We do the restoration of chairs with our own hands: step-by-step instructions. Original and useful ways to repurpose old chairs How to repair an old chair with your own hands

Hello, friends! Today, let’s forget for a while about universal problems, troubles in the economy, and other global topics.

I want to suggest you, if you have a little extra money, free time and a desire to do something with your own hands, change the interior of your home a little.

Actually, I don't like storing old things in my apartment. But somehow it so happened that, during a total renovation of the interior after another lengthy renovation, four old chairs remained standing in the kitchen.

At first, I promised myself that I would soon replace them with new and stylish ones. But they took root in our family so well, they became almost “family” and somehow I still didn’t dare throw them in a landfill.

Then, having looked at them carefully, I thought: “they’re not so bad - wooden, strong, except that the upholstery has already faded and doesn’t quite match the color of our new kitchen.”

And if so, I decided to take action and repair the old chairs with my own hands. To tell the truth, not with my own hands, but with the hands of my husband.

He is a great craftsman and everything he does, he does only with a sign of quality (I’ll brag a little). Therefore, I entrusted this work to him without hesitation.

Since we only needed to replace the upholstery of the chair, and the rest of its wooden parts did not need repair (except to renew the varnish in some places), we bought:

• Fabric for upholstery - 1 x 1.40 m. This fabric was just enough for 4 chairs and there was still a little left (later for reupholstering the ottoman). When choosing, we focused on quality, texture and suitable color. The purchase of fabric cost us 360 rubles.
• Foam rubber. We decided not to use the old foam rubber, but to buy new ones and make the chairs a little softer. Foam rubber was sold only in sheets. 1 such sheet measures 1x2 m, thickness – 20 mm. Its purchase cost us 240 rubles.
• A piece of plywood 6 mm thick, approximately 1x1 m in size. The plywood was left over from the renovation.
• Furniture stapler and special staples for it. We didn’t buy this either, it was all already there.
• I also needed a small wooden block. Small pieces were cut out of it, approximately 2 cm wide and 10 cm long. And a few screws to attach them.
• Wood varnish on water based(we had it too).

Sequence of work:

• Removed the old seat

• New blanks were cut to the size of the old seat (if the old plywood is in good condition, you can leave it too)

• Pieces of foam rubber were cut to the same dimensions. To make our chairs soft, foam rubber was placed in 2 layers

• We started cutting the fabric. The fabric was also cut to fit the seat, but 5 cm was added on all sides for hemming

All. We have prepared all the preparations.

Let's start assembling

We use our blanks to make such a unique layered cake: first - fabric, then foam rubber and the base of the chair made of plywood.

To ensure that the seat did not move on the chair and was well fixed, special wooden blocks were screwed onto the plywood from the bottom side.

We fix it with furniture stapler fabric on the back of the base.

Everything is our beautiful and soft seat ready.

And now, admire what we came up with:

The chairs are almost like new. Beautiful upholstery goes very well with wallpaper and facades on kitchen cabinets. In addition, they turned from semi-soft to soft.

And all this cost us only 600 rubles. Well, in what store can you buy four wooden chairs for that kind of money?

How do you like these savings? I liked it very much. Something else needs to be repaired.

Oh, yes, I completely forgot that there was some fabric left, and I wanted to use it to reupholster the lid of the ottoman. But more on that next time.

What secrets do you have for updating your interior with your own hands? Bye bye…

The first article of our cozy blog about DIY restoration of an old chair. We had 4 old ones chairs, without soft back. We tried them restore so that they don’t wobble and match our color. We also recommend furniture for the hallway to order or in a ready-made version, at a very attractive price and with high quality manufacturing. Here's how we did it and what happened, step by step:

1. Since he was so unsteady that it was impossible to sit, the analysis did not take much effort. The chair was completely disassembled.

2. Then each part of the chair needs to be cleaned of the old coating. All I had at hand was a knife and some skin... 🙁

3. Cleaning with a knife is, of course, tough... But this is how it happened. Everything needs to be cleaned, the grooves where the parts are inserted must be cleaned. Then we assemble the chair, just as we disassembled it. Add glue to the grooves and insert). (we used universal quality liquid nails instead of glue, it’s hard to beat the hell out of it :) To assemble the chair evenly, we used a level.

