Master class on restoring an old wooden chair with your own hands. How to update old chairs: decor and restoration (70 photos) How to restore a chair at home

Over time, furniture structures become loose, begin to creak and lose their aesthetic appearance. This is not a reason to immediately throw them in the trash. Don’t let novice craftsmen be intimidated by restoring chairs with their own hands – it’s not as difficult as it might seem. Restoring will help restore antique furniture to its original appearance and functionality.

By restoring old chairs with your own hands, you can make completely new versions of the products, real works of art. In addition, it will cost much less than purchasing a new product. To update a wooden chair with a back, you don’t need large quantity materials, tools, time.

Advantages of restoration:

It is possible to completely restore chairs from the last century that do not harmonize with the design of the house today. The use of new materials will help adapt them to a modern interior.
The ability to change the design and design using colored or transparent inserts, carved or forged elements.
Even an inexperienced craftsman without special knowledge and skills can update old chairs.
Saving. Professional restoration of antique furniture is expensive, so if you wish, you can do this work yourself at home at minimal cost.

Most often, products made from valuable species tree. In rare old chairs, the carved legs and backs are restored, the upholstery fabric is changed, and the frame is also strengthened. The main thing is not to damage the coating when disassembling antique furniture, as this will significantly reduce its value.

Restoring a kitchen stool includes changing the seat upholstery, painting the legs or sewing fabric covers. Furniture can be updated in two ways:

If the surface of the stool is not damaged, without visible defects, then it will be enough to remove the old upholstery, polish it, varnish the wood, and decorate the seat.
If there are cracks or small chips on the surface, they are repaired using wood putty or glue. In case of major damage, furniture elements require complete replacement.

Recovery high chair occurs using the same technology as for an adult. Only in this case should you turn Special attention per condition additional elements. For the safety of the child, they need to be strengthened.

You can also repair bar stools yourself. Wooden, metal products, as well as rattan models are subject to restoration.

It is possible to completely restore chairs from the last century

Possibility to change the design and design

The work can be completed without special knowledge and skills

Saving

To make wooden chairs look more interesting after repair, they can be decorated using various techniques:

Artistic painting - colored patterns are applied to the refurbished chair using a brush.
Decoupage - gluing cut-out pictures from paper napkins and applying glue and varnish to them.
Self-adhesive film - can be used either colored or imitating natural wood.
Craquelure is a technology for creating aged material. The work will require special plaster, varnish or paint.
Regular painting.

An old, dry chair will have a fresh and updated look if you glue veneer to the surface and cover it with varnish.

Artistic painting

Decoupage

Craquelure

Painting

Adhesive tape

Selection of materials

Correctly selected material will not only restore the chair, but also create an aesthetic, unique piece of furniture. To make it really happen quality product, you should carefully choose from the options offered on the market. Despite the high cost, it will be much safer to use natural, eco-friendly textiles and hypoallergenic filler.

For reupholstery

Upholstery fabric is selected taking into account your own tastes and preferences. However, do not forget that the durability of the material is influenced by various factors. If there are animals in the house, it is better to use flock, microvelvet or velor for chairs. There are no loops in the weave of these fabrics, so the claws of cats and dogs will not scratch the upholstery. In addition to these materials, furniture can be upholstered with microvelor, artificial leather, tapestry or jacquard. Other types of fabric are less practical.

Due to the high cost, not everyone can use genuine leather for upholstery of chairs. Meanwhile, it is durable, reliable material, which is easy to care for. It fits into any interior: classic, baroque, hi-tech and other stylistic trends. The disadvantages of leather furniture include its vulnerability to accidental damage. sharp objects, as well as the difficulty of washing away marks from felt-tip pens.

Chairs upholstered in faux leather in sand, blue, green, and red colors will have a presentable appearance. They are not afraid of moisture and can be safely used in the kitchen. Disadvantages of the material: does not tolerate temperature changes well, loses strength when exposed to direct sunlight.

Also for kitchen chairs you can use chenille, flock, adhesive-based jacquard or artificial suede. Today, Arpatek and Alcantara fabrics are in great demand. Experts recommend for kitchen furniture use mixed varieties that include synthetic and natural fibers.

For chairs in the living room, the material is selected depending on the overall interior of the house and the wishes of the owner of the house. It can be: tapestry, silk, satin, leather, leatherette, velvet or plush. Chair upholstery for dressing tables selected depending on the interior of the bedroom. It can be either plain or colored. It is recommended to decorate them with twill, leather, flock, tapestry, velor or jacquard.

Each material has its own advantages and disadvantages. For example, flock upholstery is easier to clean than tapestry.

