How to Reupholster an Old Traditional Chair and Give it a Modern Look

I bought these chairs for $15 each from someone who didn't see their potential. Great deal for chairs that only needed a simple reupholstering. Follow instructions below to reupholster your own chairs.

What you will need:

• Staple gun
• Fabric
• 1" Polyester batting 
• Screwdriver 
• Scissors

The seats were a bit stained.

Flip the chair and unscrew the seat from the frame. Put screws in a zip lock bag so that you don't lose them. This is when you can give the chair a good scrubbing. A little 409 spray goes a long way.

I bought some 1" polyester batting from Hancock Fabrics for about $5 a chair. Cut your polyester batting so that it is about 2 inches larger on all sides of the seat. Also cut off the corners of the batting (shown in the photo above) 

Cut your fabric so there is about 3 inches on all sides of the seat. Spread it out on the floor so that you see the back of the pattern. I was lucky and had some fabric samples from work that I used as fabric.

Center the batting and seat on the fabric.

Now you can start to staple. Start from the middle and work your way to the corners. Hold the fabric tight and don't be afraid, just staple.

When all the edges and corners are stapled, screw the seat back onto the chair frame.

Not bad for $20 a chair!