TXMomof4 Posted February 25, 2013 Share Posted February 25, 2013 Has anyone here successfully reupholstered furniture? I have two beautiful chairs we inherited from family, but they are seafoam green. GAG! They don't match anything in my house but it looks like it will cost about $500 to have them done professionally. I'm pretty good with crafty things - I can sew relatively well. I'm wondering if I'm capable of doing this. Any experience to share? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IdahoHomeschooler Posted February 25, 2013 Share Posted February 25, 2013 Honestly, that $500 is a pretty good deal. The fabric, foam/batting, and upholstery supplies really adds up. And you will still only end up with an amateur job. If they are something you really care about, consider making the investment in new upholstery. In the mean time, if you can sew, maybe make slipcovers to cover up the seafoam green. You could also try painting the fabric. Seriously. They make paints for that very thing. Mint green is also becoming a popular decor color, so perhaps you could find other ways to add it in the rest of your house decor to help the chairs work into it. I took upholstery classes a few years ago. I reupholstered a chair. It was A LOT of work, and I can't imagine how to go about it without the knowledge that the pros have. It is not an intuitive process, by any means! With that said, there are some pretty good upholstery books out there. I like the one by Singer probably the most. I was able to get some supplies from Joann's Fabrics. The single most useful tool is from a hardware store, and it is a small pair of side cutting lineman's pliers, also called dykes. These are great for pulling out the millions of staples you will encounter. They can also snip off the staples that break. You will also need a good staple gun, so that you can put down a million new staples to tack the new fabric on the frame. You will probably need some wood glue and basic woodworking tools in order to make any repairs to the furniture frame. Hopefully, the springs will all be in good condition, and you won't have to restring those. If you need to do any webbing work, then a webbing stretcher will be useful. The best bet for fabric will be a solid color that will last a while, because you won't want to redo them any time soon. Sunbrella makes an indoor/outdoor velvet that is a durable and stain resistant. Avoid stripes at all costs, as matching them up is a real pain. Same with large patterns. It is a bit like matching wallpaper, except a ton worse. You will also need to figure out what you want to do for welting. Sewing your own is always an option, as is purchasing pre-made. Are the chairs tufted? Channel backed? Wing backed? Skirted? Roll armed? These all have unique challenges to them. I used to think that upholstery work was a big rip-off. After having done it, my mind is completely changed, lol! It is better to start with smaller projects, like dining room chairs, ottomans, and headboards. There are tons of tutorials available on these things, and they can help get a feel for how to pull and staple fabric, work around corners and edges, add welting and tufting, etc. Starting out your upholstery endeavors on 2 matching chairs might be biting off more than you can chew. I have 2 chairs that I plan to recover at some point. I'll probably just have it done by the pros. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susann Posted February 25, 2013 Share Posted February 25, 2013 If I couldn't afford to have them professionally done, I'd use slipcovers. It's a lot of work!! There's some cute one's here. http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Slipcovers/1457/cat.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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