At long last. It feels so good to cross “recover dining room chairs” off my list! Once I had everything I needed and a couple spare afternoons, it really wasn’t a big project. Here’s the best picture I could find of the “before”:
Although, I don’t have a picture from “before” this “before.” When we bought our dining room set, some of the chairs were painted black, some were sanded but not painted, and some were in their original condition. Most of the seat cushions weren’t attached. About a year ago, we finished painting them all black. It took me this long to come up with fabric I liked.
Thanks to Wholeport, I used this thick home decor fabric with a slightly French Country/Scandinavian feel. This was pretty straightforward, but here’s how we did it step by step:
You’ll need:
- Enough fabric to cover your chairs (Here’s mine)
- A staple gun
- Staples
- Scotchguard fabric protectant spray
First, remove the existing fabric. Then use this piece as a pattern to cut out the fabric for the rest of your chairs.
Wrap the cushion and staple on the back. Make sure that when you pull the fabric tight, you keep the pattern straight, and aren’t pulling it skewed.
Staple one side down, then move to the opposite side, pulling it tight. You’ll find that your fabric won’t get stretched out of alignment if you start with opposite sides first. Don’t skimp on the staples!
Tada!
Since my fabric has a lot of white, I didn’t want the first time we ate spaghetti to be the ruin of them. So, I treated all of the cushions with two coats of Scotchguard spray. It smells like death at first, but it dries quickly, and doesn’t leave any smell.
Make sure to follow the directions on the can. Although, I confess, I didn’t. I checked to see if the fabric was color safe, and it wasn’t. When the Scotchguard was wet, the color ran. When it was dry, it ran a little. When I poured water on a section of the fabric without Scotchguard, it still ran. So I used the Scotchguard anyway.
In retrospect, it might be a good idea to wash your fabric before stapling it over your cushions.
After the Scotchguard dries, re-attach your cushions.
Have a seat!
Have you ever recovered furniture? What projects have you been happy to cross off your list? Share it with us in the comments below!
