Padding chairs: updating old furniture

Modern homes are hard to imagine without furniture. Perhaps the most common of its elements can be called a chair. It can be found in the dining room, living room, bedroom, office, nursery - shops today offer a variety of options. Over time, the chairs, like any other furniture, wear out. No matter how careful you are, there comes a time when you need to buy new ones. There is another option - hauling chairs.

There are many types of chairs of various designs, made of various materials. Making repairs in the apartment, many people want furniture renovations. Most often this applies to kitchen chairs.

There are quite a few options: from ordinary kitchen wooden to soft with a back, covered with leatherette. The kitchen can be renovated in a style that perfectly fits the bar stool or the original round version.The kitchen is not the only place where chairs are needed. They are necessary in the living room and in other rooms.

There are universal chairs. They can be placed in the gazebos or directly in the garden, as well as in the dining room and kitchen. As a rule, they are made of special wood that is resistant to moisture, even without special impregnation. Versatility and have plastic chairs. They can also be used in the country or at home. Variations of frameworks suggest solid and collapsible design. If the solid metal frame is welded firmly, then in the collapsible structure they are fastened with screws. In the first case, the chair is stronger, and in the second - more convenient, since you can disassemble it, clean the same back or seat.

So-called stackable chairs are compact and good for storage.installed one on top of the other. These chairs are used as needed. They can be stored in the closet until the arrival of guests, taking up very little space. Another alternative is folding models. Some are designed like “scissors”, others like theatrical chairs. In household use, many prefer to use chairs with a soft or semi-soft seat, rather than hard. They are the most comfortable.The same applies to models with armrests, which are divided into hard, semi-soft and soft.

Wooden chairs with the help of carpentry tools can be made by hand. Enough to show a little patience and effort. Bent chairs require special equipment. When using several materials and technological processes, combined chairs are created. Often, consumers prefer wood-and-metal structures, but they have not established themselves as 100% reliable. In order for the furniture to serve for a long time, it must be made of high-quality wood. Plastic and metal are best combined with each other, mainly they are used in the manufacture of garden furniture.

In addition, there are office chairs. As a rule, they are covered with soft material, equipped with a lifting mechanism and wheels. More simple options are also common - on metal legs with a soft back and seat. Another variety is bar stools. Their design is different in that the bottom has a crossbar for the legs. Usually they have a great height for the convenience of sitting at the bar.There are special requirements for chairs for children and students: they must have a comfortable back and four stable legs.

If your favorite chair began to look not so attractive, and the upholstery is frayed, do not rush to give up the old and spend money on a new one. You may well give it a second life by repairing it yourself. Choose the way you can handle. Covering a chair is, in fact, a simple process, it can even captivate you.

It is necessary to restore the chair in the way that is acceptable in each case:

• If the chair just staggers, then you need to connect its details. To do this, some items may have to be replaced, first dismantling the chair completely.
• There is such a thing as a carriage fastener. It is applied on the seats, must be strong and complete. The cloth for the tie is cut out with a margin, applied to the foam rubber, then a long needle pierces the fabric on the reverse side. A place is planned where the button will be located.
• If the skin looks faded or torn in some places, a repacking will save the situation.Before that, you need to prepare the tools, and also decide what fabric the seat will be sheathed for, what material to use for the filler.
• If you need to change the armrests, then you have to disassemble the entire structure. Wooden parts should be inspected for cracks and chips, remove defects with putty and wood glue. If some parts are badly damaged, you will have to make new ones according to the old patterns.

Before proceeding with the task, you need to decide how global the repair will be: easy renovation of the furniture, complete rearrangement of the seat, or replacement of parts. First of all, learn the frame. If it is damaged, repair them using wood putty and lacquer. If you have already decided what color will be upholstered, you can paint the frame to match her. Such bright chairs will look great in every corner of the house. Before you drag the upholstery chair with your own hands, you need to pick up the fabric and all the necessary accessories.

The step-by-step process is presented below:

• First you need to dismantle the seat. It’s easy to handle on your own. Old cloth and soft filler need to be removed.To do this, carefully remove the seat and try not to damage the wooden structure, this will help tools. The fabric is also separated carefully, because it is then that the pattern has to be made to alter the seat.
• Usually the springs last for a very long time, but if you see that they have worn out, remove them too.
• Do the same with the back of the chair.
• Get to the restoration itself.

So as not to be distracted, prepare everything you need for work.

During dismantling may be necessary:

• nail puller;
• knife;
• hammer;
• scissors.

For the process itself, the waist must be prepared:

• furniture stapler;
• staples or furniture nails;
• pliers;
• screwdrivers of different types;
• bit;
• cleaver;
• a mallet;
• PVA glue.

When you start the pattern, you, among other things, will need:

• tape measure;
• pencil;
• a piece of chalk;
• ruler;
• cardboard.

