How To: Give An Old Chair New Life

I finally took the time to repair an old chair that was described as “the most uncomfortable chair I’ve ever sat in,” more than once. Here’s what I did to bring new life to my old chair.   My wife bought a chair with a problem a few years ago. One of the metal springs was broken so she brought it home for me to fix. After a few days in the shop, impatience got the best of here and into the house it came with a sagging seat and noticeable lean to the right. After a few months, the second spring broke, and the seat began to sink into the middle which left a very uncomfortable chair in the corner of our living room for quite some time. During our the last few dinner parties the chair was brought out and fast became known as the very worst place to sit in our house, so this weekend I finally took the time to repair the chair.

Materials:

• Staple Gun and staples (T-50)
• 2″ Nylon Straps (12′)
• 1 yard fabric
• Scissors
• Ruler/Tape Measure

1. Strip off the old material and springs – This was the easiest part of the job, since all the material was slightly shredded and already hanging down.

2. Measure out the new strapping – My seat was an easy 24″ x 24″ so I cut the strips about 2″ longer to give room for staples. I used about 12′ of strapping total, in 6 equal strips.

3. Staple on the strapping – I stapled on the straps in a grid pattern with a weave to give it a bit more overall strength. On the front of the chair I had to staple to the inside because the fabric covered the outside of the board. For this area I added a strip of maple wood with screws to sandwich in the straps for strength. As I stretched them tight, I left a little bit of play so that the seat would have some give for the over-sized derrieres out there.

4. Test it out – With all the straps in place, I took some time to really test out the strength of the seat. With quite a bit of hopping, and a few small children jumping on it, the straps held up and supported the abuse.

5. Button it all up – While this is as much for looks as use, I stretched a thin piece of fabric back over the bottom to close it all up.

With the chair back to it’s supportive design, it is no longer known as the most uncomfortable seat in the house. This woven seat design can be added as additional support to a sagging couch or bar stool to give extra life to the furniture the gives us so much rest.

So, you don’t have to embrace a full-on reupholstery job to turn an existing piece into something functional again. 

Are you dabbling into any new repair projects? We’d love to hear all about the latest foray into the world of furniture. Leave a comment and let us know what you’ve been up to!