by Eileen Hughes

Created on: May 08, 2010   Last Updated: February 15, 2012

How to upholster a small wooden chair

It is not hard to upholster any type of furniture in your home; in fact it is quite simple if you follow a few simple steps. That way you will not only improve the look but the value of your furniture at the same time. If you were to take it to a professional upholsterer it could prove to be very expensive.  With a little patience and time well spent on your part you can save yourself a lot of money and the satisfaction of a job well done at the same time.

You never know your friends and neighbors may want you to show them how or even ask you to upholster something for them.  This could lead to either a new hobby or a way to make a few extra dollars at home.

Have you ever gone into one of those old antique furniture places and seen those old chairs often covered with bright red upholstery and wished you had one just like it.  Well this is your chance to experiment and give yourself a new challenge in your life and make it look just like them.

Start your first upholstering task on something easy so as to gain more experience and extra confidence, and then tackle the harder things.  I intend show you how to upholster a small wooden chair for that reason.

You will need to have the right equipment before starting anything. You may not need all these items, it will depend on the type of seat you are upholstering and its condition.

 You will need

Pliers Fabric for recovering Staples and or tacks Staple gun Adhesive glue Foam or padding may need to be replaced Screwdriver Sharp scissors Chisel with the V cutout, this will help pull out tacks or staples. Sandpaper

Step by step Instructions

 Have a good look at your chair. Tip it upside down and push the padded seat out of the frame of the chair. Have a good look at the wooden frame.  If it has dents or deep scratches then you will need to rub it back smooth with a piece of medium to fine sandpaper.  Look at the joints are any of them loose if so try to squeeze some glue between the joints then push joints together. In an ideal world it would be good if you could clamp them together until dry. Sand it down again to remove any excess glue.

If you have a pale colored wood and would like to change the look you could give it a coat of jar-rah or similar stain.  Then finish off with a coat of varnish when dry.  It is important to leave overnight before applying another coat to make sure it is completely dry.

Now comes the challenging

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