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Reupholstering an Antique Chair

Do you have any antique chairs sitting around that you plan to reupholster? Do you feel a little intimidated getting started on this kind of project? Yeah, me, too.

Today, I want to walk you through, step by step, how I recovered a set of chairs last month. I found them at a garage sale about ten years ago.

Actually, they were the first real pieces of furniture that I ever bought at a garage sale.

Ten dollars each.

I wrote the man a check. I told him he knew where I lived if he had any trouble with that check, just to reassure him it would be fine.

He lived four houses down from me, which meant I didn’t even load the chairs into my car.

One by one, I carried them on my head, ran down the street straight through my front door and plunked them down in my living room.

New furniture!

How to Reupholster an Antique Chair- Start to Finish! Including tufting!

I was hooked.

Now I buy second hand furniture all. the. time.

Sometimes it takes me awhile to decide what I want to do with a piece of furniture. Like ten years.

But, here we are, they are done and I will show you how I did it- start to finish.

How to Reupholster an Antique Chair- Start to Finish! Including tufting!

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How to Reupholster an Antique Chair- Start to Finish! Including tufting!

Supplies for Reupholstering an Antique Chair:

How to Reupholster an Antique Chair- Start to Finish! Including tufting!

Tutorial

  • Rip off any trim (it is just glued on). Remove any upholstery tacks and staples with staple remover and pliers.
    • This is when I knew for sure I had two antiques, the chairs were stuffed with cotton batting and horse hair, not foam.
How to Reupholster an Antique Chair- Start to Finish! Including tufting!
  • Refinish the frame or not.
    • I decided I wanted raw wood, so I stripped off the stain with Strypeeze and the scraper tool, scrubbed the frame with water and steel wool. I wiped the wood down with paint thinner, let it dry and sanded it with 220 grit sand paper, wiped it all down and finished it with a white wax.
How to Reupholster an Antique Chair- Start to Finish! Including tufting!
  • Carefully remove all the fabric pieces and take pictures as you go.
    • These will be your pattern pieces, so you don’t want them to be torn. Also, as you dismantle the upholstery you will start to understand how to re-assemble everything.
    • Cut an extra inch or so around all the edges, so you have some wiggle room.
    • If you need to tuft the chair, just cut out the buttons with a razor blade and leave them in tact. You will replace them one by one.
How to Reupholster an Antique Chair- Start to Finish! Including tufting!
  • Using your old fabric as pattern pieces, cut out the new fabric.
    • If tufting, mark your fabric where each of the buttons should go.
How to Reupholster an Antique Chair- Start to Finish! Including tufting!
  • If tufting . . .
    • Remove one button at a time, place the new fabric in place. Thread your new button with the waxed twine and then thread your upholstery needle. Push the needle through from front to back, this takes some effort. Once you have both ends of the twine through, stitch through a ball of batting to help secure your knot.  Pull the needle out and tie a good, tight knot. Then, anchor your two ends by stapling them to a nearby section of the frame.
How to Reupholster an Antique Chair- Start to Finish! Including tufting!
  • Replace the fabric pieces and batting with the pneumatic stapler.
    • Work in a north, south, east, west pattern and pull everything nice and tight as you work. This goes fast and is such a rewarding part of the process.
    • Leave some overhang.
How to Reupholster an Antique Chair- Start to Finish! Including tufting!
  • Trim off the overhang with fabric scissors.
  • Hot glue the upholstery trim over the staples.
    • To finish the ends of the trim, just cut the ends so they meet together perfectly and sink them into a big blob of hot glue.
How to Reupholster an Antique Chair- Start to Finish! Including tufting!
How to Reupholster an Antique Chair- Start to Finish! Including tufting!
  • Scotch guard the living daylights out of the chair!
How to Reupholster an Antique Chair- Start to Finish! Including tufting!
How to Reupholster an Antique Chair- Start to Finish! Including tufting!
How to Reupholster an Antique Chair- Start to Finish! Including tufting!

And in case this is too much effort, here are some beautiful vintage style chairs from around the internet.

[show_boutique_widget id=”602001″]

Let me know if you have any questions!

UPDATE- To see the finished room, visit the Farmhouse Living Room Reveal

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