I bought two of these chairs at a yard sale last summer thinking I could find someone, someday who would teach me to reupholster.
Enter Amy from Design Intervention!
Amy and I met through blog world and connected immediately. I about did a back flip when she mentioned she would be in my neck of the woods and would teach me to reupholster. I love learning new things. I will try anything once.
These chairs have such a cool shape to them. I drove past the yard sale four times and stopped twice before I finally decided I had to have them. I bargained but then still splurged and paid $75 total for the both of them.
Here’s some of the before pictures of them…
I know many of you are probably thinking…”but they matched your room so well.” Yes I know they did but they were really in crappy condition with brown marks and sun faded spots all over.…
So we are going to walk you through the process we went through this past weekend reupholstering these chairs. No before and after pictures just yet. You gotta enjoy the process with us. Let’s begin shall we?
First you have to decide what fabric you want. That is the tough part…hmmmmm….
I ended up getting my fabric from Interiormall.com per Amy’s suggestion. It was $7/yd and I found it in their clearance section. They were great to work with and their prices beat any of my local fabric stores. (They did not pay me to say that or offer me any free product- that is my opinion). I ended up going with a fabric called Traditions Black Natural Item #163726.
Ok now get in a really bad mood…think of laundry or long check out lines, car trouble or barfing children. When you are all mad start destroying your chair using a flat head screw driver, pliers and sheer strength. Make sure you lay a sheet down under your project. There will be one beeeellion staples al over the floor if you don’t. Pay close attention to how the fabric was attached and keep any pieces that you need for measuring and placement.
Take pictures of anything that you are afraid you might not be able to figure out how to put back together like this…
Here she is in all her naked glory…
What a way to leave us hanging!! It's like the cliffhanger of a soap opera. or The Bachelor. 😉
I think the chair has great bones. I found the PERFECT chair last summer at a yard sale. I have no sense of smell (zero!) so I am so glad I thought to ask another shopper to smell it for me. Weird, I know. She told me it reeked of smoke. 🙁 I was so bummed.
So I am still on the lookout. I just need to bring a friend with a sense of smell with me. 😉
Can't wait to see the rest!
So brave! To boldly rip all that fabric off! Must have felt GREAT! I can't wait to see how she turns out!
Danylle
http://www.nanamoonshop.com
Yay – I'm so glad you're posting about reupholstery!! It's a skill I've always wanted to learn, thanks for sharing the process with your awesomely shaped chair 🙂 I'm looking forward to seeing more!
I am SOOO glad that you are doing these this week. I always see chairs that I love, but am scared to try it myself and don't want to pay to have it done. Most of the time, just buying a new chair is just as cheap as getting one redone!
I can't wait to see the process! I'm on the edge of my desk chair!
I would love to tackle a wing chair I have, I will be back to see your progress. Thanks for the tips so far.
Holy cow, does that look like a lot of work…. wow… you'd hit me, but I think that would be something I'd pay someone else to do. : )
I can't wait to see it finished! I bet it looks great. I love the fabric you chose.
Oh sure, leave us hanging until tomorrow….LOL I am anxious to see how beautiful they will look….I LOVE the style of chair and the fabric you chose is wonderful!
Oh sure, leave us hanging until tomorrow….LOL I am anxious to see how beautiful they will look….I LOVE the style of chair and the fabric you chose is wonderful!
Oh sure, leave us hanging until tomorrow….LOL I am anxious to see how beautiful they will look….I LOVE the style of chair and the fabric you chose is wonderful!
Oh sure, leave us hanging until tomorrow….LOL I am anxious to see how beautiful they will look….I LOVE the style of chair and the fabric you chose is wonderful!
What a timely post! While waiting for our household goods to get here we bought a comfortable but hideous at Goodwill which has a swivel/rocking bottom which likes to tip backwards if you are not careful. So enter the reupholster and refitting process… ah the search is over!
By the way, I can't wait for the shop and hop!!
I hope you also have a tack puller, a rubber hammer, and an awl. And it helps if you tape off the wood so that if you slip with a tool you won't scratch the frame too badly. Been there and had to paint the frame. Also, are you numbering the pieces as you take them off. That helps me to know in what order to put them back on; just reverse. Good luck.
Carolyn
AAHHH!! I have a chair that I've been wanting to do that to, but I'm so scared! I'm going to wait and watch your progress and maybe do it next weekend!
looks good so far!!! 😉
Amy rocks at reupholstery!! So glad you girls had a fun time together and I can't wait to see the finished products! Love the shape of the chairs!
Wow! You are brave! I think I would have had an anxiety attack at the point where the fabric was coming off and you could se all of the stuffing. I can't wait to see the rest!
I passed up one of thes just last night at the neighbors curb cause I wasn't about to tackle that. I can't wait to see it done. LOVE the fabric
Your blog has been chosen for an award 🙂
http://decoratingingeorgia.blogspot.com/2010/03/i-received-one-lovely-blog-award.html
I am on pins and needles waiting for tomorrow!!! I can't wait to see the end result!!!
I like what Nora said! Can't wait to see =)
Oh come on… making us wait until tomorrow is just plain mean!! =P
You're killin me here!!!!!!!!!!!!
What if I don't WANT to wait until tomorrow??? 🙁
I will stay tuned for sure! I have two chairs I am terrified of reupholstering but I promised I would try it.
Also checking out interiormall. Thanks for the info.
Sarah
Ah yes… I feel your pain. When I reupholstered my chair, the worst part was all the staples!!!! It's looking amazing!
EEK! Can't wait to read part 2!
I LOVED reading this! I just took on an antique chair, and couldnt believe how well it turned out! I even made piping using twine. Yes, i said TWINE, because i ran out(i insisted on reusing the piping) and had already spent my budgeted amount on fabric.. Anywho- feel free to take a peek! Blessings!
http://sarahshaunandfam.blogspot.com/2010/02/and-it-was-finished-almost.html
Your chairs turned out beautifully. I am going to try to reupholster two chairs but nothing so complex. I bought my husband a small compressor for his birthday and it came with the pneumatic stapler so now all I have to do is pick the fabric. I will definitely check out the place you used.
Thanks for the inspiration.