chair reupholstery project

the before.
so. this sad little chair's days were numbered. the fabric was getting nubby, faded, and had dirty spots that couldn't be cleaned. i've had this thing since i got my own room at, oh, age 12ish? and i think it's had the same fabric the entire time. needless to say, it was time for a change. and now that our computer room/den/whatever you call it is so much cuter (pictures to come), i realized how badly this baby needed a little brightening up. or total tearing apart-whichever works. i realized a while ago that the seat was loose which was what gave me the idea in the first place.

now, trust me, i don't know a thing about how to pull off a REAL upholstery project, like my sister does. but i had looked the chair over and i figured that one little cushion wouldn't be too hard.

so i went about taking it apart. i knew that if i took the cushion off and things were looking too complicated, i could bail and just buy a new chair at someplace consignment or ikea or somewhere.

once i got the cushion off though, i knew i could do it myself. the fabric had just been nailed onto the bottom of this wood board so i took a skinny, small flat-head screwdriver and pulled out the nails.

some were a little too rusty to salvage but the rest i saved to reuse once i needed to put my new fabric back on. i figured i'd save myself a lot of trouble and just use the same nails and same holes.

some of the nails didn't want to come out so i just left them in and cut the fabric as close to them as i could. getting the nails out was probably the hardest part because some of them were fairly stubborn. on one of them, i basically threw my whole weight into it, causing the nail to fly up and hit me on the cheek just below my eye. luckily it didn't jab me in the eye or break the skin! can you say eye surgery and/or tetanus shot? after that, i leaned away while wrenching the nails out.

goodbye worn-out, yucky, has-been fabric! hello snazzy, coral-y, orangey-red, new fabric!

next, i measured out an approximate amount of fabric using the wooden board as a guide. i just guessed at the amount because i knew as long as there was enough to cover it, it didn't have to be exact or cut prettily.

using the same nails and same holes, i nailed the new fabric on one side at a time. this was a bit of a challenge because i sort of suck at wrapping gifts and this was a lot like that- you know, the folding in at the corners and pulling the sides over tight to make a nice corner?...

...it didn't turn out perfectly but it looks good enough to make me happy. and anything is better than that horrible old fabric.

so here she is. SO much better right? the chair itself needs a new paint job but that's another project for another time. i wiped it down with clorox wipes and that shined it up nicely.

ahhhh...now i can walk in the room and not cringe every time i see the chair. yay for trying something new and another project completed.