Want to find out how to bring old furniture to life with new fabrics? Click here to find out how to reupholster furniture in our step-by-step guide!
The average American has nine DIY projects waiting to be completed.
Instead of always adding new projects to your list, it’s time to start crossing off some too! You’ll save money and impress your friends and family with your talents when you finally take on that DIY project.
Want to find out how to bring old furniture to life with new fabrics? Keep reading to find out how to reupholster furniture with this step-by-step guide!
Prepare with the Right Supplies
Before you start reupholstering furniture, you need to come up with a game plan.
Start by measuring the item you want to reupholster to see how much fabric you’ll need. Buy a few extra yards of fabric more than your measurements, so consider shopping for wholesale fabric to keep your project under budget.
You’ll also need some cotton batting or another type of cushion material to add under your fabric for extra comfort.
When it comes to tools, make sure you have the following ready:
- Flathead screwdriver
- Needle-nosed pliers
- Staple gun with plenty of staples
- Scissors
Remove the Old Covering
The next step is to remove the old fabric covering on your piece of furniture. For this example, we’ll outline how to reupholster a dining room chair.
First, see if the seat part of the chair removes from the legs and back. If so, usually this is a matter of unscrewing a few screws. If not, just turn the chair upside down so that you have access to the bottom of the cushion.
Under the cushion, you’ll find that the previous fabric was attached with staples. Remove all the staples using the flathead screwdriver or the needle-nosed pliers. Once all the staples are removed, you’ll be able to easily take off the fabric covering.
Reupholster Furniture with the New Fabric
Recovering furniture involves one more main step — attaching the new covering.
Place the fabric, design side down, on a flat surface. Cut the fabric for furniture so that it easily covers the whole seat area. Make sure each side has a few inches of extra fabric so you can easily attach it.
Then, cut the cotton batting to the exact size of the seat. Place the seat on top of your cut fabric with the cotton batting between the two layers. At this point, you’ll want to double-check that the design side of the fabric is facing outwards.
Fold the fabric over the sides of the seat, making sure that you pull the fabric as tight as possible. Then, using the staple gun, staple the perimeter of the fabric onto the back of the seat.
Once stapled, you can then reattach the seat to the rest of the chair and admire your hard work.
Find More DIY Home Decor Inspiration
Now that you know exactly how to reupholster furniture, you’re ready to transform the drab to fab!
But your home decor goes beyond a little reupholstering. Keep up that DIY attitude by redoing the rest of your home’s look.
Head over to the Indoor section of this site and choose which room you want to transform first. You’ll find design inspiration for every room in your home.