4. We wanted a chair orange color with a soft back. I cut out a chipboard plate to fit the size of the backrest. Covered with Maple color stain. We waited 3 hours and coated it with one layer of varnish. The varnish used was Yacht.

6. Then they began to tighten the asshole). They placed foam rubber and covered it with parterre. (Certainly better fabric use gabilene or calico, but we had a parterre lying around 🙂) Fastened with a furniture stapler. To prevent the stalls from fraying, go over the ends with a lighter...

7. Then they placed three layers of foam rubber on the back and began to pull the stalls. Make the seam at the bottom; for decoration, you can also go through the bottom with decorative nails.

8. Here's how the back turned out. The decorative nails were different, but one horseradish is not visible from behind :). The seam goes along the bottom.

9. Well, the chair in front)

The other three chairs turned out better. Only the old coating was removed with a drill; there are special circles with sandpaper. In terms of time, the other three chairs came out faster than this first one) Costs for 4 chairs: 100 rubles. stain + 120 rub. varnish + 250 rub. parterre fabric TOTAL: 490 rub. for 4 chairs.

Don't want to spend money on new chairs? Then you can just spend redecorating and repurposing old stools. Breathe in new life into your family and favorite things with the help of restoration!

We invite you to familiarize yourself with 5 master classes on how to update old wooden chairs with your own hands. We will show you how to paint chairs, update the seats and upholstery of chairs, and make a simple cover. How to beautifully decorate a kitchen and office chair yourself

By changing the color of the chair and repainting it, you can completely change its style. Here we will turn an ordinary old wooden stool (and there is probably one in almost every home) into stylish element apartment interior.

What paint to paint a wooden chair

Any wood paint from enamel to alkyd or acrylic.

• Acrylic paint- can wear off over time and leave streaks when cleaned with a damp cloth. BUT it is odorless.
• Enamel and alkyd paints- have a strong odor, so it is better to paint in a ventilated area. But they are waterproof and won't wash out!

How to paint a chair: Large surfaces, e.g. seats - bolster. But the legs of the stool with a small brush!

Step-by-step painting technology :

Necessary materials:

• Old wooden stool
• Sandpaper
• Paint (dark for the seat and white for the legs)
• Brush

Step 1: Sanding the chair

First you need to sand the wood with sandpaper to remove old paint and level the surface.

Step 2: How to properly paint a stool with paint and varnish

We will apply the paint in 2 stages.

1. Let's start by painting the seat. After sanding, you can see the color of the wood from which the stool is made. If it is dark enough on its own, you can apply wood varnish, leaving the natural color. If the wood is light, apply dark wood paint, but such that the structure of the wood is visible.
2. Leave to dry.
3. After the paint on the seat has completely dried, you can begin painting the legs.
4. Apply white paint with a brush and also leave until completely dry.
5. If the paint is too absorbed, then apply a second layer!

Here's what happened:

Step 3: A Few Additions

Since the painting was done in farmhouse style, you can also . To do this, you need to make small abrasions using sandpaper.

ADVICE: To keep the stool looking like this longer, apply a protective wax coating for wood over the paint.

Updating kitchen chairs

Here we will update a set of four kitchen chairs by painting White color legs and back, and dark brown on the seat.

The scheme of work is similar to that described in the master class on updating a wooden stool.

1. First you need to remove the old paint using sandpaper,
2. then alternately paint the seat dark and the rest of the chair white,
3. and at the very end apply a protective coating.

Follow these step-by-step instructions for upgrading your farmhouse style stool and you'll end up with this awesome chair:

Don't be afraid to experiment with paint colors and upholstery fabrics, or adding a vintage effect. Make the chairs suitable exactly for your taste and interior!

How to reupholster a chair

Agree that sitting on a soft chair with beautiful upholstery is much more comfortable and pleasant than sitting on a hard wooden seat. The bench that we will transform here is suitable for a piano, to be placed in the bedroom near the bed, and as a chair for changing shoes in the hallway. Let's take a closer look at how you can update the upholstery of a stool and reupholster it with new fabric.

