Original and useful ways to repurpose old chairs. Stages of restoring chairs with your own hands How to update old stools

Hello, friends! Today, let’s forget for a while about universal problems, troubles in the economy, and other global topics.

I want to suggest to you, if you have a little extra money, free time and the desire to do something with your own hands, to slightly change the interior of your home.

Actually, I don't like storing old things in my apartment. But somehow it so happened that, during a total renovation of the interior after another lengthy renovation, four old chairs remained standing in the kitchen.

At first, I promised myself that I would soon replace them with new and stylish ones. But they took root in our family so much, they became almost “family” and somehow I still didn’t dare throw them in a landfill.

Then, having looked at them carefully, I thought: “they’re not so bad - wooden, strong, except that the upholstery has already faded and doesn’t quite match the color of our new kitchen.”

And if so, I decided to take action and repair the old chairs with my own hands. To tell the truth, not with my own hands, but with the hands of my husband.

He is a great craftsman and everything he does, he does only with a sign of quality (I’ll brag a little). Therefore, I entrusted this work to him without hesitation.

Since we only needed to replace the upholstery of the chair, and the rest of its wooden parts did not need repair (except to renew the varnish in some places), we bought:

Fabric for upholstery - 1 x 1.40 m. This fabric was just enough for 4 chairs and there was still a little left (later for reupholstering the ottoman). When choosing, we focused on quality, texture and suitable color. The purchase of fabric cost us 360 rubles.
Foam rubber. We decided not to use the old foam rubber, but to buy new ones and make the chairs a little softer. Foam rubber was sold only in sheets. 1 such sheet measures 1x2 m, thickness – 20 mm. Its purchase cost us 240 rubles.
A piece of plywood 6 mm thick, approximately 1x1 m in size. The plywood was left over from the renovation.
Furniture stapler and special staples for it. We didn’t buy this either, it was all already there.
I also needed a small wooden block. Small pieces were cut out of it, approximately 2 cm wide and 10 cm long. And a few screws to attach them.
Wood varnish on water based(we had it too).

Sequence of work:

Removed the old seat

New blanks were cut to the size of the old seat (if old plywood in good condition, you can leave it)

Pieces of foam rubber were cut to the same dimensions. To make our chairs soft, we put foam rubber in 2 layers

We started cutting the fabric. The fabric was also cut to fit the seat, but 5 cm was added on all sides for hemming

All. We have prepared all the preparations.

Let's start assembling

We make a kind of layer cake from our blanks: first - fabric, then foam rubber and the base of the chair from plywood.

To ensure that the seat did not move on the chair and was well fixed, special wooden blocks were screwed onto the plywood from the bottom side.

We fix it with furniture stapler fabric on the back of the base.

That’s it – our beautiful and soft seat is ready.

And now, admire what we got:

The chairs are almost like new. Beautiful upholstery goes very well with wallpaper and facades on kitchen cabinets. In addition, they turned from semi-soft to soft.

And all this cost us only 600 rubles. Well, in what store can you buy four wooden chairs for that kind of money?

How do you like these savings? I liked it very much. Something else needs to be repaired.

Oh, yes, I completely forgot that there was some fabric left, and I wanted to use it to reupholster the lid of the ottoman. But more on that next time.

What secrets do you have for updating your interior with your own hands? Bye bye…

Don't want to spend money on new chairs? Then you can just spend redecorating and repurposing old stools. Breathe in new life into your family and favorite things with the help of restoration!

We invite you to familiarize yourself with 5 master classes on how to update old wooden chairs with your own hands. We will show you how to paint chairs, update the seats and upholstery of chairs, and make a simple cover. How to beautifully decorate a kitchen and office chair yourself

By changing the color of the chair and repainting it, you can completely change its style. Here we will turn an ordinary old wooden stool (and there is probably one in almost every home) into stylish element apartment interior.

What paint to paint a wooden chair

Any wood paint from enamel to alkyd or acrylic.

Acrylic paint- can wear off over time and leave streaks when cleaned with a damp cloth. BUT it is odorless.
Enamel and alkyd paints- have strong smell, so it is better to paint in a ventilated area. But they are waterproof and won't wash off!

How to paint a chair: Large surfaces, e.g. seats - bolster. But the legs of the stool with a small brush!