Choose the upholstery fabric that you like, is, in our opinion, beautiful, practical and durable. Keep in mind that you need a material that keeps its shape, is sturdy. It is also extremely important that you can easily clean the soft surface with a regular brush and soap and remove dirt or just wipe the surface with a damp cloth.So, you can cover the chair with dermantine, eco-leather, genuine leather, leatherette.

• Leatherette refers to inexpensive and non-durable coatings. The term of its operation does not exceed two years. Over time, cracks and scratches may appear on it. This is especially true if the house has animals. At the same time, there is a high-quality synthetic leather that cannot be distinguished from genuine leather, but the price of these types is extremely high.
• It is quite another thing - leatherwhich refers to high-quality, prestigious and expensive materials. There is one caveat: if you have never dealt with the restoration of furniture before, there is a risk to spoil the expensive coating.

• The most common padding is done from textilesand here there is a big choice: chenille, flock, jacquard, microfiber, tapestry. After examining all the properties of fabrics, stop your choice on the one that suits you best in terms of quality and price.
• There is also such an option as self-adhesive alcantra - artificial suede with a sticky layer. Some prefer it because of the long service life (up to 7 years), and it is easy even for a beginner in this area to work with this material during the restoration of the chair.

Another important detail is the choice of filler. The synthetic winterizer, latex, batting will suit, but the best option - sheet foam rubber. It serves for a long time and keeps its shape.

To make a high waist, and then use it for a long time, you need to correctly make all the measurements, choose a suitable fabric, decide what thickness the filler layer should be. So, measure the back, seat and back cover. To ensure that the fabric is well secured, at least 5 cm is left on each side. When choosing foam rubber for stuffing, you need to take into account that its density should be 30-50 kg / cu. m. Only then the seat will not waste, it will be comfortable. When choosing leather as an upholstery, note that for the convenience of work it should be elastic, so its thickness should not exceed 3 mm.

First, PVA glue attached foam to plywood. To do this, glue is applied on a wooden surface and on the upper part of foam rubber and is waiting for it to dry completely. After cut out the fabric of the right size, preferably with a margin; if the piece is smaller than necessary, the situation cannot be rectified.Place the fabric so that the front side was at the bottom, impose on it the soft part of the chair. As an additional filler in the middle they lay a synthetic winterizer. Then the material is stretched onto the base and attached with a furniture stapler, which may form an extra fabric that is easy to cut. Then set the seat in place and fix the screws.

When repairing the back of a chair, the frame is disassembled into parts. The old coating is removed, cracks get rid of with the help of glue and putty. Then you can varnish the details or paint it with paint. Well dried parts connect. Change the filler and fabric on the back, the replacement process is similar to that described for the seat.

This stage is the final one. It remains to install the structure on the base, attach the plates and fasten with screws. If you updated the upholstery, you can replace other parts. Then get a completely new design. Thus, with your own hands, you made a completely new chair with beautiful upholstery, durable and comfortable, which will serve you more than one year in the kitchen or in the living room, in the nursery or in the office. But that's not all.You can act as a designer and decorate your new furniture.

At home, it is not difficult to beautifully arrange the seats and backs of chairs. To do this, it is enough to have home fabric, paint, braid, rope, and also to have imagination and creativity. Remember: nothing limits you in choosing. The color scheme can be any: bright blue, pale pink, white. Decoupage is considered to be a fashionable trend - an uncomplicated way to decorate furniture items, which is applicable to chairs made of wood and plywood that do not have soft upholstery. The surface must be prepared, sandpaper and putty. Then the chair is painted, it is best to use white. Then decorative elements are glued to the surface. The finishing touches are repainting and varnishing.

You can make a very interesting and strong decor of the chair with jute rope. Even children can be involved in this process, having spent their time with the whole family in a fascinating, and most importantly, with use. After all, in the end you will have a new chair with the original design. First get rid of the old upholstery,Then completely wrap the structure with a rope. After removing the soft filler from the back in the resulting niche, you need to make a composition in the style of macrame. If you are not familiar with this technique, weave a regular mesh with small or large cells.

A special situation is the festive decor of the chairs. Here you need to pay attention to the overall style of the interior, colors. Chairs can be simply wrapped in wide strips of fabric, decorated with beautiful bows or fabric colors. For finishing products you can also use beads, figurines, emblems according to the theme of the celebration.

There are situations that furniture needs to be transformed urgently and quickly. If there is no time to replace the upholstery, then resort to a little tricks. Minor flaws can be hidden using the patchwork technique. It is necessary to cut small squares or other figures from colored fabric and sew using decorative seam.

If you have the talent of the artist, the chair can be painted, having previously prepared the surface. Then your old furniture definitely has a chance to turn into a work of art.Those who did not hold brushes and paints in their hands should not be upset either. You can simply make pictures using stencils.

Another simple way to transform a chair is to stitch a case. For this fit any fabric. If you choose a color one, then it will decorate the furniture itself, and if it is monophonic, you can add some element of decor.

In general, there are a lot of options, and the materials now allow to embody any idea. You can think up your own original and beautiful way to change the design of the chair.

You will learn more about how to upgrade your old chair from the following video.