The entire project takes less than an hour and is really easy to do yourself.

Necessary materials:

• Wooden piano bench
• Upholstery fabric
• Scissors
• Decorative nails for furniture
• Hammer
• Glue gun
• Sintepon

Step-by-step instruction:

Step 1: Paint the bench

You can skip this step if the bench is in good condition and doesn't need painting, but you just want to soften it up. If painting is necessary, first remove the old paint with sandpaper, and then apply new paint and leave to dry.

Step 2: Attach the fabric

Lay out and level the fabric on the surface of the bench, tuck one side (short) by about 2 cm, and secure it to two legs (to do this, use two decorative furniture nails, one on each of the two legs), as in the photo.

After this, carefully wrap the fabric around the corners of these two legs and secure its position with a glue gun (see photo).

Now it becomes clear how much fabric needs to be removed. Leave about 2-3 cm to tuck, and trim the rest (this applies to all sides).

Then secure the fabric to one long side of the stool, and then to the other short side in the same way as you just did on the short side. That is, fold the fabric, secure it with a glue gun and nail it with decorative nails. After this, one long side of the chair remains with loose upholstery; we leave it for filling with padding polyester.

Attach three nails at each corner: one right at the corner to hold the folded fabric in place, and two at the edges of the legs (at this point this includes the two legs on the long side of the chair with the trim attached).

Step 3: Making the upholstery
Now is the time to add padding polyester. You need to do this a little at a time to evenly distribute it over the chair under the fabric. Add padding until the seat is soft enough without putting too much tension on the fabric.

Now all that remains is to secure the fabric on the remaining side and on the corresponding two legs. The procedure is the same as in the previous step with the other sides and legs.

The bench has acquired a completely different look and can now serve as a real highlight of the interior!

Decorate an office chair

A standard black office chair can be given a fun and colorful look. After such a change your workplace It will definitely become more comfortable and inspiring for new productive ideas.

Necessary materials:

• Office metal chair with soft seat
• Spray paint
• Construction stapler
• Upholstery fabric
• Screwdriver
• Scissors

Step-by-step instruction:

Step 1: Attach the sheathing

In order to make a new upholstery, you must first remove the soft part of the seat from the chair. Here you should proceed based on the method of attaching the seat to a particular chair: it can be glued or attached with screws. Remove carefully so as not to damage anything.

After this, stretch the fabric so that it fits tightly around the seat. The fabric should fit reverse side seats by a few centimeters, the excess needs to be cut off. We will secure the trim with a construction stapler on the back side of the seat.

Step 2: Paint the chair

Place the chair on an unnecessary sheet or old newspapers so as not to stain the floor when painting; if possible, take it outside. Choose special paint for metal. After painting, leave the chair to dry completely.

Step 3: Attach the seat to the chair

Return the seat to former place, based on how it was attached. That is, you will need either a screwdriver or glue.

Sooner or later, most of us are faced with the task of buying new furniture, including chairs. At the same time, it doesn’t always make sense to buy new furniture to a fairly high price, since we can restore old chairs.

This approach has many advantages. Here are just the most obvious of them:

• It won't take long, especially if you follow the instructions.
• Using old Soviet furniture instead of buying new will allow you to save a lot.
• It will help you create new, yet unique, interior items that no one else will have.

The thing is that chairs, like any other piece of furniture, are not something eternal. Even high-quality chairs are subject to aging and breakdown, especially in cases where we, in one way or another, “help” them, inadvertently causing damage. So it turns out that pieces of furniture become unusable. Of course, chairs, being one of the most actively used pieces of furniture, suffer first of all. In this case, as a rule, the seats of the chair are subject to the greatest damage, while all other parts remain more or less intact and unharmed.

If you are interested in restoring old chairs with your own hands at home, then you can be sure that you do not even need to have any extensive experience in decorating and repairing. It is enough to master a master class on reupholstery, painting, decoupage and other options for alteration and decoration old furniture and you can repair the chair. In any case, this experience will be useful in the future, since you will be able to upholster “grandmother’s” sofas and reupholster chairs of approximately the same age. Thanks to this approach, almost any furniture is provided with a second life, and not just a place in a landfill or in a closet, as often happens.