Step-by-step painting technology :

Necessary materials:

Old wooden stool
Sandpaper
Paint (dark for the seat and white for the legs)
Brush

Step 1: Sanding the chair

First you need to sand the wood with sandpaper to remove the old paint and level the surface.

Step 2: How to properly paint a stool with paint and varnish

We will apply the paint in 2 stages.

Let's start by painting the seat. After sanding, you can see the color of the wood from which the stool is made. If it is dark enough on its own, you can apply wood varnish, leaving the natural color. If the wood is light, apply dark wood paint, but such that the structure of the wood is visible.
Leave to dry.
After the paint on the seat has completely dried, you can begin painting the legs.
Apply white paint brush and also leave until completely dry.
If the paint is too absorbed, then apply a second layer!

Here's what happened:

Step 3: A Few Additions

Since the painting is done in a farmhouse style, you can also. To do this, you need to make small abrasions using sandpaper.

ADVICE: To keep the stool looking like this longer, apply a protective wax coating for wood over the paint.

Updating kitchen chairs

Here we will update a set of four kitchen chairs by painting White color legs and back, and dark brown on the seat.

The scheme of work is similar to that described in the master class on updating a wooden stool.

First you need to remove the old paint using sandpaper,
then paint the seat one by one dark color and the rest of the chair in white,
and at the very end apply a protective coating.

Use it step by step instructions to update your farmhouse style stool and end up with this awesome chair:

Don't be afraid to experiment with paint colors and upholstery fabrics, or adding a vintage effect. Make the chairs suitable exactly for your taste and interior!

How to reupholster a chair

Agree that sitting on a soft chair with beautiful upholstery is much more comfortable and pleasant than sitting on a hard one. wooden seat. The bench that we will transform here is suitable for a piano, to be placed in the bedroom near the bed, and as a chair for changing shoes in the hallway. Let's take a closer look at how you can update the upholstery of a stool and reupholster it with new fabric.

The entire project takes less than an hour and is really easy to do yourself.

Necessary materials:

Wooden piano bench
Upholstery fabric
Scissors
Decorative nails for furniture
Hammer
Glue gun
Sintepon

Step-by-step instruction:

Step 1: Paint the bench

You can skip this step if the bench is in good condition and doesn't need painting, but you just want to soften it up. If painting is necessary, first remove the old paint with sandpaper, and then apply new paint and leave to dry.

Step 2: Attach the fabric

Lay out and level the fabric on the surface of the bench, tuck one side (short) by about 2 cm, and secure it to two legs (to do this, use two decorative furniture nails, one on each of the two legs), as in the photo.

After this, carefully wrap the fabric around the corners of these two legs and secure its position with a glue gun (see photo).

Now it becomes clear how much fabric needs to be removed. Leave about 2-3 cm to tuck, and trim the rest (this applies to all sides).

Then secure the fabric to one long side stool, and then on the other short side in the same way as just done on the short side. That is, fold the fabric, secure it with a glue gun and nail it with decorative nails. After this, one long side of the chair remains with loose upholstery; we leave it for filling with padding polyester.

Attach three nails at each corner: one right at the corner to hold the folded fabric in place, and two at the edges of the legs (at this point this includes the two legs on the long side of the chair with the trim attached).

Step 3: Making the upholstery
Now is the time to add padding polyester. You need to do this a little at a time to evenly distribute it over the chair under the fabric. Add padding until the seat is soft enough without putting too much tension on the fabric.

Now all that remains is to secure the fabric on the remaining side and on the corresponding two legs. The procedure is the same as in the previous step with the other sides and legs.

The bench has acquired a completely different look and can now serve as a real highlight of the interior!

Decorate an office chair

Standard office chair black can give a fun and colorful look. After such a change your workplace It will definitely become more comfortable and inspiring for new productive ideas.

Necessary materials:

Office metal chair with soft seat
Spray paint
Construction stapler
Upholstery fabric
Screwdriver
Scissors

Step-by-step instruction:

Step 1: Attach the sheathing

In order to make a new upholstery, you must first remove the soft part of the seat from the chair. Here you should proceed based on the method of attaching the seat to a particular chair: it can be glued or attached with screws. Remove carefully so as not to damage anything.

After this, stretch the fabric so that it fits tightly around the seat. The fabric should fit reverse side seats by a few centimeters, the excess needs to be cut off. We will secure the trim with a construction stapler on the back side of the seat.

Step 2: Paint the chair

Place the chair on an unnecessary sheet or old newspapers so as not to stain the floor when painting; if possible, take it outside. Choose special paint for metal. After painting, leave the chair to dry completely.

Step 3: Attach the seat to the chair

Return the seat to its original position based on how it was attached. That is, you will need either a screwdriver or glue.

Before you update old chair with a backrest with your own hands, you need to examine the condition of the furniture. Before restoration, the strength of the legs, back and seat is checked. If they are loose, they need to be tightened or re-glued. Subsequent actions will depend on the type of restoration work to be carried out.

How to update a chair with a backrest

In most cases, old chairs require overhaul. Furniture is cleaned of paint coating, repair chips, cracks and potholes on it. Objects made from solid wood are coated with impregnation or stain so as not to cover the texture of the wood. Furniture is also repainted in other colors.

To update a chair with soft elements, you need to remove old upholstery and replace the foam. If necessary, new springs are installed in the seat.

Painting a chair

The easiest way to reconstruct wooden objects is to repaint them. Furniture can be made monochromatic, highlight the back, legs or seat different colors. A pattern is also applied to the furniture.

Features of the reconstruction:

Removing old topcoat. The easiest way to remove the paint layer is with a sander. The device must be directed along the grain of the wood. Otherwise, you can ruin the texture. To remove the coating in hard to reach places use coarse sandpaper. Another way to remove old paint and varnish - applying remover. Cover furniture with this chemical solution need a respirator and open windows. The peeled top coating is removed with a spatula.
Elimination of defects. Potholes and cracks are repaired with wood putty or a homemade mixture based on fine sawdust and PVA glue.
Preparing for painting. Before updating the chair, you need to make its surface smooth. Furniture that has been cleared of paint and varnish should be treated with fine-grained sandpaper.
Painting. You will need a small foam roller and synthetic brushes different sizes. Can be used alkyd paint, water-based compositions, impregnations. The first layer is applied with a roller. This will make the coating more uniform. Subsequent layers are applied with brushes. After repainting, the chair is varnished. Experts recommend using protective compounds, resistant to mechanical stress.

If you decide to combine several shades in furniture, then you should use the color wheel to select them. Patterns are applied using a stencil. You can also transfer the sketch onto furniture using a carbon copy.

Upholstery of seat and back

To update chairs with soft upholstery, it will take more time. In this case, you will need to replace the springs and foam.

The fabric for new upholstery must be durable. For the back and seat, you can choose the following materials:

Tapestry.
Matting.
Jacquard.
Artificial leather.

For reupholstery you will need:

Screwdriver.
Pliers.
Roulette.
Scissors.
Furniture stapler.

How to reconstruct wooden chair with your own hands:

Disassembling furniture. First you need to disconnect the staples to which the fabric is attached from the frame. They are pryed off with a flat screwdriver. Then remove the old upholstery and disassemble the seat. If the frame of the furniture has been glued, then it is worth disconnecting the legs. They are cleaned and then remounted to the seat base. This is done to increase the stability of the stool.
Replacement of old fittings. Springs need to be replaced if they are rusty and begin to come off. They can be purchased in stores with furniture fittings. A structure made of flooring, felt and batting is pulled over the springs.
Constructing a pattern for the seat and back. You can duplicate old upholstery. It is disconnected and then placed on paper. The details are outlined and cut out. When creating a pattern for furniture without upholstery, paper is placed over the back and seat, and then their boundaries are marked with a pencil. When cutting out parts, you should take into account the thickness of the foam rubber and remember the allowances.
Replacement of upholstery. First, the backrest is formed. The fabric is secured with a stapler. The direction of movement is from the central part to the corners. Then foam rubber is glued to the back and the front part is attached. After this, the seat is retightened. Foam rubber and padding polyester are attached to it, and then covered with fabric.

Upgrade an old chair with a cover

You can also update old chairs using covers. The easiest way is to make a design with a “skirt” covering the lower part of the furniture. The removable cover can be sewn from 5 parts. When cutting them out, add 1.5 cm to the allowances, and 3 mm to the loose fit. Sewing will require about 2 m of fabric.

Pattern details:

Seat. Consists of 1 piece, fully matches the parameters of a similar piece of furniture.
Back. Sewn from 3 parts. The back part consists of 2 rectangles, between which a hidden zipper. At the bottom these parts are hemmed, making a double hem. The front is folded back and sewn to the top of the back.
Bottom. It is cut out in the form of a long strip. It is sewn to the seat and bottom of the back. The part can completely cover the legs or be smaller in height. Its lower edge is finished with a hem seam.

If you still have old Soviet chairs, don’t think about getting rid of them. You can change them with your own hands so that they become better than they were at the beginning. Also, self-restoration of furniture significantly saves any budget if you previously intended to buy a new set.

Master class on restoring chairs with your own hands

At the beginning of furniture restoration work, it is necessary to choose a type that will make the old chair new. If wooden elements If they are very loose, cracks have appeared on them, and the upholstery has become fairly worn out over time, then to update such a chair, a detailed and thorough restoration will be required with its complete or partial disassembly. If over time the chair has not suffered much damage: the fabric has become slightly frayed, the varnish has peeled off and the paint has faded, then there will be no need to disassemble the item itself. The simplest and economical look restoration means reupholstering chairs with your own hands. Next, let's look at each type of update in more detail:

Comprehensive restoration of chairs

When working on a comprehensive restoration of chairs, the following equipment will be needed:

Furniture filler. Such a material could be, for example, foam rubber.
Special stapler and staples for furniture.
Varnish and paints, as well as stain.
Brushes of different hardness, width and shape.
A sheet of plywood, for new elements of chairs, if the previous ones have completely become unusable.
Furniture glue.
Metal clamps.
Furniture tapestry, with colors that will organically fit into the new interior.
Sander.
Wooden mallet.
Screwdriver.
Drill.
Self-tapping screws.

You also need to take into account that restoration work will take approximately 5 – 7 days. Part of the time will be spent drying finished product after gluing and painting.

The order and stages of restoration work

First of all, it is necessary to prepare the chair for restoration work. Clean all surfaces from dust and dirt, and remove greasy spots, If there are any. To do this, you can use any soap solution and rags or brushes. the main task at this stage it is speed. Wood does not like prolonged contact with water and chemical solutions.

After the chair is completely dry, it needs to be disassembled into parts. This must be done as carefully as possible so as not to spoil any individual elements.

When all parts are separated, they must be carefully examined for defects. If there are cracks, they will need to be glued. Only after the glue has completely dried can you start sanding all the parts using sandpaper.

Don't rush to throw it away old furniture. From a life-worn and moth-eaten “four-legged friend” you can get a real work of art with just a little effort and imagination. Today you will learn how to update an old chair with my own hands to add freshness and novelty to your home interior.

Method number 1: decorating a chair with paint

Not only a real “old man’s” Soviet chair, but also a wooden “Viennese” one and a folding one country house options easily transformed with paint.

Dyeing technology

To paint old chairs you will need:

acrylic paint;
flat synthetic brushes (separately for varnish, paint and putty);
gloves;
putty;
white spirit (for metal);
varnish remover (for varnished models);
matte varnish or wax;
fine and medium grain sandpaper.

Restore old chairs according to this scheme:

The first step is to prepare the furniture for painting: wash it and sand it with sandpaper. The surface should remain slightly rough.
It is better to degrease the iron model with white spirit before painting.
Treat lacquered furniture special means for removing varnish.
Mask all cracks and scratches on the surface of the legs and back with furniture putty.
After this, paint the entire surface of the furniture in 2-3 layers, waiting for each layer to dry completely. Open the product with varnish.

Interesting! If you want to achieve an interesting scuffed effect, then initially apply dark paint to individual areas, and then cover them with wax. Paint the entire area with the desired shade in 2 layers, and then use fine-grain sandpaper to go over the previously marked areas to “expose” the dark areas.

If you haven't decided what color to paint your furniture, you can't go wrong with a bright white shade. This color is universal and goes well with all bright upholstery materials.

New! Chalk paints are a newfangled type of coloring substances that are not yet very common in stores, but we recommend using them because bright colors and super-fast drying.

To paint individual areas of the surface, use masking tape.

Method number 2: seat reupholstery

Restoring old chairs with your own hands using the reupholstery method is the second most common technique after paint.

Interesting! Even if the stool is not comfortable soft seat, you can do it yourself.

Washing process technology

To work you will need:

thick upholstery fabric;
furniture stapler;
screwdriver or screwdriver;
meter tape;
self-tapping screws;
overlocker for finishing edges or sewing machine.

An old soft chair is restored in this way:

Turn the product over, placing it with the seat on work surface. Use a screwdriver or screwdriver to unscrew the soft part from the frame of the product. If it is screwed not with screws, but with nails, then pull them out with pliers.
Measure the width and length of the seat, add 7 cm to each value, open the part from new fabric. Finish the edges of the fabric piece sewing machine or overlocker.
Place the pattern on your work surface front side down. Place the seat on it with the wrong side facing you. Make sure that the distance of future pattern bends is the same on all sides.
Fold and staple two opposite sides to the seat upholstery fabric. At the same time, slightly stretch the material. The staples of the stapler are attached in increments of at least 10 cm, and the corners are not yet secured.
Do the same with the other parties.
IN last resort Pull the corners into the center of the seat and also secure with staples.
Place the seat on the frame and re-screw it with self-tapping screws. If it was initially held in place with nails, then it makes sense to replace them with self-tapping screws.

The soft seat can be decorated with beautiful furniture nails around the perimeter.

Select upholstery material so that it matches the style of the stool. So, classic jacquard does not look good on modern designer furniture, and an old wooden chair with a back and patterns looks strange with upholstery with a geometric print.

Often, chairs look perfect if their style uses the same fabric from which the curtains or drapes in the room are sewn.

The match looks harmonious.

Method No. 3: sewing a cover with gathers in the corners

The clear advantage of sewing a cover is that this method is much cheaper than reupholstering a seat.

It is enough to purchase 2-2.5 m of fabric, make the pattern correctly and sew it.

The fabric is selected on the basis of resistance to wear, since products are constantly subject to increased stress, especially in the dining room and kitchen.

To sew a cover for an old chair, follow these steps:

First of all, you need a pattern. For measurements you will need masking tape, paper or newspapers.
Attach a large spread of newspaper to one or another part of the product, mark the outlines of the furniture on the paper, and remove the excess with scissors.
Prepare the second part and attach it to the first, gluing it with masking tape. Having assembled the pattern completely, cut it in the places where the seams will be. Thus, you will have a more or less accurate pattern specifically for your product shape.
Remember to leave seam allowances and take into account the directional direction of the fabric, especially if it has a pattern in the form of stripes or large flowers. Please pay attention Special attention back. It happens that in order to recreate exact bends you will have to cut out a separate part along its side. If you do not have the goal of conveying all the delights, it is enough to make wide allowances of 5-7 cm along the side cut of the back.

Important! It’s better not to make the cover on the back very narrow, otherwise you simply won’t be able to put it on the chair. Cut the back wide or flared, then fold the excess into a pleat and tie a pretty bow at the back. If you like a “tight” cover, then install a twisted zipper in one of the seams.

Method No. 4: Decoupage a chair with paper

Remaking old chairs with your own hands does not always require dramatic changes. Sometimes you can make a new chair out of an old one if you disguise minor defects, scratches and stains with an original fashionable print or beautiful patterns.

Decoupage will help you. Take:

multi-layer napkins with the desired print;
PVA glue;
a pair of brushes;
scissors;
matte clear varnish;
roller

To make original ones out of old chairs designer furniture, follow this algorithm:

Clean the furniture, paint as described in method No. 1.
Separate upper layer napkins with a pattern, cut out the desired size fragment from it.
If you want to change the entire decor of an old chair: from the back to the legs, then chaotically tear the napkin into 10x10 cm pieces.
Apply PVA glue liberally to the desired area of the future decor. Place on required area furniture, cut out a piece of napkin, smooth it with a brush with the remaining PVA, removing bubbles and smoothing out the wrinkles with a roller.
The top layer of PVA should be as thin as possible. Leave it to dry for a day.
Finally, cover the entire surface of the furniture with clear varnish in 3-4 layers, allowing each layer to dry.

As you can see, remaking an old chair is not as problematic as it might seem at first glance.

Creative furniture decor solutions

To give an old stool a vintage touch, you can paint it pink, blue or cream. Gold or silver paint is useful for painting. On top of everything, apply craquelure varnish to the entire area. The antique effect is created by small cracks from the varnish.

An old stool will be saved by upholstery made of multi-colored straps. Intertwine them according to the “basket” principle and secure them at the bottom with self-tapping screws.

Allow your children to be creative acrylic paints. Cover the result with varnish. You will not only receive designer furniture, but also possibly a future family heirloom.

Now you know how to restore an old chair, turning it into an exclusive thing for mere pennies. If you have other modernization ideas and restoration experience, share with readers in the comments.