Flock

Microvelvet

Microvelour

Faux leather

Tapestry

Jacquard

Genuine Leather

Chenille

Arpatek

Atlas

Plush

Remake soft part furniture can be used with foam rubber or polyurethane foam (PPU). The service life of the product depends on the density of the filler. Foam rubber with high performance can withstand dynamic and static loads for 5-15 years. It is hypoallergenic, safe material. Sold in sheets - 1 x 2 meters. To make the product soft, foam rubber should be used with a density of 30-35 kg/m². It is better to choose a material 10 cm thick for a plywood base. If the chair has a back, then it will be optimal thickness 3-5 cm. For the restoration of children's furniture, low-density foam rubber of grades up to 25 kg/m3 (2520, 2220, 1820, 1620) is used.

Recently, there has been a tendency to use it for restoration of old chairs. natural materials: rolled or sheet copra, dried sea grass, burlap.

Foam rubber

PPU

Copra

Dried herb

Sackcloth

To update the frame

On construction market There is a wide range of paints, primers, azures and varnishes for do-it-yourself restoration of chairs. You should know that enamel coatings have different properties:

acrylic - create a durable, elastic coating that lasts for 3 years, does not wear out, does not fade. It takes 24 hours for the paint to dry;
alkyd - the paints contain a varnish that takes 48-72 hours to dry. The coating protects the frame from moisture, rotting, and abrasion;
polyurethane - protects against exposure to water, mechanical and chemical damage. Before applying paint, the frame is treated with a solvent.

Enamel paint

Acrylic

Alkyd

Polyurethane

To artificially age old chair with your own hands, you need it to have a clearly defined texture. These can be products made of oak, pine, ash, walnut or Siberian larch. The following techniques are recommended for “aging”:

Brushing. To give a more pronounced relief, special steel brushes are used, which remove the top soft layer of wood. Brushing on chairs is carried out to a depth of no more than 2-4 mm, then the surface is treated with fine sandpaper and covered with stain, varnish, waxes, paints, glaze or patina.
Staining. The composition is applied with a brush in 2 layers. After drying, the surface of the chair is coated with varnish in 2 layers. At the end, the elements are sanded and a final layer of varnish is applied.
Waxing. For this technology it is necessary to prepare mastic: 50 ml of turpentine, 100 g of wax, 25 g of rosin. The sanded surface is impregnated with a composition that includes 100 g of mint, 0.5 l vegetable oil, 10 g angelica, 10 g burdock. It must first steep for 10-14 days. After the impregnation has penetrated into the wooden structure, it is necessary to wax it with prepared mastic.

Brushing

Staining

Waxing

For aging wooden structures patination is also used. The following varieties can be found on sale:

Thick paste (patina). It colors the tree from yellow to red.
Liquid patina on a water or synthetic basis. The noble shades of the material give the product a radiant look.
Faceted varnish. After its application, a coating with a cracked effect (craquelure) is obtained.

To create the effect of antique chairs, acrylic, wax, shellac and oil are used.

Thick paste (patina)

Liquid patina

Faceted varnish

Wooden surfaces must be carefully treated before painting. There should be no cracks or chips on them. To eliminate deep cracks, use wood putty. It can be one-component (with a water base and an alkyd binder) and two-component (with putty and hardener). It is better to use a transparent mixture that, when dried, does not disturb the wood structure.

To repair small irregularities and scratches, you need to mix small sawdust with PVA glue and fill the cracks with the resulting slurry.

Wood putty

Small sawdust with PVA glue

Decorate a wooden or metal carcass You can use napkins, textile pieces, decoupage pictures or cut out drawings. To work you will need:

acrylic varnish on water based;
acrylic paints;
decoupage glue or PVA;
priming;
putty.

Furniture should be painted in a ventilated area or outdoors. Otherwise, you may get poisoned by evaporation products.

Water-based acrylic varnish

Acrylic paints

Glue

Primer and putty

Necessary tools and consumables

To repair wooden chairs, you need to first prepare tools and materials. The list depends on what exactly the master plans to do. To completely restore an old chair, you will need:

Acetone, alcohol, remover, degreaser - to remove old varnish.
Furniture foam rubber. The classic reupholstery of chairs or stools involves the use of a thick variety 5-10 cm wide and a thin one 2-3 cm wide.
Construction stapler. Strong staples will secure the upholstery fabric to the furniture frame.
Stain, primer, varnish. Liquid formulations will give the product a certain color.
Paint brushes. They can be with synthetic and natural bristles.
Plywood sheet. If the restoration of a chair requires replacing the seat, use 4-layer material.
Wood glue "Moment". This is a quick-drying material that perfectly holds elements together and does not delay the repair process.
Clamping devices - clamps. They free both hands and fix the repaired elements in a certain position.
Upholstery material is necessary at the final stage of restoration. The size depends on the dimensions of the chair itself.
Hammer, mallet, electric drill, electric jigsaw, screwdriver.
Fastening elements: screws, corners.

