DIY Network

Revive an Old Chair From "DIY Decorating & Design" episode DID-145

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With a little ingenuity you can turn a ratty old chair like this into a treasure. A few coats of paint and a remade upholstered seat transform a dated, tattered chair into a seat of honor. Figure A Figure B Figure C

The options for remaking old chairs are almost endless, given the variety of terrific paint colors and fabrics to choose from. Nancy Golden, host of DIY Decorating & Design, gives an old chair new life with a fresh coat of paint and a plump new upholstered seat.

Materials:

Chair
Wood glue and clamps, if repair is necessary
Sandpaper
Tack cloth
Spray-paint primer
Spray-paint top coat
1/2" plywood for new seat
Marking pen
Jigsaw
Scissors
Safety goggles
Fabric, batting and 1/2" seat foam to cover the wooden seat
Screwdriver and screws
Staple gun and staples

1. Before you begin, make sure the chair can be repaired. It shouldn't have any missing parts or be held together with makeshift supports. Tighten any loose screws, and repair or replace cracked rungs or chair rails.

2. Sand the chair thoroughly to prepare it for painting, and wipe clean with a tack cloth.

3. Spray-paint the chair with an oil-based primer. When dry, apply a top coat of spray paint. Two or three light coats of primer and top coat will give a better finish than one heavy coat. Oil-based paint gives a durable finish, but the fumes are noxious. Work outside, if possible, or in a well-ventilated area.

4. Use the old chair seat as a template for a new seat. Use a marking pen to trace the pattern on a piece of 1/2" plywood.

5. Put on safety goggles, and cut out the new plywood seat with a jigsaw (figure A).

6. To upholster the plywood seat, place fabric face down on your work surface. Top it with a layer of batting and a piece of 1/2" seat foam, and center the plywood seat on top. The fabric and batting should be 3" to 4" larger all around than the plywood seat, and the foam should be cut 1/2" bigger all around than the wood.

7. Beginning on one side of the seat, use a staple gun to attach the fabric close to the edge of the seat. Pull the fabric tight at the opposite side of the seat, and staple in place (figure B). Continue stapling alternate sides the same way. Take the time to gather the fabric evenly on the corners before stapling to get a neat, rounded corner (figure C). When the stapling is complete, trim the fabric close to the stapled edge.

8. Screw the new seat to the chair from the bottom.