side with the straightest edge. Use a staple gun to staple a row with about 1" spacing, leaving 3" of fabric unattached at each corner.
- Tighten the fabric across the top of the seat.
- Move to one corner, fold down the fabric edge, then fold up and hold taut (like wrapping a present). Staple at a diagonal on the corner, the once each on either edge.
- Repeat for the opposite corner.
- Repeat step X for both sides, then repeat step X for each corner and secure the opposite side.
- Trim any excess cloth.
- Return seat to the chair and screw the base back in.
Tips
- Fabric is important: for heavily-used chairs, choose thick fabric designed for upholstering. If you use the chairs only occasionally, or if you like to recover to meet different needs year to year, a lighter, stretchy fabric can make your job easier.
- A power stapler or staple gun is best for this task. A desk stapler won't be strong enough to penetrate the wood.
- Buy extra fabric so you'll have some left over to make matching place mats, runners, or cushions to coordinate.
- You may wish to line tape the edges to prevent fraying of the cloth.
Warnings
- Unless there is an odor or padding has escaped the cushion, it is not recommended that you remove the base layer of fabric on your seat. Recovering a bare seat pad is trickier and may require additional steps.
