DIY Reupholster: Update An Accent Chair With Zero Experience

Last month I did my VERY FIRST reupholster project! It was a fun challenge. Although I had no experience walking into this experience, I can’t be more proud of how this chair flip turned out. If you have one of a similar style, this blog post will show you the steps I took to turn it into a $800 MCM chair dupe.

After
During Disassembly
Adding Seat Foam
Upholstering

After, before, and in progress pictures. The green fabric is Crypton Piper Green from Fabric Guru, it has a velvet like feel, and is stain and odor resistant. The best of both worlds (comfort and function).

Skill Level	Time	Cost
Intermediate	18 hours (stripping, refinishing, adding new fabric)	$150

The best advice I got when I started this project: Reupholstering is like wrapping a present.

It’s pretty much a process of figuring out how to fold the fabric to neatly wrap around the chair. If something doesn’t look right, remove the staples and try again. It is really not that intimidating.

With this mindset, let’s dive right in!

Step 1. Disassemble the chair

Remove the old fabric, piping and padding in layers, taking pictures of the different parts of the chair along the way. This step was a bit tedious, but once I got the hang of it, it went really fast and oddly satisfying.

Use needle nose pliers to twist the tacks off.

There are so many different parts that make up an accent chair. Shown on picture: twine, seat springs, burlap cover, cotton padding, fabric.

Tools: staple remover, needle nose plier and a camera

Tip: Use a pair of pliers, pinch and twist to lift fabric off. This worked a lot faster than manually removing every single upholstery tack.

Step 2. Make repairs (optional)

After removing the old spring clips, patch with Bondo wood filler, reattach the spring clips, and tie the twine to help distribute weight evenly. This video from Fabric Farms Interiors explains the steps well: Step by Step Installing Zig Zag Springs

Securing the zig zag springs to the clip with upholstery tacks or nails.

To secure the twine, either staple to the chair in a zig zag pattern, or tie to upholstery tacks.

Tools: needle nose plier, a hammer

Materials: spring clips, twine, upholstery tacks or nails

Step 3. Refinish the frame (optional)

Strip and sand the old finish, and reapply stain and topcoat.

Sanding tip: cut a long strip of sandpaper to sand around tight spots

Stain samples. From left to right: GF American Oak, Minwax Early American, Minwax Early American on top of white wash, GF Antique Walnut

Tools: orbital sander

Materials: citriscrip, sandpaper, foam sanding pad, tack cloth, stain, topcoat

Tip: If your chair only has minor scratches, try Restore-A-Finish, it is a quick and easy way to restore existing finish.

Step 4. Put the chair back together

Staple on burlap to cover the springs, cut foam and batting to size, and attach them with spray adhesive. For the seat of the chair, I marked the outline and sliced away excess foam. The cuts don’t need to be perfect, since the Dacron batting will cover the imperfections. This video shows how to cut foam: How To Cut Foam…With A Bread Knife!

Dry fitting before adding spray adhesive.

Attach Dacron batting with a staple gun.

For the back, I reused the old cotton, and made sure to leave enough space around the edges for the staples to attach to. I made the mistake of adding too much padding at the beginning, and the staples kept falling off. Chubby back is not the look we’re going for here.

The double-layer Dacron padding in this picture made it impossible to staple on fabric.

Tools: staple gun, scissors, bread knife or utility knife

Materials: spray adhesive, burlap (buy one yard for $4 at Hobby Lobby), foam, Dacron batting, staples

Tip: Shop around for foam/batting. I found 2x22x22 poly foam at Hobby Lobby for only $12. It makes the seat extra cushy and comfy.

Step 5. Attach fabric

Measure and cut the new fabric to size. For these tricky spots around the chair arms, I made small cuts to dry fit, then smoothed and tightened the fabric before stapling. It took a few tries to get the fold just right without any wrinkles. But if it looks wonky, just remove the staples and try again.

Use your palm to fold and smooth the fabric, until it looks snugly tucked in.

Upholstery metal strips help to keep the edges straight, creating a more polished look than staples.

The final step is to cut off excess fabric, and staple dust cover.

Tools: staple gun, scissors

Materials: fabric, staples, metal strips, dust cover

Tip: Buy extra fabric at the start of the project, or use cheaper fabric as template when figuring out the right pattern. I made a few mistakes and ended up using twice as much fabric as it’s needed.

And that’s it! See, it’s totally doable. My reupholstered chair is not perfect by any means, but it looks like a brand new piece and is so comfortable to sit on.

Final Reveal

Of course, if you don’t feel like DIYing. There are always great alternatives on the market. Here are two of my favorite olive green mid-century modern chairs.