DIY Reupholstery

How I got started

DISCLAIMER: Reupholstering is a hobby for me, not a job. I have completed many pieces for my own home, for a vacation home we share with other families, and for many of my extended family. I put my heart and soul into each project and my compensation is knowing I have helped myself or someone else and have saved one more item from the landfill. I am working on completing at least one project for each of my kids; they know this is a piece they MUST keep forever once it is complete (The MAMA furniture). This is my labor of LOVE.

I have always enjoyed Thrift Store shopping. Back in 2017 I found an upholstered chair I loved for it's shape. At the time the striped fabric actually matched the room I'd be storing the chair in, so I wasn't in a hurry to try to change it.

In 2021 when three of my five kids were off to college or done with college, I had time to start to freshen up my house. This started with our great room. We purchased a large, deep couch, but I had room for another chair. So I decided I would set the work changing the Thrift Store find from 2017. This chair was old and it was dirty and it sagged when you sat in it. My kids came to love the sag of the chair, but it was time to give this chair another life. I watched a few short videos on how to reupholster and got started. (At this time I was thanking my mom profusely for forcing me to take a basic summer sewing course back in Middle School along with a Hospitality course that same year).

To begin with you need to purchase or find an upholstered piece of furniture. I have retrieved half the furniture from neighbors trying to dump their worn out pieces (FREE!) and the other half at discount prices at Thrift Stores, Facebook Marketplace or Estate Sales. Don't be discouraged if the piece is a little broken. Check it out to see if it's just a small wood replacement. Check out these pictures for good/simple and bad/complicated pieces to acquire.

Then you can get started with these basic steps. Below you will find samples of my work with before and after pictures. When available, I will also link the instructions on my steps.

BEFORE

This was my first piece I finished in 2021. It sagged at the seat which I fixed by adding some extra wooden support inside the chair and across the seat frame. I don't have a good picture of what the chair used to look like, but here are some close up photos of the fabric I removed.

AFTER

I had just enough fabric for this. It has held up well and it gets much use. For the next project I made sure to cut my fabric a tad wider than the original pieces.

BEFORE

My husband wanted a coffee table but I liked a footstool. I decided to adapt our older footstool into a "foot table"- you'll see what I mean.

DURING

I wanted to keep the footstool light in weight so I started with a thin board. I cut strips out of another thin and stainable wood.

AFTER

This is the most useful "foot table" ever. Everyone uses it for eating and relaxing. I love how it turned out. Here are more pictures to see how the whole room came together.

BEFORE

The original chair, called Lynne's BIG chair, is on the left side of the picture. Attached are close ups of the old fabric.

AFTER

I used the same fabric I used on the footstool. This fabric is extremely thick and a bit rough. So I softened the fabric with a fabric softener treatment before I set to change the fabric on the chair.

Ready to go to the Dump

I found this free leather couch on the curb down the street. There were no structural issues.

Makeover #1

I turned this couch into an outdoor couch by using "sling chair"(checkered) fabric. I loved how the color of the cushions contrasted so well, but ultimately they were too light in color to withstand the outdoors and the dog hair.

Makeover #2

I bought some darker, outdoor material for a second try at the cushions. The cushions are much easier to clean and hide dirt well. If you look down at the front right leg you will see I added wheels at the bottom. This helps move the couch much easier and protects from the legs from any standing water in the backyard. Here's the whole look together.

BEFORE

I love these spinning circle chairs. I found this one for $20 at the Thrift Store and couldn't pass it up.

AFTER

This was another outdoor piece to match the couch above. Three adults can actually fit on this chair. Here is a picture of how the pieces look all together.

BEFORE

Thrift Store find for $20. I really wanted to send this up to Northern California so my daughter has something from home there where she lives.

AFTER

The first "MAMA chair" was for my oldest daughter. The puffy cushions weren't my favorite to work with, but it is a comfortable chair. At a later date I reupholstered a footstool to compliment the chair. She doesn't like "matchy-matchy", so the footstool is a grey fabric. I haven't seen the pieces together. I bought a pair of footstools on Facebook Marketplace for $15 total. I used the other footstool for my son's MAMA chair below.

BEFORE

One block away, these two Pottery Barn chairs sat in front of a neighbor's home. SCORE! More freebies. I bought the footstool at the Thrift Store for $10. These pieces ended up at our shared vacation home on the deck.

AFTER

I used a heavy upholstery fabric that I also utilized for indoor dining cushions since the fabric was on sale. Notice on the footstool I chose to use four square pieces of fabric on the top which face different directions. It looks so much better than the original. Here's how it looks on the patio.

It's hard to tell from the picture, but this is old white/beige wicker. My daughter and I gave it some paint and accents to modernize it.

