Chair recovery

I had way too much trouble finding decent-looking but inexpensive dining room chairs for my apartment. I ended up buying some relatively lame ones at IKEA and dressing them up a little.

This is a super fun project - satisfying, easy, and only takes about 15 minutes per chair. All you need is fabric and a staple gun. It's best to pick a reasonably sturdy, non-stretchy fabric. I used Michael Miller's Dandy Damask on a heavier-weight cotton.

Here is the chair prior to rehab:fffffffffffffffffAnd here, disgruntled spokesmodel Reenie dddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddshows off the final product.

How to:

(1) Remove seat from chair frame.

(2) Measure seat. Cut piece of fabric to size of seat plus 6" in both width and length.

(3) Tear current fabric off seat, and replace padding if needed. Or if the current fabric is in good shape and is light in color (or your new fabric is very opaque/dark), just leave it as is.

(4) Position new fabric over seat, flip over, and use the staple gun to attach it in place. Be sure to stretch the fabric TIGHT as you go and be careful to keep the fabric aligned properly (this is extra-important if you are using a directional pattern like stripes, which will look stupid if it's even a little crooked).

(5) Reattach seat to chair frame.

(6) Sit down!