Re-Upholstery Tips and Dining Room Chair Progress

Demolition on the dining room chairs has come to an end!  Yay!  One of the most challenging aspects of a re-upholstery project is all of the prep-work that must take place before your piece can begin to be transformed.  Here are some tips in case you're thinking about tackling something like this.

1. ALWAYS remove the old fabric!!

Before

After

Not everyone does this, but I recommend it because you never know what substances might be buried in the fabric, or underneath it.  Sometimes it's even essential to remove the padding/foam and replace that as well.  Thankfully, for this project of mine, all foam is in great shape, so that will remain.

2. Take out any staples that you see in the area that you are re-doing.

This makes for a clean surface to sand, stain, and add new staples.  Your hands might hurt after this is done, but you'll be glad you did it. I'm sure there are some great upholstery tools for staple removal, but I just use a flat head screwdriver and needle-nose pliers.

3. Get someone to help you!  My husband graciously assisted me with this project and it made it go twice as fast.  He is the best when it comes to any DIY project around the house and I can't thank him enough!

When we removed the fabric from the legs of these chairs, we discovered that the wood was not of the best quality, and it is unfinished.

With a bit of sanding and some wood glue to fill in the staple holes, they'll be good to go!  We'll be staining the legs and then I can move on to the slipcovers.  Can't wait to have these chairs in my dining room!

Oh, and here's a little peak at my color inspiration for the dining room, in case you're curious :)

I'm linking this up to Home Stories A to Z link party.  Head on over there and check out Beth's blog and the tutorials and tips that others have posted!  I think you'll be inspired!