Refinishing & Re-upholstering the 'Metal Antique Swivel Chair" Oct.'14
by
Carol S
I love this little chair but the cushions & finish needed to be changed. Figuring out how & what I wanted to do to it to some serious thinking. I finally picked out a floral print polished cotton, I had purchased years ago - from a thrift shop. As you've seen taking it apart was easy. Getting down to the business of cuttin new cushions & making new covers to fit was quite the project.
From this orange brushed velvet and discolored metal frame to something I think looks much nicer.
This is the result of my hard work - hard - because I used a thicker foam and had never attempted anything quite like this before. What Idid to get this result is included below.
After removing the discolor finish, I sanded the shiny finish & used a gray spray paint that left a swead like finish. Once that was completely dryed I light prayed a silver paint over it. The prep took the most time.
This is the covered button assembly that is at the center of each cushion.
It was nearly impossible for me to loosen the cap which secured the cloth cover - so I decided to paint them to match the metal frame.
I used a utility knife to out line both the chair base & back of the chair.
The foam I used was from a baby matress, I had picked up last year from curb side drive by. I used serrated edged scissors to cut the foam into a circle.
I used my Fiskars to shape the dome of each cushion. I cut small wedges slanting tower the center.
It took some patience & time to achieve the desired shape.
I want to point out here that I put a hole through the center for the button. However when I went to put the button assembly thought - I found that I had not concidered the thickness of the foam - which later caused me to cut out the centers into a funnel shape. I wish I had thought of that before I had finished the covers. Luckily I learn from my mistakes.
I used the old covers as a pattern and allowed for the new thickness of the cushion. I used my sewing machine to sew the material pieces together.
It all fit together nicely.
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4 comments
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Something went wrong while I was adding more picture - the rest of the process will be continued on a seperate post. Thank you
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I have one of these & couldn't quite figure how to recover it! TY! Do you know what these chairs were used for?
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