Friday, August 9, 2013

Fabulous Friday! Old...Goes New! Recovering a Chair DIY

Happy Fabulous Friday everyone!

I hope you've had a great week! I have a pair of antique chairs from my Nana's home that I've always loved.  They're very old, they belonged to my Great Grandmother which means a whole lotta people have sat in them, along with a whole lotta stories told in them.  However, they needed a little makeover. I had recovered one of my Nana's chairs a little while ago in this What's Old is New  blog post and felt that it was time for the other two chairs to feel the love.

Here is what we started with...His and Hers Chairs
Solid wood, gorgeous craftsmanship and sturdy...the covers definitely needed a pick-me-up.


I immediately started to pull off the seat cushion off the red cushion chair, however I don't recommend it.  When re-covering an antique chair the covers are likely nailed down pretty tightly. It looked like this...

It seemed like a good idea at the time but I couldn't rip or cut off the edges, they were in there way too tightly (nailed in) and it made for a weaker seat. So, here's a tip: If you can't see through your fabric, I recommend covering right over the existing cushion fabric.  It's easier and makes a stronger and sturdier seat.

These chairs were going to find a home in the new guest room so I knew that my fav fabric store, Tonic Living would be my go-to for fabric.

Here's how we did it.  I have no idea if this is the proper way but it worked. Here we go...

1. Iron, Measure, Cut!  Cut the fabric to fit the seat with a couple of inches extra on each side...

2. Tuck! You don't want a frayed end of fabric around the chair so fold under your fabric to the edge of the chair.  It also gives you more material for your staples to stick in to.  These are my mama's hands, this project definitely takes 2! One to hold the fabric taught and the other to staple. Next get your staple gun out and staple along the edges.

3.  Corners! Corners are tough on any recovering project. Be patient and keep tucking and pulling to try to get them smooth. It's tedious but worth it.

4. Hello pretty! All covered but they need the finishing touch...can't leave those staples peaking out.

5. Finishing Touch! We picked up some white upholstery ribbon at Fabric Land.  Get out your ribbon, glue gun and simply place a few beads of glue at a time along the edge of your fabric and stick on your upholstery ribbon.  Do a few inches at a time.


Get tight in those corners...
 

A little ribbon always finishes off things nicely...

Voila! Fresh.fabulous.sophisticated chairs that take on a whole new updated look that are dressy, yet relaxed and are ready for more stories to be told in. I know my Nana would love them.

Before:


After:




His and Hers now have a spot in our new guest room. Stay tuned next week for the guest room reveal.

Keep it Beautiful.

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2 comments:

  1. wow, what a great job with fabric..chair looks totally chang..and new chair is awesome.online beds company UK

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is really beautiful and it looks easy to do.MATTRESS AND FOAMS UK

    ReplyDelete

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