How To: Recover Chairs

So if you know me, you know that I enjoy a good project.  Thankfully my mom hates doing projects, so during their recent move she asked me to assist her in finding an antique table to use in her breakfast nook area.  So off we went on the lookout for something my mom would like.  I went to McKinney and got a great table at a barn sale hosted by Elaine from the House of Hargrove.  She has a great website that shows all of the antique pieces she has for sale in both McKinney and Frisco.  Love her stuff!  

So we found a great table and chairs, but the cushions were a little dirty and drab looking.  My mom almost didn't want to buy them because of this fact.  However, I convinced her that I could recover them and went about doing so.  Now, if you know my mother, she just wants to snap her fingers and have a project done.  I on the other hand appreciate the thrill of the hunt and the work that goes into making stuff look great, so I was fine with the task given me.

Here is a picture of a chair before the project (the burlap was already on the chairs; I decided to leave it as I thought it was pretty dang cute):

Step 1:  Unscrew the chair seat.  All you need is a screwdriver, but I am sure a drill would go faster.  Unfortunately I didn't have a drill, so we went the old fashion way.

 Step #2:  Lay the seat on top of the fabric you are using.  The fabric I picked out was a red paisley print that I thought would contrast with my mom's kitchen nicely.  You need to leave about an extra inch of fabric on each of the four sides of the cushion.  


(Small Disclaimer:  I did not remove the fabric that was on the cushion already because it was a light fabric.  However, if you were covering a previously dark cushion with a lighter fabric it might be necessary to remove the old fabric.  In this case, you can likely just rip it off or pull it out with a staple remover).

Step #3: Cut your fabric along all four sides of the chair seat.

Step 4:  Fold the cut fabric along the sides of the seat cushion.

Step 5:  Pull the fabric around the corners tightly.  In this case, it works best to fold the fabric like you are wrapping a present.

Step 6:  You need a staple gun for this part.  After you have pulled the fabric tight you just need to secure the fabric in several spots with the staple gun.  You can't have too many staples so just continue to staple until it feels secure on all sides.

A completed seat cushion.

Step 7:  Place completed seat cushion back on the chair (the chair should be flipped upside down).

Step 8:  Screw the seat back into the chair.

 Step 9:  Repeat the above steps for all the chairs you have to do (in this case for me it was five.  We had four chairs for the table and  one for the computer table). 

Finished Product (total time spent recovering:  approximately 2-3 hours).  

I would like to remind you guys that I am by no means a talented or super artistic person.  This was a relatively easy project that I think anyone would be able to do (remember, I am an accountant).  I would like to encourage you to enjoy the thrill of the hunt as much as me next time you see something special that just needs a little tweaking to look great in your home.


And one more thing I must say before I go....how about them Sooners!!  It was great to win a BCS bowl after several losses.  Bob (as well as my beloved Sooners) looked pretty dang good.  


I am going back to work tomorrow for the first time since Christmas.  I am also about to enter into our dreaded "busy" season in which I will see my coworkers more than my friends and family.  Finally, I am also beginning my marathon training tomorrow, so lots to keep up with during the next few months.  But no matter what, I am not going to miss Brad Womack Round 2 that begins tomorrow with the Bachelor premiere.  Until next time, Ciao for now!