Reupholstering Vintage Kitchen Chairs

Our adventure to reupholster vintage chairs began so we could have beautiful and unique chairs to sit upon at our wedding reception’s sweetheart table, and it was a roaring success! And let me tell you that when I say vintage, I mean super authentic and really old! How old, you ask? Check out the ‘cushion’ that we found beneath the fabric! Yep, that’s straw! And yes, my dad helped and supplied the power tools…

We began with a great base. These beautiful seats are huge, and actually allow for your entire adult bum to be supported–a rare find these days. The cat-hair-infested covers needed replacing, but we wanted to keep the integrity of these family heirlooms that were passed down by a few generations, yet prettify them a little bit.

We started by removing the fabric and cushion–which to our surprise turned out to be straw. Looks like they were even older than we thought!

We continued by tracing the wooden seat on the foam cushion we’d be using, and using a bigger layer of batting. We used a special kind that is made for chairs, which is a little thicker, and less likely to rip. Make sure you cut the fabric even larger to allow for the room you need to go around the entire seat and attach on the bottom PAST the frame.

Next came the fun part; using the compressor staple-gun to attach the fabric. A whole new way to ‘sew’!

Flip it over, check your corners, and re-attache it to the frame. Flip the chair back over and voila!

We were so pleased with our final pieces! They fit right into the wedding decor, and even better in our home. I always look forward to sitting on these over-sized, hella-big, comfy, beautiful chairs. And it’s got nothing to do with the fact that we had our first meal as husband and wife in them! (but it helps)