I sewed new covers for the seats with the same outdoor fabric. This is the new wicker set I was trying to copy the look of.

We also painted the dressers and headboards.

I was inspired by this website. You do not have to purchase the brand paint mentioned, but do get the correct type of paint. I was even able to sell one set of the dressers and headboard after I painted.

BEFORE

What can I say....I have a knack for obtaining free chairs. I thought these could get used as extra dining chairs for my girls or at our vacation home. I ended up giving two to each place.

BEFORE/AFTER

Both places the chairs ended were beachy places, so the blue was a nice accent instead of the boring brown.

AFTER

We really use these at the dining table now for extra spots when needed. AND my girls......well, they ended up selling their two chairs. Not sure if they'll end up with any MAMA chairs after that. HA!At least I know I could sell my stuff if I really wanted to.

BEFORE

We needed some shorter kitchen stools which wouldn't take up more room in our small, beach vacation home. I found these at the Thrift Store for $15 total.

AFTER

First, I had to get rid of the brown wood because our place has greys and whites. I removed the cushions, sanded the frames, then white-washed the frames to give a grey-white look. I found the fabric on sale and if you look closely you'll see a fish design. I was so excited. There was only a small bit of sewing at the corners of the cushions. I love these and they fit under the counter nicely when not in use. Here is BEFORE next to AFTER.

BEFORE

You'll need to zoom in to see how the fabric is falling apart on the top. My brother just wanted new fabric, but the same look.

VIDEO CLIP

Here is a clip of me trying to figure out how to dissemble the stool to take all of the fabric off. In the end there were several long skinny prongs attaching the pieces together. I used two heavy screwdrivers to carefully pry the pieces apart.

AFTER

This looks nearly identical to what they had, but they just wanted to refresh their piece. Their doggies use it as a step stool to get onto the bed. Oh no! I am so glad it gets used daily.

BEFORE

This is the side frame of my daybed. I removed all of the lighter brown material that is really rough in between the wood pieces and added a cushion and new material.

BEFORE

I removed all of the material around this frame and replaced it with cushion and material. This is the back of the daybed.

AFTER

I sanded and stained the frame a darker color. I also created a mattress cover and a bed skirt to match the upholstery.

BEFORE

Time for another "MAMA" chair. Another freebie from the same neighbor who already gave me 2 other freebies.

AFTER

One of the legs on this piece was compromised. I had to install a new support bean across the back and add new hardware for a leg installation. I loved the challenge of keeping all of the stripes front, back and footstool aligned. I did IT, and so can you!

I found two of these stools as give-aways after a garage sale. They needed a lot of TLC

I sanded all of the rough wood and reinforced the bolts near the bottom of the stool.

Then I stained the stools in dark grey to complement our beachy theme.

I made a pattern of the top of the stool so that I could cut out a cushion. Using this same pattern I was able to make a cover for the cushion. This was a completely free project as I used all materials I had sitting in my craft cabinet.

BEFORE

My youngest son wanted his MAMA chair even though he is still at home. He and his friends hang out in our repurposed garage. This find was at an estate sale for $40. It is very sturdy and well made so I know it will last him awhile. He even saw the potential in this old-fashioned looking piece he choose.

AFTER

His friends sat on the "old" couch all the time. Now they won't sit on the "new" one. "It looks too nice," they say. But I want my projects to be well loved.

BEFORE

These were tired looking patio chairs which don't look very comfortable, but a nice family was giving them away.

AFTER

I used the same wicker technique as for the furniture above to update these chairs. I used the cushions given to me to make the back cushions. For the seat cushions I had an old mattress topper which I cut to make these chairs more comfortable. All of the fabric was from previous projects.

BEFORE

The gray chair (left) was from a relative and she wanted to give them to another relative. The receivers wanted to change the look. They didn't particularly like the shiny upholstery buttons going up the arms of the chairs. Those buttons were removed for the final look (right photo).

AFTER

These chairs do not have removable legs which is unusual, but they should last a long time since the fabric is thick. Buttons are challenging with thick fabric since I don't own a button maker. But a little super glue can help keep the buttons together. My favorite part of the new look is how the squares of fabric turn different directions and now this will surely match with almost any room they are in.

BEFORE

These were sitting at a neighbors house-FREE! Once the cushions are re-done the chairs will be used at the counter my daughters' small eatery. This eatery will open at Sisters' Snack Shack in Solana Beach, CA in case you'd like to see the pieces in person.

AFTER

TBA......

BEFORE

This is my newest find..and you guessed it; it was FREE. I LOVE this piece and I wish I had room in my home for it. The construction is solid, but the cushions will need cleaning once the old fabric is off. I am hoping to reupholster this for another family or friend.

AFTER

TBA

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse