Simply Fun
Pretty up the dining room chairs before company arrives—in less than two hours.
Make over dull dining chairs in time for company.
Reupholstering is a great way to bring tired-looking dining chairs back to life. And the process is simple. 1. Using a screwdriver or pliers, remove the staples in the seat’s old upholstery. Remove the cushion beneath the fabric as well.
2. Trace the outline of the seat onto a piece of 1-in.-thick high-density foam and cut out the shape using a bread knife. With scissors cut a 30x30-in. piece of quilt batting so it overhangs all sides of the seat by about 4 in.
3. Layer the foam on top of the seat board, then the quilt batting. Fold the batting over the board and, using a staple gun, drive a staple into each of the four sides to hold the padding in place.
4. Arrange a 30x30-in. piece of upholstery fabric over the padding so any patterns or stripes align correctly with the chair. Drive a staple on each side to hold the fabric in place. Working from the center outward, staple along the front edge of the seat, lightly putting tension on the material as you go. Flip the seat over several times to check the pattern alignment.
5. Stop 2 in. from the corners. Repeat process along the back edge and the sides. Cut off the excess batting and upholstery.
6. Finish the corners by first tucking under the material at the center, then folding and tucking the material on each side. Staple the folds. Flip seat right side up and attach to the chair.