Easy Chair Makeover
From dated disaster to designer dupe my friend and I took these chairs and gave them a whole new look with a little paint and fabric strips!
I bought this set of chairs for $25 at a yard sale, knowing it was going to take a lot to bring them up to date. Stumped on a fabric choice for recovering them, my DIY friend suggested we try this instead! I first removed the cushions, and gave the frame a coat of black paint with my paint sprayer.
The chairs before
And After!
I found this faux leather material at Joanns called “marine vinyl” in a natural color and cut them into one and a half inch strips. Cutting the fabric was the most time consuming part of this project and using a long level helped us get nice straight lines.
We are going to place them in a basket weave pattern to create a more modern looking seat.
Using a staple gun we stapled the strips to the underside of the frame where you couldn't see. We made sure to use multiple staples per strip for security.
We pulled them as tight as we could and did a simple basket weave coming from the opposite direction to insure it would be strong enough to sit on. Thats it!!
These chairs gave my dining room a whole new look and the entire project cost only $60!
And yes, they do hold weight! Although my large husband has been wary to sit on them haha.
Chairs: $25
Paint: $15
Fabric: $20
What do you think?? Could you tackle this project?
Curtains linked here.
Comments
Join the conversation
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I have an old Cracker Barrel rocking chair that I have been wanting to redo. The seat was blown out and I thought about plywood and a cushion. I love this basket weave seat much much more. Thank you!
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Plywood will work but make sure you use high density foam for cushion otherwise not very comfortable. I did this to old leather chair. Used 4” high density foam and it was comfortable, couldn’t find 4” so used two 2” spray glued together. Dad’s favorite chair
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There is a tool to help you get snug and tight. Found mine at Joann’s in upholstery dept. has teeth that allows you to use leverage on the installed side when tight, staple in place and cut off excess. I do this to all my sagging seats on chairs, etc. no need to remove springs just do under springs. I like your look and next time I need to snug up may just try this idea. Really holds for years
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
Beautiful…I have some old chairs I’d like to paint black, what kind of paint did you use?
Nice work, they look great!
Now that you've had some time to enjoy them, how are they holding up to daily use?
Are the edges comfortable?