Yahhooo!!!!! The chairs are finally done!!!!
I have re-upholstered at least 5 couches and some chairs, but I have never had such a hard time getting staples out as I did with these chairs! My, oh my! There were so many times I wanted to just through those chairs out the window. But, for $10 a piece, I just couldn't make myself do it. :0)
Here is what they looked like before:
How do I re-upholster? Well, the first time I did we were living in an apartment in California, and we knew we were only going to be there for about 3 months. We went to Goodwill and purchased a couch for $30. Then I purchased the most decent looking fabric at Walmart for $1/ yrd. On that couch I simply cut out the fabric and sewed it right to the couch!! :0) Then we sold it at a garage sale when we left for about $35.
The next couch I decided I'd try to rip off the fabric and use those pieces as patterns. It took some time, but that seemed to work the best. That is pretty much the same way I do it today. I have also learned to take pictures as I am taking off the fabric of the order the pieces were put on. Sometimes it is days in between the projects and I forget what it looked like when I started. Here are a few of those pictures. I also save all the foam, styrofoam, and whatever else can be reused.
The chairs were a dark wood and had green fabric that was falling apart. We painted the wood black, the casters gold, and re-upholstered it in a grey/green stripe. Once again, here is the before and after:
I have re-upholstered at least 5 couches and some chairs, but I have never had such a hard time getting staples out as I did with these chairs! My, oh my! There were so many times I wanted to just through those chairs out the window. But, for $10 a piece, I just couldn't make myself do it. :0)
Here is what they looked like before:
( not horrible, but the fabric really was old and dirty)
And after:
Each chair has it's corner in the library....
...by the frames
.......and by the window.
Then, when are ready to play a game, we pull them up to the game table.
How do I re-upholster? Well, the first time I did we were living in an apartment in California, and we knew we were only going to be there for about 3 months. We went to Goodwill and purchased a couch for $30. Then I purchased the most decent looking fabric at Walmart for $1/ yrd. On that couch I simply cut out the fabric and sewed it right to the couch!! :0) Then we sold it at a garage sale when we left for about $35.
The next couch I decided I'd try to rip off the fabric and use those pieces as patterns. It took some time, but that seemed to work the best. That is pretty much the same way I do it today. I have also learned to take pictures as I am taking off the fabric of the order the pieces were put on. Sometimes it is days in between the projects and I forget what it looked like when I started. Here are a few of those pictures. I also save all the foam, styrofoam, and whatever else can be reused.
The chairs were a dark wood and had green fabric that was falling apart. We painted the wood black, the casters gold, and re-upholstered it in a grey/green stripe. Once again, here is the before and after:
After the many days of pulling out staples I had to make myself an appointment at the chiropractor. We decided that it would be cheaper to get me a new "upholstery friend", then keep paying for a chiropractor. :0)
Here he is:
A POWER staple gun!!! I am so excited!
I think my next best friend is going to be one of those tools that help you pull the fabric really tight. This chair was also a doozy to try to get the wrinkles out of the top. No matter how many slits I made in the fabric, or how I wrapped my body around the chair to get a tight pull, the fabric didn't want to stretch tight. I guess the pros have tools for a reason. :0)
Price breakdown:
Chairs $10 each
Fabric $3/yrd---one yard for each chair
Spray paint $4
So $15 for each chair.....not bad I'd say!