As for sandpaper, it is chosen depending on the stage of work. For primary processing wooden chair they use material with a grain size of P40-P60, and to prepare the product for painting and decorating, you will need sandpaper marked P150-P180 or less. For interlayer cleaning of varnish or paint surfaces, use a variety of sandpaper P220-P360.

Repair and design of the frame

The work of updating old chairs and decorating them requires a careful and careful approach. If the product is durable and has not dried out anywhere, then it is not at all necessary to disassemble it into elements. It will be enough to replace the soft upholstery and paint the parts. But, as a rule, there is always some damage on old frames. These may be scratches, chips, indentations from impacts and other damage.

A small master class on restoring chairs for those who do not know how to eliminate these shortcomings:

To remove minor scratches, sandpaper and construction mastic are used. After sanding minor damage, putty is applied. After 1.5-2 hours of drying of the paste, the surface is re-sanded with sandpaper and covered with varnish or paint.
To fill a large nick, you will need putty, which should be applied to the nick with a spatula and allowed to dry. Then rub it with fine sandpaper and apply paint.

Use sandpaper to remove small scratches

After sanding, putty is applied

You can also restore a chair using a patch. For this you will need:

small wooden patch;
clamp;
ruler, pencil;
PVA glue;
enamel.

Before starting work, you must prepare wooden block the right size. The fibers in it should be located in the same direction as in the damaged area. Then apply glue to the base of the piece, close the notch, and secure with a clamp. After the composition has dried, rub the wooden block with sandpaper. At the next stage, you can paint over the old chairs with enamel or varnish.

The varnish is applied exclusively to a smooth surface. If there are cracks, they are sealed with a special putty. For work, use regular paint brushes, special rollers or sprayers.

If you plan to decorate chairs using the decoupage technique, you also need to remove the old coating from them. To do this, sanding is used. But to speed up the process, it is better to choose a liquid remover for varnish or paint. 10-15 minutes after application chemical agent removed with a spatula, the surface is sanded and polished. After receiving a smooth product, you can begin decoupage. If the surface of the furniture is in good condition, then you need to remove the top layer only in the place where you plan to apply the images.

To remove epoxy adhesive from the frame, you can use a jet of steam instead of water. If there is no special device, a regular kettle can come to the rescue. A hose with a tip is attached to its spout and the wood is cleaned of glue.

Apply glue to the base of the block, close the notch, and secure with a clamp

Sand the wooden block and paint it

Master class on chair decoupage

How to restore old chairs using the far from new direction of decoupage - it’s worth learning about this even before starting work. You will need special paper napkins, pieces of fabric, leather appliqués and other decor. To secure the elements, you can use PVA glue and varnish. You can decorate in this way not only the back and seat of the chair, but also the legs.

Step-by-step technology for performing the technique:

Sand the surface of the chair with sandpaper. Use putty to repair cracks. Prime the surface of the product and, if desired, coat it with water-based paint.
Cut out your favorite motifs from napkins. Place them on the surface and cover with PVA glue. After drying, varnish the chair.
Place pieces of fabric or leather on the surface of the chair greased with glue. Cover the top again with glue and then varnish.

To prevent the glued elements from peeling off from the surface, you need to apply several layers of varnish.
Sequence of making a plywood base:

prepare a drawing on graph paper, attach it to cardboard and cut out the template;
attach it to the plywood, trace along the contour with a pencil;
use a jigsaw to cut out the part and sand the edges with sandpaper;
drill holes on the base for fastening bolts;
Insert the seat into the frame and secure it with bolts.

Attach the chair frame to the plywood, trace along the outline with a pencil

Using a jigsaw, cut out the part and sand the edges with sandpaper.

Insert the seat into the frame and secure with bolts

If you need to replace only the soft part of the seat, you should decide on the upholstery material. Firstly, it is desirable that it have increased wear resistance. Secondly, it must fit into the interior of the house.

If a complete replacement of the filler is required, the thickness of the foam rubber should be 40-60 mm.

Step-by-step instructions on how to make a soft seat if it was not originally provided:

Draw a template for the filling and upholstery.

Place it on the foam rubber and cut it with an increase of 7-8 cm to fit the edges of the base.

Place the upholstery template on the fabric. Cut the material with an allowance of 8-10 cm for the hem.

Attach the cut out parts to the base using a stapler and staples.

To Bottom part the seats had an aesthetic appearance, you need to attach a lining. She will hide all the errors in repairing a chair with her own hands.

Attach a chair and trace with a pencil

Cut part

Cut the base material with allowances

Attach the cut parts to the base

Ready soft seat

If you need to cut the upholstery according to old patterns, you must first carefully remove it. To do this, remove the staples from the seat and separate the filling along with the upholstery. Before cutting, it is advisable to wash the material in order to find out the percentage of its shrinkage and not make mistakes in the calculations. If you don’t have an old pattern, you need to take horizontal and vertical measurements of the seat. On upholstery fabric, it is advisable to add 8-10 cm on each edge. To make it more convenient to fix the foam rubber, it needs to be glued to the base with PVA glue.

Proper execution of cladding:

Lay the material face down on a flat surface.
Place the base with the foam facing down on top.
Fold the material and nail it with staples or nails. The distance between the fasteners is 15-20 mm.

The upholstery of the backrest in a chair occurs in a similar way, but with some nuances. Hard foam rubber is not placed on the structure; soft foam is used for it, which is cut along the contour and does not bend around the edges. The fabric on the back can be secured with staples.

Restoring chairs with your own hands is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance. On top of that, it is also economical. It is enough to select the appropriate materials, use your imagination, and after a few hours of work you will get an amazing result that exceeds all expectations.

Remove the staples and separate the filling along with the upholstery

Glue the foam to the base

Bend the material and nail it with staples

Secure the seat

Video

If you find that an old chair is completely worn out, do not rush to throw it away. Often old pieces of furniture bring with them pleasant memories of people and events in your family's life. And what’s the truth? Previously, furniture was made to last...

Therefore, a restored chair may well serve not only you, but also your children. Simply by changing its appearance, you can return the furniture to its former attractiveness and newness. Fortunately, there are many options now. Everything will depend only on your imagination.

How to update an old chair? Pre-cleaning

To begin with, the surface of the chair needs to be clear from old covering, whatever it may be. If there soft upholstery seats, it must first be removed. You don’t necessarily need “male strength” to do this. Try turning the chair upside down and you will see that the seat is attached with screws that need to be removed. To do this, you need to arm yourself with a hammer (for knocking out the seat) and a screwdriver (straight or Phillips).

Now you can start removing the old coating. To do this, you can use regular “sandpaper” of different grain sizes or a sanding sponge. It is important to sand the surface of the wood well. This will help you easily apply the coating you choose later. It is worth saying right away that this work is not easy.

But it is possible to simplify the process a little by periodically moistening the surface to be treated. This way you can get rid of dust. Just don’t be alarmed by the fact that moisture makes the old varnish viscous. This is fine. After the chair has completely dried, you need to sand the entire surface well again with fine sandpaper.

How to update an old chair? Everything is in order

Now it all depends on your imagination. If you decide to varnish the surface of the chair, you need to use a colorless primer so that the texture of the wood is clearly visible through the protective layer. A layer of primer will have to be used in any case. Even if you decide to paint the chair in the future.

The fact is that paint adheres better and lasts longer if the surface is first primed.
The surface must be coated with varnish in two layers. It is important that the first coat is thoroughly dry before applying the second. The varnish can be applied with a brush or by spraying it over the surface.

The chair can be painted any color. Nowadays furniture is considered very fashionable white. And the seat upholstery can be chosen to contrast. Nowadays there are many ways to show originality. For example, use a stencil. Let it be flowers or any other ornament.

Another way to cover the surface of a chair is beeswax balm. The surface is also pre-sanded and primed with drying oil. Then cover with a thin layer of balm using a cloth. After twelve hours, the surface is polished with a brush.

Now you can begin restoring the upholstery. The old one needs to be removed. Previously, it was attached to the seat using ordinary nails. You will also have to get rid of the foam rubber. It is necessary to cut a new one according to the old standards. The fabric must be cut with a margin for hemming. The material for upholstery can be very different: either a special fabric for upholstered furniture, or regular linen or thick cotton. It is better to fasten the fabric with a furniture stapler. But if you don't have one, don't worry. You can use regular nails by hammering them in. It is important to remember that the material must be well stretched on all sides.

Now the seat can be inserted into its original place and fastened with screws.

Upgrade an old chair with a cover

There is another way to how to update an old chair - use a cover. It can be made from any fabric, hiding defects and imperfections without major intervention. The cover can be with a variety of frills, ruffles, bows, tassels... You can make several options. Festive and everyday options. Show your imagination! Don’t rush to throw away old furniture, try to become a designer, we are sure that you will succeed!

Over time, any furniture loses its original appearance and quality. To solve this problem, it is necessary to carry out restoration work, independently or with the help of specialists. Most often, chairs are restored with their own hands. A master class and step-by-step photos will help you do this correctly and with the highest quality possible.

List of materials and tools for restoration

Before starting work, it is necessary to assess the condition of the furniture and identify problem areas - damage to body elements, deterioration paint coating or failure of connecting components. After this, you need to draw up a restoration plan - repair or replace parts of the chair, restore the protective layer or improve the fasteners. Usually these works are performed in combination.

Depending on the type of restoration measures, the optimal set of tools is selected and Supplies. The minimum configuration should include the following components:

screwdriver or screwdriver;
furniture stapler;
hammer, grinder;
a sheet of plywood, preferably four-layer;
varnish and stain;
set of brushes;
clamps for fastening chair elements;
screws, self-tapping screws.