Meanwhile, the idea of ​​repairing furniture has one more, albeit not the most obvious, plus. The point is that how to restore old chairs at home will help not only make something new that already seemed unnecessary. In addition, you can feel the pleasure of embodying your creative energy.

How to update a chair or armchair

First of all, it is necessary to recall that the method of restoration depends on the exact nature of the damage. If we try to identify the main damage, we can identify the most common types of damage:

• A broken leg, problems with the back, seat or other wooden part.
• The upholstery is showing wear.
• The paintwork on the wooden surface(especially when restoring Viennese chairs).

So, the method of restoring the chair will depend on which part is broken or worn out. So, the restoration and repair scheme should be chosen depending on the places (or places) in which problems exist.

Often it is enough to simply connect the separated parts, restoring one of the connecting parts that may have deteriorated over time. It's about about groove and tenon. Wear or expansion of one of them leads to the fact that the chair gradually becomes unstable and begins to wobble on its legs. Repair, as a rule, consists of almost complete disassembly of the structure with extension of the tenon. To solve this problem you will have to, as they say, try.

On the other hand, if you need to restore wooden chair, in which the old paintwork has deteriorated, this can be done much easier. If the varnish is cracked, you just need to remove it and sand the surface with fine-grain sandpaper. And then apply another coat of paint. Or varnish, if this type of coating is provided for you. In any case, paint or varnish is your choice.

Also quite simple matter is the reupholstery of old chairs. To do this, you only need to replace the old worn or torn fabric with a new one. Let's take a closer look at the main stages of restoring chairs at home.

Recovery stages

Any chair can be made new. However, this requires at least general outline know the sequence of work. If you do not have experience in doing this, then it is recommended to study at least a short master class, which will be discussed below.

Preparatory stage

With the proper approach, even if the chair's upholstery is torn, the legs are wobbly, or the old varnish or paint is partially or completely cracked, it can be completely transformed by doing the restoration yourself. First of all, you will need the minimum required set of tools and materials:

1. Tools for restoring a chair: a screwdriver, a hammer, 2 different screwdrivers, scissors, a brush, a clamp, a stapler, sandpaper, a small mallet and scissors.
2. Materials: screws (self-tapping screws), staples for a stapler, glue for wooden furniture, foam rubber, paint and varnish, upholstery fabric.

After preparing the materials, try to clean the chair from dirt and dust by washing it thoroughly. To do this, you can wipe the chair with a slightly dampened sponge.

Disassembly

Before restoring the chair, it must be disassembled. After waiting for the chair to dry after wiping it with a damp sponge, you can proceed to disassembling it. The seats and backrest, as a rule, can be removed quite simply, after which the frame is disassembled. To avoid damaging the components when knocking them out, use a rubber mallet rather than a metal hammer. In any case, you should work very carefully.

If the table is assembled with screws or screws, then disassembling it is not difficult, since you just need to unscrew them. In any case, it is advisable to dismantle all parts, since they may interfere with repairs. In this case, if possible, you should mark the fastener parts or simply fold them in such a way that you cannot confuse them later.

As for how best to remove the remnants of old glue, especially epoxy. Those places where there are glue residues must be covered with pre-moistened rags or sponges. Any old and unnecessary rag will do. Keep it on the chair parts until the glue is completely wet, after which it can be quickly scraped off with a knife.

Please note! For this job, it is better to find an old dull knife, since there is no point in using a new or well-sharpened one.

Either way, after you've finished getting rid of the old glue, you'll need to leave some time for the wood pieces to dry. In cases where epoxy resin got into a hard-to-reach place, it can be removed in approximately the same way, with the only difference being that instead of water you will need to use steam. If you don't have any special devices, which create hot steam under pressure, you can use the old-fashioned “method”, which involves using a hose with a tip that fits onto the spout of the kettle.

Step-by-step recovery instructions

So, after the preparation has been completed, we can proceed directly to restoring the old chair. Here's what you have to do:

1. First of all, get rid of chips and possible cracks. This is done using putty.
2. Then sand the wood thoroughly with sandpaper, first coarse and then fine, until working surface became smooth.
3. Take a good look at the stele and all its parts. If the legs are wobbly, then this needs to be addressed. There are several options: either using a wedge (it is driven in from the end of the axle), or wrapping the axle with a bandage and then covering it with glue.
4. If the legs of the chair are very wobbly, but for one reason or another it was not possible to dismantle them, then there is one way that helps solve the problem. Okay, you need to drill thin hole at the junction, and then pour glue there using a syringe.
5. In order for the glue to “stick” better and the connection to become reliable, place any available weight on the seat and wait until the glue is completely dry.
6. After this, the chair seat is restored, if necessary. It may consist of either soft upholstery, and be made of wood. It all depends on the design of the chair. As for remaking the frame, you can use several different finishing options for it, ranging from varnish or red coating to such a rare technique as decoupage.

By the way! Alternatively, you can sew covers. This will not only update old chair, but also make it attractive due to the interchangeable design of the covers.

DIY restoration

Now let's see what can be done with antique chairs during restoration and how best to decorate them.

Decor using fabric

This decoration is quite simple to do. You need to either reupholster the old soft spots, or sew covers. By the way, a similar approach can be applied to sofas and other pieces of furniture.

Backrest update

Available different variants. Among the most common ones that can give chairs a new life are decoupage and the use of textiles (including denim).

Restoration by reupholstery

The main thing in this case is the choice of high-quality and durable fabric. These include: jute, tapestry and jacquard. Sometimes velor will do. Upholstering chairs using tapestry is an excellent technique, which, by the way, gives an excellent result in the end. By the way, you can add a pattern woven using the macrame method to the fabric.

We use macrame for decoration

If we talk about macrame in a little more detail, it should be noted that this can be done even if you do not have the skills to weave using this method.

One possibility is this: If the back of the old chair is soft, remove the upholstery and weave a simple square mesh. By the way, the size of the cells can be either large or small. To give the updated chair a more harmonious appearance you can redo the seat upholstery too.

Decoupage technique

This option can turn your chair into a true decoration. With help this method you can finish a lot of things by doing various crafts, right down to decorating the souvenir box. So, you can extend the life of antique chairs, however, only if all of them structural elements made of wood.

Jute decoration

And finally, I would like to say a few words about how you can decorate an old, for example, Soviet chair if you have unnecessary or torn jeans. There are two options for decorating: completely upholster the chair using jute, and use denim as an additional decoration. This could be a strip or a small flap.

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If you have old chairs in your home, there is no need to throw them away. They can still serve you for several years if they are properly restored. You can do this yourself. This way you will save your money and have an interesting time.

In this article we will tell you how to restore old chairs with your own hands, and also consider ideas for upholstering them.

How to restore an old chair

Required tools:

• Scissors.
• Paint brushes.
• Polishing machine. If you don’t have one, then you can get by with simple sandpaper.
• Putty knife.
• Electric drill and drill bit.
• Face mask.
• Copy paper.
• Power saw.
• Paper.
• Pencil.

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Restoration stages:

• First you need to get rid of those parts of the stool that cannot be restored. For example, use a jigsaw to remove slats and loose pieces on the backrest.
• Now places a thick sheet of plywood on the seat. Using a pencil, we mark the intersection with the vertices of the back, since the sheet can be very large. Using carbon paper, transfer the pattern onto the workpiece. To easily cut out patterns, drill holes in the plywood.
• A sheet of plywood must be secured between boards or on a workbench. Using a power saw, make the shape of the back of the stool. Place the finished part in place. Using a pencil, mark the places where the screws that will hold the wooden planks and plywood. Using a drill, make holes narrower than the screws themselves. Insert the screws and seal the holes with putty.
• Give it time to dry. After which everything needs to be leveled. Sandpaper is used for this.
• If you need to paint a chair, you first need to apply a layer of acrylic primer to the surface. Wait until it dries. When processing, special attention must be paid to the back of the product, since all edges and lines must be processed carefully. Now you can paint. After the paint has dried, the chair is varnished.

