Pro Tips For Restoring Your Padded Dining Room Seating
While many people would feel comfortable hanging wall tapestries or wrought iron
wall crosses or even with many do-it-yourself projects, they are under the impression that its difficult to recover padded dining room chairs. If your dining room chairs are looking stained, worn or just in need of a style makeover, you can replace the pads and fabric yourself. Recovering padding dining room chairs is really very cost effective and simple. Here is how to go about it.
Step 1: Pick Out Fabric and Padding.
You can find high quality furniture quality fabric by the yard at upholstery shops and fabric stores but you must first determine how much fabric is required. Besides knowing the seat size, you will also need adequate amounts of material to wrap around the sides of the seat and fold beneath the edges. The best way to get an accurate measurement is to remove the seat, padding and fabric from one of the chairs. (see Step 2).
Keep in mind that arm chairs may have a slightly larger seat, so that seat will provide the best measurement to ensure that you purchase adequate materials. Always purchase your material from the same bolt so that you don't experience a variation in color. Additionally, fabrics in striped patterns can be hard to work with due to the fact that they require a perfectly straight line along the edge of the seat.
You can save time and effort if you can leave the old fabric in place and fit the new fabric right over the old. But if the padding is worn and flat or if the fabric is torn or heavily textured, you will need to remove and replace both. Also, a darker pattern or fabric might show through if left in place. Padding is moderately priced and in most instances is well-worth the expense and effort of replacement. Remove and measure the padding so you know how much you will need for each chair.
Now that you know how much fabric and padding you will need, take those measurements with you to the fabric store. Choose high-quality padding and a fabric that works with the color scheme and style of your dining room. It would be wise to take color samples of with you when shopping. A great way to make a final decision between two fabrics is to take home samples of each.
Step 2: Remove the Seats and Upholstery.
Remove the seats from the chairs. Turn a chair over and look for a single screw that is secured through the bottom of supports in each corner. Remove the screws and the seat should come off easily. Turn the seat cushion over and use a flathead screwdriver to pry off the staples that hold the fabric in place, taking note of how the fabric is folded. Remove the fabric and padding, if you are replacing it.
Step 3: Restore Padding and Recover the Seats.
Use the old fabric and padding as a template and cut the new fabric about an eighth-inch larger then the original fabric. Use a pair of sharp fabric scissors to obtain the cleanest finish. Use a pair of long, sharp scissors to cut the padding in the same size and shape as the original.
Lay the fabric down and center the padding on the fabric on a clean, flat work surface. Center the seat on the padding and begin wrapping the fabric over the edges of the seat. Staple the center front position first, starting about one inch from the edge of the seat. Pull the fabric taut and then staple the middle position on the seat's back; then staple the side center positions. Add additional staples as needed to secure the fabric along all four edges, leaving the corners till last.
Fold the corners in the same manner as the original fabric, trimming surplus material away as required. However, be careful not to remove too much fabric. Firmly fasten the corners using staples and reattach the seats to the chairs with screws.
Step 4: stand back and admire your stylish new dining room chairs!
by: Fred Thompson
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