DIY chair restoration

You need to be prepared that all the work on restoring the chair can take from one to five days. This long period is due to the drying time of the paintwork. If you connect the parts at once, the likelihood of uneven distribution of the protective layer will increase.

Disassembly of the structure

The trim is removed if it makes it difficult to access the screws. The staples are removed using a slotted screwdriver and pliers. Then you need to remove all fasteners. To do this, use a screwdriver or screwdriver. If the structure has wooden dowels, they are drilled out without damaging the load-bearing parts.

At this stage, you must adhere to the following rules:

each part is numbered according to its location on a pre-prepared drawing;
inspection for cracks or other mechanical damage;
If necessary, take photographs of the disassembly process.

Then you can begin the main part of the repair.

Treatment with adhesives

To restore damaged parts, wood glue should be used. If not carried out permanent work for wood – it is recommended to buy a small amount of adhesive. More often they use “PVA-furniture” in aluminum tubes of 50 ml. The average consumption is 100 g/m², the price is from 45 rubles.

The order of gluing parts:

After applying the composition, you must wait 5-10 minutes.
Using clamps, the parts are connected and remain in this state for 1-2 hours.
Excess glue is removed with a rag.
After final drying, the exposed composition is removed grinder or fine-grit sandpaper.

The glue can be used as a filler for deep cracks. It must first be mixed with wood dust. Then the resulting mass is filled with the chip.

Making a new seat

Most often, damage occurs in the seat structure. If they are irreversible, it is necessary to make a new one from plywood according to its dimensions. Then the foam rubber is cut to the same dimensions and placed on the top of the seat.

It is best to buy a new fabric base. Its dimensions should be 7-10 cm larger than the dimensions of the seat. Then you should perform the following steps:

Foam rubber does not need to be rigidly attached to glue. It is important that it covers the entire area of the workpiece.
A tapestry (fabric) is laid on a flat surface, foam rubber is placed on top of it, and then a seat.
The edges of the fabric are fixed to the back of the wooden board using a furniture stapler.

Some chair designs have wooden sides. They are dismantled before the upholstery process and then installed again.

Application of protective coating

To prevent the appearance of fungus or mold, as well as to renew appearance A paint and varnish composition is applied to the surface of the parts. First, each element is treated with stain, and then, after a day, with varnish. The latter must be applied in 3-4 layers.

As an alternative, you might consider painting the chair. After all layers have completely dried, the structure is assembled. During the process, it is recommended to check the previously drawn up diagram.

There can be a great many reasons to renew old chairs or decorate new ones with your own hands. This includes the need to adapt furniture to the interior, the desire to correct design flaws, restore chairs inherited from a grandmother or found for next to nothing on flea market. In this material we will talk about 4 ways to transform “four-legged friends” (including office and garden chairs) beyond recognition, and also present 70 cool photo ideas for alterations.

Method 1: Painting a chair

Even the most old-fashioned or simply ordinary chair, say, a “Viennese” wooden, plastic, folding or office chair, can be transformed by painting. The main thing here is to choose the right color. Here are some inspiring examples where color alone saved furniture from ending up in a landfill.

Old Viennese chair before and after update

A few more examples of remaking the most ordinary Viennese chairs from bent beech, which can be found in almost every home or cottage.

Here are some cool ideas for painting stools.

Inspired? Then let's get to practice!

To paint the chair you will need:

Acrylic paint, or preferably chalk paint, in one or more colors;
Synthetic flat brushes (separately for primer, paint and varnish);
Protective gloves (better to buy at a pharmacy);
Primer for wood/metal (depending on the frame material);
Wax or matte varnish (polyurethane or acrylic);
Medium to fine grit sandpaper.

How to paint a chair with your own hands:

Prepare the chair for painting: wash it to remove any rough dirt and dust, then sand it with medium-grit sandpaper to remove the top layer of old varnish or paint. The surface should be slightly rough.

If you want to update a metal chair, then it is not necessary to sand it (although it is safer to sand off the top gloss), but before priming/painting, the frame must be degreased with white spirit.
Also, you can avoid the tedious sanding step if you use chalk paint, but you won’t be able to do without a primer.
If your chair is varnished, it can be removed with a special varnish remover.

If the chair has any damage, such as scratches, chips or cracks, fill them with furniture putty.

Wipe the chair from dust, wait for it to dry and apply two layers of primer to the entire frame, allowing each layer to dry for about a day. Between layers, it is advisable to sand the primer with fine-grained sandpaper (no. 220 is suitable).
Take a new brush and paint the chair in 2-3 layers, allowing each layer to dry completely. Make sure that the paint does not smudge.

