Reupholster Kitchen Chairs

Upholstered chairs are comfortable and fashionable furniture that you can use in your kitchen. Unfortunately, over time the upholstery on the chairs can become worn or dingy. Luckily, you can remedy this issue by reupholstering them. By adding new padding and replacing the fabric, you can make old chairs look brand new.

Steps

Removing the Old Upholstery

  1. Unscrew the seat from your chair frame. Turn the chair over and locate the screws on the back or the bottom of the chair seat. Unscrew these screws and lift your seat out of the frame. If your seat pops into the frame without screws, you can simply pop it out to remove it.[1]
  2. Make a mark on the front and back of the seat. Make a mark that designates the front and back of the seat. Knowing the seat's orientation will help you reupholster it later.[2]
  3. Remove the staples from the upholstery. Using a flathead screwdriver or needle nose pliers, remove the staples on the bottom of the seat that you are reupholstering. These staples are what typically attach your seat's upholstery to the seat of the chair.[3]
  4. Lift off the old upholstery and inspect the padding. Once you remove all the staples from the bottom of the seat, you'll be able to pull off the old upholstery and examine the filling. If the padding looks cracked or damaged, you should consider replacing it.[1]

Adding New Padding

  1. Trace the form of the seat on a piece of cardboard. Lay the seat on top of a piece of cardboard. Use a ruler or measuring tape to leave an inch (2.54 cm) around all sides of the cardboard. Trace around the seat, leaving an inch of slack around all sides of the seat.[4]
  2. Cut out the cardboard tracing. Use sharp scissors to cut around the template that you just created. The slack you left will help you measure the appropriate amount of foam.
  3. Trace around the foam. Purchase 2-inch (5.08 cm) thick foam online or at an arts and crafts store. Lay the foam over your cardboard template and use a marker to trace around the outside of the foam.[3]
  4. Cut out a piece of foam. Use an X-Acto knife to cut the lines that you just created with the marker. Be careful when cutting the foam so that you don't cut yourself.
  5. Spray the surface of the seat with foam adhesive. Find the correct foam adhesive that will work with the type of foam that you purchased. These can be found online or at most arts and crafts stores. Use the can of adhesive to spray a healthy layer of glue over the surface of the seat.[5]
    • If you don't want to apply the foam to the chair permanently, you should skip the rest of the steps in this method and use the taut upholstery to hold the foam in place.
    • Read the directions on the back of the adhesive before using it.
  6. Press the foam padding onto the seat. Line up the padding with the seat and press down on the surface of the foam with your hands.[3]
  7. Allow the glue to dry before reupholstering the seat. Wait 15 minutes to a half hour to allow the glue to dry fully. Once you've let the glue set, you can start to reupholster the fabric on your seat.

Installing the New Fabric

  1. Measure fabric that's 4-6 inches (10.16-15.24 cm) larger than your seat. Get the measurements on the padding of the chair with a rule or tape measure. Increase those measurements by 4-6 inches (10.16-15.24 cm) inches on all sides and use a marker to mark your fabric. Measuring for this slack will allow you to pull the fabric taut and staple it under the chair.[6]
  2. Cut out the fabric. Use the measurements that you just took to cut out a square of fabric that will fit over your seat.
  3. Pull the fabric taut over the foam padding. Center the chair seat on the fabric and then place the fabric on a flat surface and put the chair, upside down on top of the fabric. Pull the fabric on all sides, so it's taut.
  4. Staple each corner on the bottom of the seat. You can purchase a hand-held staple gun at hardware and arts and crafts stores. As you pull the fabric taut, staple all four corners of the fabric to the bottom lip of the seat using the staple gun.[7]
  5. Staple the rest of the fabric onto the bottom of the chair. Continue to staple around the edges of the fabric until it's totally secured to the seat. In each corner, fold each corner of the fabric over each other so that the fabric looks flush on the surface of your chair's seat.
  6. Reattach the seat to the chair frame. Once you've replaced the old padding and old fabric upholstery, you've completed your project. Rescrew the screws that you removed earlier with a screwdriver. Set the chair back into the frame to finish your project.

Things You'll Need

  • Large piece of cardboard
  • Marker
  • Scissors
  • 2-inch thick foam
  • Staple gun
  • Foam adhesive
  • X-acto knife
  • Fabric
  • Screwdriver

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://www.familyhandyman.com/woodworking/furniture-repair/how-to-reupholster-a-chair/view-all
  2. ↑ http://www.designsponge.com/2011/07/upholstery-basics-dining-chair-do-over.html
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 http://www.thinkingcloset.com/2016/02/28/how-to-reupholster-a-chair-seat-the-no-mess-method/
  4. ↑ http://www.craftaholicsanonymous.net/how-to-upholster-dining-room-chairs-tutorial-and-a-sneak-peak-at-my-dining-room
  5. ↑ http://www.thefoamfactory.com/blog/index.php/pick-the-right-glue-for-the-job-how-to-select-adhesives-for-bonding-foam
  6. ↑ https://dengarden.com/interior-design/How-to-Reupholster-a-Dining-Room-Chair-An-Easy-Home-Improvement-Project
  7. ↑ http://bumblebeelinens.com/blog/how-to-reupholster-your-kitchen-or-dining-room-chairs/

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