How to Reupholster a Chair Seat for Beginners
This post is sponsored by Spoonflower. Though I happily serve as a Spoonflower ambassador, I will always share my honest opinion about any products shared.
The secret is out and people are flocking to thrift stores and Facebook Marketplace to score some great second hand furniture. The bones of a furniture piece can be amazing, but the cushions sometimes are beyond hope. So, learning how to reupholster a chair seat has become one of my go-to skills to really transform my home. It’s much easier than you think and having quality upholstery fabric from Spoonflower seals the deal!
Rattan chair makeover with Recycled Canvas
Back in December, I noticed a gorgeous rattan dining set on Facebook and just had to gift it to myself for Christmas. It wasn’t too pricey for the set, just $150! Though the chairs needed a bit of work, the owner had a dog that chewed up some of the chair legs, the bones of the chair were in great condition. Reupholstering the chair cushions was the most work needed to revamp some of these beauties.
I found the most incredible print on Spoonflower.com. I must admit, that I was there for at least 2 hours searching all the stunning prints. There are just so many beautiful prints available that it was hard to choose just one! I settled on the Blurred 15 print by Fashionita Boutique in the recycled canvas. This print has allll the colors I love in our home and has a fun, yet modern boho edge unseen in the other prints I looked at.
The recycled canvas was sturdy for upholstering, but still soft enough that your bum would be comfortable. It was easy to pull and staple it without any fraying. Plus, the canvas kept the vibrant colors of the print! Scroll below to see how I made these chairs look like this boho dream!
How to reupholster a chair seat
Time needed: 20 minutes.
Steps to reupholster a chair seat. You can also see my reupholstering video I shared on my Instagram.
- Remove screws securing chair seat to frame
- Remove staples from the back of the cushion holding the paper backing and original fabric if desired.
You have the option to simply recover the original fabric or remove it and replace with your new fabric.
- Measure fabric the size needed to cover the complete front of the cushion. Add at least 2 inches to your measurement all around.
This helps later when you’ll be pulling the fabric to staple in place.
- Begin by laying your seat foam side down onto the non-print side of the fabric. Pull the fabric over onto the seat backing at the middle of the seat. Staple the fabric in place.
You’ll want a nice tug of the fabric, but not too tough that the foam of the cushion is squished.
- Pull each corner, one by one, of the same edge of the seat and staple the fabric just like you did in step 4.
- Work from the middle staple outward to continue to staple the fabric in place. Then, gather the corner fabric by pinching and pulling it nice and taught to create a smooth side of fabric around the corner. Staple the fabric in place.
I show just how I do corners in the Instagram video.
- Repeat stapling the fabric around the other 3 sides and use scissors to snip off excess fabric.
- Finish by replacing the paper backing onto the seat or create a new backing using the original as a template. Staple the backing inplace then screw the newly recovered seat back to the chair.
Again, I shared a video on my Instagram to go through all the steps, but wanted to share the main steps here so you can reference them too. This chair is looking so fabulous in our living room, but I can’t wait to get the dining room all cleaned up to set the chairs there instead.
Are you ready to transform your next thrift store find? Create that instant new look by recovering the chair seat today using Spoonflower fabrics.