If you want to paint a chair with a distressed effect, then first apply a dark paint, say dark gray or dark blue, to some places (for example, the edges of the seat, back and armrests), and then cover them with wax. Next, you should paint the chair with the main paint in 2-3 layers. And finally, lightly work with fine-grained sandpaper to expose the dark “substrate”.

Do you want to achieve the effect of a perfect factory paint job? Then be patient: each layer of primer and paint (except for the finishing layers) will have to be sanded with fine-grained sandpaper. This way the coating will be as smooth and reliable as possible.
To paint only certain parts or parts of the chair, use masking tape.

Treat the chair with wax or matte varnish. Voila, your “four-legged friend” has found a new life!

Helpful Tips:

Don't know what color to paint your chair? You can't go wrong if you paint it white, because this color is the most versatile and goes well with any bright upholstery;
Before painting, you can glue it to the back of the chair. stucco decor using wood glue;
Achieve the effect of a very old and dirty chair in Provence style, you can use dark brown wax;
Chalk paints are a relatively new type of paint that are not yet widely available. However, we recommend using it, because due to its thickness, increased adhesive properties and super-fast drying (in 30 minutes), it saves a lot of time and effort. In Russia, you can purchase chalk paints from designer Daria Geiler, and in Kazakhstan – from Vernenskaya Manufactory. You can also always order paints from foreign manufacturers - Annie Sloan and Rustoleum.

This video master class will help you better figure out how to paint an old chair with your own hands.

Method 2. Seat reupholstery

Most often, if a chair has a soft seat, then painting the frame is not enough to completely update it - you need to change the upholstery. Here are some photo examples of how reupholstering a seat can turn an old chair into a stylish piece of decor.

Office chair before and after painting, replacing the back and seat upholstery

By the way, if your chair or stool does not have a soft seat, then you can make it yourself: first cut the MDF base exactly to the shape of the seat, then follow our master class, upholster it and, finally, screw it to the chair frame with self-tapping screws.

To make a soft seat for a stool, just glue the foam rubber directly to the base, and then cover it with fabric, driving the stapler staples into inner side seats.

Stool with homemade upholstery

To work you will need:

Anti-stapler (or its alternative);
Furniture stapler and staples no higher than the thickness of the seat base;
Textile;
Foam rubber about 4 cm thick;
Batting or padding polyester;
Scissors;
Serrated bread knife (with teeth);
Screwdriver.

How to reupholster a chair with your own hands:

First we need to remove the seat from the chair frame using a nail puller or a screwdriver.
We remove the old upholstery using an anti-stapler and remove the filling if it is worn out (if it is in good condition, then it can be reused). Next, wipe the base of the seat from dust and dirt.

If the wooden base of the seat seems too old and unreliable, use it as a template to cut out a new seat from plywood.

We place the seat on the foam rubber, trace its outline and cut it out.

We cut the fabric and batting in such a size that they can be wrapped around all sides of the seat (along with foam rubber), leaving 10-15 cm free. This excess is needed to make it more convenient to stretch the material.
So, we have four blanks: base, foam rubber, batting/sintepon and fabric. Now we need to put it all into a sandwich. First of all, we spread the batting, put foam rubber on it, and on the foam rubber - the base of the seat, wrong side up. Next, we simply fold the edges of the batting onto the seat and, slightly stretching the material, fix it with a stapler. The corners of the batting can be cut off, or you can simply bend them and fasten them in the same way.

How to restore a chair seat

Once all the batting is attached to the seat, trim off any excess batting.

If desired, the foam rubber can be pre-glued to the base or stapled around the perimeter, retreating 5 mm from the edge of the seat.

The most crucial moment has come - the stage of reupholstering the seat with fabric. Spread the fabric with the wrong side up and place the seat on it. Next, fold the edges of the fabric along one side and secure with a stapler. Now lightly stretch the fabric over the opposite side of the seat and secure it with a stapler.

Repeat the procedure on the remaining two sides and start decorating the corners - they need to be wrapped as shown in the photo below.

Chair after restoration

We return the seat to its place and fix it with the “original” fasteners.

Helpful Tips:

The soft seat of the chair can be additionally decorated with furniture nails around the perimeter.
The upholstery fabric should be selected in accordance with the style of the chair. For example, traditional jacquard fabric is not suitable for a modern chair, and a classic chair with an elegant back is unlikely to “make friends” with fabric with a newfangled geometric print.
The same fabric from which your curtains are made is ideal for upholstering a chair. In the interior, such a coincidence will look very harmonious.
The print on the fabric can echo the carved crossbars as shown in the photo below.

For a more visual master class on upholstering the seat of an old chair, watch this video.

Method 3. Decoupage a chair with paper

Do you want to decorate a chair with a cool print or disguise it with drawings? minor defects like scratches and stains? This can be done using the decoupage technique.

