Do it Yourself Reupholstery for Dining Room Chairs

Upholstered dining room chairs grow dirty and worn after years of use and food spills. Make your dining room chairs look brand new with an upholstery face lift. Or, save money by buying mismatched chairs and reupholstering them with the same fabric to tie them all together. Does this Spark an idea?

Fabric

Select a fabric that coordinates with the dcor of your dining room, of course. But there is more to choosing a chair upholstery fabric than just picking a pattern. Opt for a heavy-duty fabric that is sturdy and wears well. Avoid lightweight fabrics. Grommets from jeans, keys, knives and other objects that people often carry in their pockets damage lightweight upholstery fabrics.

If you have small children, spills are bound to happen. Look for fabrics with a stain-protection coating, allowing you to wipe off any spills as they occur.

For additional protection of your upholstered dining room chairs, spray them with an upholstery sealant or stain guard before anyone uses the chairs.

Shopping

Measure your chairs carefully before purchasing fabric. Measure each upholstered part of the chair. If possible, take the chair apart and use it as a guide for measuring and cutting fabric.

Buy all the needed fabric from one bolt. Subsequent bolts may not be exactly the same color. Even the slightest variations in color can ruin the effect. Purchase some extra fabric as well, in case of mistakes.

Attach dining room chair upholstery with a staple gun. Have plenty of staples on hand. You will be surprised at how many staples you go through.

Technique

Remove the old upholstery from the chair including any tacks, nails or jute webbing. Most of the time the seats are easily taken out of the chair by tipping the chair upside down and giving the seat a good push from the back of the chair.

Replace all the padding in the chair, including jute webbing if applicable. Most dining room chairs have at least some padding in the seat. Replace this with either new foam or quilt batting. If you select quilt batting, use several layers to maximize comfort.

When working with the chair seat, remember to pull the fabric tightly as you work. Go back and forth on the seat of the chair, working from opposite sides and pulling the fabric as tight as it will go before stapling.