Seat trim

There are times when restoration of the stool seat is necessary. For this you will need following materials and tools:

• Stapler for furniture.
• Staples.
• Screwdriver.
• Foam rubber 5 cm thick or 2 pieces of fabric 2–3 cm thick.
• Thick fabric for seat upholstery and backing fabric.

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So, how to reupholster the seat of a wooden stool:

• We take out the seat and upholstery. We don't throw away the base.
• Turn the chair over and remove the fastenings that hold the seat in place.
• We remove the factory brackets and take out the frame with the spring. There will be filler on it, or rather, the remains of it. We remove all this.
• Cut out a rectangle. The upholstery should extend beyond the edges of the seat by 6–8 cm.
• We place a backing made of thick fabric on the springs. It needs to be fixed with a stapler to a wooden frame.
• We put in the filler. Acceptable thickness is 4–5 cm.
• Making upholstery for a chair. It is best to perform this action together. For upholstery, linen, leather or textile materials are used.

DIY restoration of old chairs

The process of restoring an old lacquered stool is slightly different. First of all you need to prepare:

• Acetone.
• A sponge.
• A brush.

To restore a wooden stool, it is necessary to remove the old covering. To do this, treat the surface with acetone. Thereby removing the old coating in the form of varnish.

Using a brush, coat the stool with new varnish. Leave it for a while. After this, you can use the chair again.

Some tips (master class):

• To cover small cracks, you can use homemade putty. To make putty you need to take flour and PVA glue. The mixture should be very thick and resemble plasticine.
• To refresh wooden stool, you can use stain. It has different shades. Be sure to seal the stain with varnish. Otherwise, you won't wash your clothes.

How to decorate an old chair in an original way - master class

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At home, you can paint the stool however you like. If you choose the right design for a chair, it can complement the interior of your home. For example, choose two colors for painting, the first is turquoise, the second is white. Now let's move on to the back. It needs to be treated with fine-grained plaster. A “worn” effect will appear. Choose the upholstery material so that it matches the color of the product.

If you want to make a vintage stool, then choose cream, blue, pink paint. Then paint on the chair. You can paint the entire stool or individual parts. Now you need to apply gold paint. Small cracks in this case will be in order. They will create an antique effect.

If you need to make a chair in the Empire style, then choose a milky color for the upholstery fabric. Floral prints are also allowed on it. The frame is covered with gold paint.

If you don’t want to bother with paint, you can sew a cover. It will completely cover all the shortcomings of the old stool.

You can replace the regular upholstery with leather straps. Take about 30 leather belts different colors and intertwine them with each other. You need to intertwine according to the “basket” principle, and then fix it from below with self-tapping screws.

Restoration: patchwork technique

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Each of us has a whole package of unnecessary things that we definitely won’t wear again. This is the kind of material that will be useful for creating a stool design in a patchwork style. You need to decide on the range and choose suitable materials from things.

It is worth noting that there is no need to use elastic materials. Choose simple things without complex patterns. Use old upholstery as a template.

If you are restoring chairs for the first time, then you need to choose square or rectangular elements for upholstery.

Slice required amount flaps and distribute them over the surface of the seat. The flaps may vary in width. This will create a “mosaic” effect. Sew a ribbon from pieces of fabric. To do this, you can use a machine or do everything by hand. Collect the resulting strips into a single canvas. Try the template on the seat. Cut off any excess. Secure the upholstery.

Decoupage technique for the design of an old chair

This technique will help turn monotonous stools into original and beautiful objects that will decorate the main interior of the house. To create a design you will need napkins, fabric with a pattern, you can use leather appliqués. If you can get to the store, you can buy special cards for such equipment.

, thereby smoothing out the pattern. Let the surface dry and then varnish it.

Restoring an old chair with your own hands is not that difficult. The main thing is to do everything step by step. An old product can look like new if you pay attention to its design. It can be painted, made into other upholstery, sewed covers, or used different techniques design. Then the chair will not only perform its functions, but will also become an addition to the interior of the room.

Don't rush to throw away old things. They can be useful for restoring an old stool. We've looked at different options for stool designs that anyone can make.