Chair decoupage idea

You will need:

Any paper with the desired print, for example, it can be multi-layer napkins, pages from magazines and books, geographic Maps, posters, wallpapers, etc.;
PVA glue;
Brushes 2 pcs (for applying glue and varnish);
Scissors;
Transparent matte acrylic or polyurethane varnish;
Water (if necessary);
Roller for working with large formats.

How to update chairs using decoupage technique:

Step 1. Clean the chair from dirt and stains, paint if necessary, following the first instructions in the article.

Step 2. Cut out the fragment that you need from the selected printing. The workpiece can be either large (for example, in the shape of the seat and back) or very small.

If you use napkins, you first need to separate the top layer with the pattern and only then cut it out.
If you want to cover the entire chair, including the legs, the paper needs to be chaotically torn into small pieces of approximately 10x10 cm, as shown in the following photo slider.

To decoupage the back and seat, they need to be removed from the chair frame using a screwdriver, and then used as a template for cutting the workpiece (see photo below).

Step 3. Generously coat the area you want to decorate with PVA glue and place your design on it, then smooth with a brush with the remaining glue, releasing all air bubbles and smoothing out the folds.

If the cut out print is small, then it is better to apply glue not to the chair, but reverse side the workpiece itself.
If the paper is very thick, then you need to moisten it a little in water - this will make it more flexible.

A top layer of glue is not necessary, but is often desirable (it should be thin in any case).

Step 4. Repeat step 3 with the other parts of the chair and leave the glue to dry for about a day.

Step 5: Cover decorated areas or the entire chair with clear varnish in 4 layers, allowing each layer to dry completely. Ready!

Method 4. Decoupage a chair with fabric

It would seem that there is no other way to radically modify a chair with your own hands other than by painting it. In fact, there is another cool way - decoupage with fabric.

A chair updated in this way will last a surprisingly long time, even under heavy loads. And if individual threads come out of the fabric along the edges of the chair, you can simply cut them off and treat them with a layer of PVA glue.

Decoupage idea for an old chair

You will need:

Textile;
Wooden chair;
PVA glue or special glue for decoupage;
A sharp stationery or breadboard knife;
Brush for applying glue.

How to update a chair using decoupage technique:

Step 1. Using a screwdriver, remove the back and seat from the chair. If you want to paint the chair, do it before taking it apart.

Step 2. Spread the fabric on a flat surface, place the seat on it and trace it along the contour, stepping back about 2.5 cm from the edge, then cut out the blank.

Step 3: Cover outside your seat with PVA glue, then place the fabric on it and smooth it out. Once the fabric is straight, cover it with PVA glue and leave to dry overnight.

Step 4: Once the fabric is dry, make sure it is completely stiff. Next, trim off the excess fabric. sharp knife exactly along the edges of the seat.

Step 5: Now coat the perimeter of the seat with PVA glue again to prevent wear around the edges.

Step 6: Repeat steps 2-5 with the chair back and other parts you want to decorate and finally put the chair back together. The main condition for successful restoration of a chair is that the pattern must accurately repeat the shape of the surface being decorated.

Here are some more photo ideas for decorating a chair with fabric.

Decoupage of an office chair with fabric with additional protection with polyurethane varnish

Stool decoupage ideas

Sooner or later, every person needs to buy new furniture, this applies not only to large interior items, but also to chairs. But before you go to the store, you need to think carefully, because perhaps there is a lot of furniture in your home that you can update yourself and transform beyond recognition. In addition, prices in modern salons and markets are often inflated. For example, restoring chairs with your own hands is an ideal way out of this situation. Today we will tell you how recovery occurs old furniture How to act step by step to achieve a good result.

The main advantages of furniture restoration

This option for restoring interior items has many advantages. The most obvious ones include:

This process takes very little time, especially if you strictly follow the instructions.
Transforming old furniture allows you to save a lot on buying new products.
Restoring chairs allows you to get completely new, unique things that cannot be found in any other home.

Chairs, like other pieces of furniture, tend to wear out quite quickly. Even the highest quality products are subject to breakdowns and aging, especially when a person accelerates this process through his actions. This can be serious damage caused by negligence and too intense use. The seats suffer the most as they bear the maximum load.

To restore worn-out items, it is not at all necessary to have extensive experience in the field of repair and decoration. It is enough to familiarize yourself with several master classes on painting, upholstery, decoupage, decorating, and remaking old furniture, and you will succeed.

Important! This experience will certainly come in handy in the future if you decide to reupholster an old sofa or reupholster an armchair. Using this approach, you can breathe new life into any product instead of sending it to landfill.

In addition, this idea has another huge plus: you will not only restore old chairs yourself, but also experience the maximum positive emotions from realizing your own creative idea.

Features of updating a chair or chair

Remember that the method you choose to restore a chair with your own hands directly depends on the nature of the damage. There are three main types of damage:

Upholstery wear.
Problems with the back, a broken leg, seat or other wooden part.
The paintwork on the wooden surface has become unusable.

