Give Your Chairs a New Look

Want to give your furniture a new look? Here are two ways to change your chairs, reuse and get more years out of them. In our post, we’ll show you how to change upholstery and make a removable cover.

You won’t believe how many possibilities you have with upholstering or covering your chairs. Before you test out new fabrics for your chair, you can make it look like new by just readjusting the preexisting fabric.

Upholstering chairs

Before you start your upholstery project, you first need to decide how your new chair will fit into its setting. Think about whether you want it to be a star in the room decor or a piece that blends in with the rest of the room.

Look for sturdy fabrics that won’t lose their shape and will withstand wear and tear. Dense cotton fabrics, such as canvas, sailcloth or corduroy are very resistant and great for homes with children.

If you want your chair to enhance your room decor, floral, plaid or striped upholstery are ideal for rustic or classical settings. On the other hand, solid-color options work better in modern decor.

Upholster your chairs for a new look

Before you upholstery your chair, you’ll first need to remove the original fabric. Both upholstering and removing the original fabric are easy tasks that you can do yourself.

You’ll need a few tools to remove the old fabric from the seat. A sharp knife and a chisel will be all you need to remove the fabric that’s stapled or nailed to the bottom edge of the seat. Here are some simple steps that any crafty person can do at home:

1. Measure the chair and cut out a square of the same size from chipboard. Next, use scissors to cut out a padding square of the same size.
2. Glue the padding to the chipboard with spray glue and wrap both elements in calico. Staple it in place.
3. Once the calico is secure, wrap your new seat in the upholstery fabric of your choice. Make sure you leave extra fabric to hang over the bottom. Staple the fabric to the bottom and even out the corners, taking extra care to fold the fabric neatly into place.
4. For the best results, cover the bottom of the seat with a sturdy fabric such as burlap. Fold the edges inwards and staple it onto the base.

Chair covers

There are several reasons why you might want to cover a chair – to hide stains or tears, dress it up for a special occasion or, simply to give it a new look.

You can also cover your entire chair, legs included. Use a skirt that goes around the base or only covers a certain area of your chair.

Create a new look

You can also use many different items to decorate your cover. Folds, knots, bows, tassels, buttons, and borders are only some of the possibilities for transforming your cover.

For example, you can use fringes and tassels to add a little texture as well as an air of sophistication. Or, a line of buttons at the base of your chair skirt can look great as well and the folds will hide the legs.

How to make a removable chair cover

Let’s take a look at the steps for making your own fitted cover:

1. First, make sure you have everything you need to hand: the fabric for your cover and border, scissors, matching thread and pins. Next, measure the different parts of your chair that you want to cover: the back, seat and legs.
2. Cut the fabric and leave around 2.5 cm for the hems and fasten them onto your chair with the pins. Make sure that the cover will fit your chair by taking a seat to test it out.
3. For the border, place a piece of string in a strip of fabric previously prepared. Close it with the pins and then sew it.
4. Now, attach it to the border of your cover with pins and make sure it’s securely fastened. Hand sew.
5. If you want your border to follow the shape of your chair without sticking out, make little V-cuts. Lastly, flip the cover inside out and place over your chair.

Which method do you prefer? Upholstery or covers? The change is up to you!