Re-Upholstery 101

So I bought these two ugly chairs from craigslist six weeks ago for $20. I was determined to try reupholstery. I liked the idea of getting exactly what I wanted for much less than what I would have to pay if I got exactly what I wanted. I needed to choose my fabric and I was conflicted on what colors I wanted. Again, I really don't want to paint, so I needed to pay attention to the fact that my walls are all white.




I decided to go radically different than anything I had seen recently. My friend Molly helped me choose a beautiful color of pale turquoise at my new favorite fabric store, Home Fabrics on Baseline and Stapely. It also had some gold and chocolate brown in it.

I began to take these chairs apart and was shocked at how difficult this step was. It was hundreds and hundreds of thick, stubborn upholstery staples rammed into hardwood. I just worked on in piece by piece and saved all the fabric for a pattern and slowly got the darned things apart. My mom, wonderful woman that she is, came and helped for three days and stayed all day while I ran between kids emergencies and upholstery duties.


Basically, if you want to do this yourself, you have to have time, patience, and some skills with a sewing machine (or a mother who does). Things you should avoid to keep things simple: custom made piping, overstuffed cushions involving lots of seams (the kind that are sewn onto the back of the couch or chair), skirts, and patterns with a large area of repeat, meaning look at the repeating pattern of your new fabric and if there is more than six inches between repeats, you will end up throwing a lot of fabric away. Also stripes and plaids become crooked easily and look terrible, so be prepared for this. I ignored most of these rules and lived to regret it. It was about 13 yards of fabric when all was said and done, and the fabric I chose was just under $7 a yard.


I bought four throw pillow at Ross for $34 and now the project is complete. The whole thing probably cost me $180, including an ottoman that I have all the fabric for but haven't gotten around to finishing. It's a pretty good price considering they are the perfect shape, color, and size for what I wanted. Usually when you are on a budget you must compromise what you want for what you can afford. Not so much this time. Many thanks to my mom, Molly, and my husband for putting up with the mess for six weeks.