Based on this, we can conclude that the repair and restoration scheme is selected depending on where on the furniture the problem arose:

Often it is enough to connect loose parts or replace a connecting part that has failed over time. This applies to tenons and grooves.
The expansion and wear of these very elements causes the chair to slowly begin to loosen and become completely unstable. In such cases, the repair consists of completely disassembling the furniture and adding a tenon. You'll have to work hard here.
If the problem concerns wear of the paintwork, then it is easier to eliminate it. If the varnish is cracked, just remove it, sand the surface and apply a new layer of paint or varnish.
Reupholstering old chairs can also be called a simple task, because you just need to replace the torn or worn fabric with new material.

Now we will consider the most popular restoration options step by step.

Step-by-step reconstruction of an old chair

Before you restore an old chair with your own hands, you should familiarize yourself with the sequence of performing this work. If this is your first time encountering this, then study short master class, which we present below.

Preparation

If you approach the work correctly, you can completely restore the furniture yourself, even if the upholstery is torn, the legs are loose, or the paint or varnish is completely or partially cracked.

The first step is to prepare a minimum set necessary materials and tools:

Materials: self-tapping screws (screws), upholstery fabric, staples for staplers, foam rubber, glue for wooden furniture, varnish or paint.
Tools: hammer, screwdriver, scissors, two different screwdrivers, clamp, brush, sandpaper, stapler, small mallet.

After this, prepare the chair: clean it of dust, dirt, and wash it thoroughly.

Disassembly

Naturally, before you update an old chair with a backrest with your own hands, it must be completely disassembled. As soon as it dries, you can start working:

First of all, the back and seat are removed, only then the frame is disassembled.
When knocking out parts, use a rubber mallet to avoid damaging them. Work as carefully as possible.
If the chair is assembled with screws or tenons, then it is enough to unscrew them.
Fold all the parts carefully or mark them in some way so as not to confuse them later.
If there is old glue left somewhere, in particular epoxy glue, then apply moistened rags or sponges to these places. Any unwanted old rag will do. Let it sit on the parts until the glue is completely wet, then you can scrape it off with a knife. For suitable for work dull old knife.
After the old glue is removed, let wooden elements dry a little.

Important! If epoxy resin got into hard to reach places, then you can use steam instead of water to remove it.

Reconstruction

So, preparatory work completely completed, you can now proceed to the process of restoring the old chair.

Do it in this order:

First, get rid of possible cracks and chips using putty.
Sand the wood thoroughly with sandpaper until all working surface became perfectly smooth.
Carefully inspect all the details. If the legs are loose, then solve this problem now. Use a wedge, drive it in from the end of the axle or wrap the axle with a bandage, then carefully coat it with glue.

Important! If you were unable to secure the legs using the suggested methods, then try using another method that is more effective. Drill a thin hole at the joint and pour glue into it using a syringe. To secure the glue and make the connection more reliable, place some weight on the seat and wait until the glue dries.

Then restore the seat if necessary. It can be wooden or made of soft fabric. It all depends on the design of the furniture itself.
As for updating the frame, this can be done by restoring the paintwork or using decoupage techniques.

Important! If desired, you can sew new covers to not only update the chair, but also make its design more interesting and attractive.

Ideas for decorating old chairs

The refurbishment of old chairs does not end here, you can different ways decorate them. Below we present options on how to restore antique interior items in an interesting way and decorate them.

Decorate an old chair using one of the suggested options:

Decoration with fabric. This decoration option is considered the simplest, because it is enough to simply re-tighten the old soft places or sew covers. You can use a similar approach to update other interior items.
Back update. You can decorate the back using the decoupage technique or covering it with some interesting fabric, for example, denim. Any novice craftsman can actually figure out how to cover a chair with a backrest with his own hands, and this work will not take much time.
Upholstery reupholstery. It is important to choose durable and high-quality fabric. It can be tapestry, jute, jacquard. In some cases, even velor is suitable.

Important! The best results are achieved by tapestry upholstery, since it is a reliable material that looks quite attractive in appearance.

Decor using macrame. Even if you have never done this type of weaving before, you will succeed. You can do this: if the back of the old chair is soft, then remove the upholstery, then weave a simple mesh with a square section. You can independently adjust the size of the cells.
Decoupage. This technique allows you to turn an old chair into a real home decoration. It is enough to buy special paper or napkins, transfer the drawings to the surface of the chair and secure everything on top with a layer of varnish.
Coloring. How to paint a wooden chair is a question that interests many. In principle, any paint and varnish composition intended for wooden coverings. In terms of choosing a color, everyone decides on their own, because a lot depends on the prevailing color range in the room and other interior items.

Video material

There are so many ways to restore old furniture, each of them is effective and good in its own way. Which one to choose is up to you, because you cannot forget about your own desires and preferences.