Old & Ugly to New & Chic Dining Chairs
I got these chairs for FREE! Someone thought these chairs were garbage, but I saw a great opportunity. I've re-upholstered plenty of chairs, but I never upholstered the back of a chair, but that changed with this project.
Here is where we started. These were clearly dated chairs with faded and stained seats, and a woven cane back rest.
The first thing I did was remove the back. I used a scissors to start cutting it out and then a box cutter and pliers to clean up the edges. Then I removed the seats.
Some of the chairs needed a few repairs that were easily fixed with some wood glue. One chair has a good chunk of wood broken out so I filled it with wood filler and sanded it smooth after it fully dried.
I gave each chair a thorough cleaning with a vinegar and water mixture. After they were all dry, I started painting with Rust-Oleum Chalked Charcoal spray paint. Each chair was also sprayed with Rust-Oleum Clear Matte Top Coat.
For the back, I used a solid color material that matched the design material. Once I stapled the piece of the back that will show, I lined it with a strong felt material and padding before I covered it with the main design. To cover any rough edges/staples, I made upholstery cords by using fabric glue to adhere the fabric to a thin rope. The cords were then hot-glued around the edge of the back rest.
Here are the four final chairs!
Before and After
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Those chairs look wonderful especially when the before/after pictures are available side by side to compare. Do I plan on doing this project ? Absolutely , I have a very close friend who has been trying to find a way to do just that to a set of similar chairs, that her roommate has already taken apart over a year ago . She will be thrilled . Thank you for your post. I'll send photos when we're through .
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I have an older mahogany color Queen Anne Dining set I need to re-do. I just can't decide if I want to go white, black or refinish the mahogany. Great idea.
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They turned out lovely, but I too am wondering what you used for support on the backs and seats. I would imagine wood under the padding on the seats, but your instructions did not use any support other than a heavy felt and fabric on the backs. I don't understand how that will be enough to withstand the pressure of people leaning on them. Won't they stretch, give or even let go with the pressure?
Could you have left the weaving on the chair and sprayed it also and staple the fabric to the weaving?
What brand of felt did you use? and where did you get it from?