French Provincial Chair Makeover

2 Materials
Hey there Hometalk Friends! I am sharing one heck of a chair transformation with you today. My Mom had purchased a set of French Provincial chairs at an Estate sale for a steal at $55 for the pair. However when she got them home, she decided they wouldn't be right for the space and promptly dropped them off to me the next day. Here is what they looked like:
Perty, no? Not exactly. The upholstery on these had actually been painted red. After a whole lotta this action:
And a little of this:
I started by removing the old piping first, then I removed the rest of the pieces and saved them to use as a pattern for the new fabric...
I only removed the seat cover from the first one for a pattern, I left the seat of the second intact and just covered over it. This was my first upholstery project. The secret was to take a ton of photos as I was taking the original fabric off, so I could make my way back. I don't think I would have figured it out without them!


I painted the frame using Cottage White by Behr made into chalk paint, and waxed to seal. Then I started with the back and sides, adding back the pieces that would be seen from the outside.
I reused most of the original foam and batting since it was still in perfect condition. Then I referred to my photos I had taken to piece the insides back together...
After several hours I started making real progress...
The bottom was covered in one piece and gathered at the corners. I tried to make the gathers uniform on both sides.
The double welt cording finishes off all the edges perfectly. I made my own to save money. There is a link to the tutorial for it on my blog post at the bottom of this post. It hides all the ugly. :)
And they turned out magnifique!
I just love this gorgeous Frenchy fabric from Hancock Fabrics (I link to it on their site in my blog post at the link at the bottom.)
I love this fabric against the Cottage White paint, and those peek-a-boo sides!
This is one of my favorite makeovers...
Hope you enjoyed this makeover! I share more details plus links to the how-to for these chairs on my blog at the link below!
Confessions of a Serial DIYer
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
Go
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
3 of 15 questions
  • Marcia Strode Marcia Strode on Oct 09, 2017

    How did you determine your fabric yardage? I have a single chair, higher backed, but otherwise quite similar, french provincial chair I want to redo. Since all the fabrics that strike my fancy are uber expensive brocades I don't want to just wing it (even thinking of doing the back in "cheaper" velvet to reduce my costs, since the chair will be up against a wall). Many thanks--the chairs are absolutely gorgeous!

  • Peg Meehan Peg Meehan on Nov 20, 2017

    Just curious, how much did you sell them for?? You did a super application of fabric especially for a first timer! Better than some “pro” upholsterers I have seen !

  • Ruth Ruth on Apr 20, 2019

    Bravo 👏👏👏👏

Comments
Join the conversation
2 of 269 comments
  • Cora Cora on Apr 22, 2019

    I love be the material you used. You did an awesome job

  • Teresa Teresa on Apr 23, 2019

    OMG I can't believe the difference! Wish you were my neighbor! We'd be besties!!!! LOL

Next