DIY // How to Transform an Upholstered Chair

How to transform an upholstered chair

Hi there, hope you all had a nice weekend? I promised in my Chair Reveal from last Friday, that I would share my tutorial with you on how to transform an old upholstered chair.

Since this tutorial has multiple steps, I created a little gallery for you. You can find all the material I used below, with a summary of the spendings for this project. I would love to hear what you think about this tutorial!

DIY // How to Transform an Upholstered Chair

How to transform an upholstered chair

Where it all began!

After I took off the old upholstery I was able to use it as my template.

Make sure to add at least 2″ inches to your cutting line (this will give you more fabric to play with).

Use the old foam as the template.

Fits perfect!

Lay your fabric on top, and add your fabric covered buttons.

Side view of the chair

When the buttons are attached, continue with stapling and nailing the fabric on.

Finished cushion

Making sure the fabric is fitting the back, before cutting into 3 pieces

Backside of the chair

After fitting the back side fabric, it’s time to sew all three pieces together.

After sewing together

One last fitting before stapling the fabric on.

I used special upholstery pins to hold the fabric in place.

After stapling the fabric on

Backside 1

Backside 2

I also used the foam that was attached to the back as a template

To give it more volume, I used batting behind the foam.

After the foam was stapled onto the chair

Ready to be covered with fabric.

These are the tools I used to install the trim and decorative nails.

Staple the fabric on top of the foam and add the trim

I used a changeable screwdriver without the bit in it, it had the perfect round opening.

By placing the screwdriver on top of the decorative nail while hammering it into place, will avoid marks and bending the nail.

After all decorative nails were applied, it was time to finish the bottom of my chair

Adding a dust cover was my last step and only took a few minutes.

Finished bottom.

Material used for this project:

Fabric from HomeFabrics and Rugs
- 1.5 yards of the main leaf print fabric $5/yard
- .5 yards of brown textured fabric for the back $5/yard
- 10″ inches-green linen fabric for buttons and trim $5/yard
- Total: about $15.00 incl. tax
Decotacks Upholstery Nails/tacks 7/16″ – 100 Pcs – $6.90
Fabric covered buttons – dark green – $10.00
Dritz 44296 Dust Cover Upholstery Fabric, Charcoal, 36-Inch by 5-Yard (already owned) – $8.49
Staple gun (already owned)
Dritz Magnetic Upholstery Tack Hammer (already owned) – $12.82
Dritz Upholstery Tack Strip, Natural (already owned) – $9.89
Foam, batting (already owned) – $4.00
8 .oz Oil based Ebony Stain from Minwax (already owned) – $4.78
- Total cost, including fabric: $35.90

Since I already owned some of the items, I did not include them in my total cost. So, my spendings for material was only $35.90 plus the chair $22.00, makes this makeover a whooping $57.90.

I’d love to hear your feedback on this makeover.

Bettina Johnson

Hi there! My name is Bettina Johnson an “entrepreneur” by heart, aspiring health advocate, DIYer, and blogger by night.

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