How to update an old Viennese chair with your own hands. Stages of restoration of chairs with your own hands

If you find that an old chair is completely worn out, do not rush to throw it away. Often old pieces of furniture are carried with them pleasant memories about people and events in the life of your family. And what’s the truth? Previously, furniture was made to last...


Don't rush to throw it away old chair. By updating its upholstery, you can get a stylish, beautiful and durable piece of furniture. A restored chair may well serve not only you, but also your children. And we will tell you how you can do this!

How to update an old chair? Pre-cleaning

First, the surface of the chair must be cleaned of old covering, whatever it may be. If there is soft upholstery seats, it must first be removed. You don’t necessarily need “male strength” to do this. Try turning the chair upside down and you will see that the seat is attached with screws that need to be removed. To do this, you need to arm yourself with a hammer (to knock out the seat) and a screwdriver (straight or Phillips).

Now you can start removing the old coating. To do this, you can use regular “sandpaper” of different grain sizes or a sanding sponge. It is important to sand the surface of the wood well. This will help you easily apply your chosen further coverage. It is worth saying right away that this work is not easy. But it is possible to simplify the process a little by periodically moistening the surface to be treated. So, you can get rid of dust.

Just don’t be alarmed by the fact that moisture makes the old varnish viscous. This is fine. After the chair has completely dried, you need to sand the entire surface well again with fine sandpaper.

How to update an old chair? Process step by step

Now it all depends on your imagination. If you decide to varnish the surface of the chair, then you need to use a colorless primer so that through protective layer the texture of the wood was clearly visible. You will have to use a layer of primer in any case, even if you decide to paint the chair in the future.

The fact is that paint adheres better and lasts longer if the surface is first primed. The surface must be coated with varnish in two layers. It is important that the first coat is thoroughly dry before applying the second. The varnish can be applied with a brush or by spraying it over the surface.

The chair can be painted any color. Nowadays furniture is considered very fashionable white. And the seat upholstery can be contrasting. Today there are many ways to show originality, for example, using a stencil. Let it be flowers or any other ornament.

Another way to cover the surface of a chair is to use a balm from beeswax. The surface is also pre-sanded and primed with drying oil, then covered with a thin layer of balm using a cloth. After twelve hours, the surface is polished with a brush.

Now you can begin restoring the upholstery. The old one needs to be removed. Previously, it was attached to the seat using ordinary nails. You will also have to get rid of the foam rubber. It is necessary to carve out a new one according to the old standards. The fabric must be cut with a margin for hemming. The upholstery material can be very different: like a special fabric for upholstered furniture, as well as regular linen or thick cotton. It is better to fasten the fabric furniture stapler. But if you don't have one, don't worry. You can use regular nails by hammering them in. It is important to remember that the material must be well stretched on all sides.

Now the seat can be inserted into its original place and fastened with screws.

How to update an old chair with a cover

There is another way to update an old chair - use a cover. It can be made from any fabric, hiding defects and imperfections without major intervention. The cover can be with a variety of frills, ruffles, bows, tassels... You can make several options: a festive version and an everyday one. Show your imagination! Don’t rush to throw away old furniture, try to become a designer, we are sure that you will succeed!

How to update an old chair. Decoupage with paper

Do you dream of decorating a chair or hiding defects such as scratches and cracks? This is easy to do using decoupage. Any printed paper is suitable for this (magazine and newspaper pages, napkins, posters, cards, etc.). You need to secure the drawing with PVA glue and cover it with clear varnish.

Decoupage with fabric

Another way to update an old chair is decoupage material. A “brand new” chair will last for a very long time. If suddenly the threads start to come out at the edges, they can be treated with PVA or cut off.

Other ideas

Multi-colored straps can be the salvation of an old chair. They just need to be intertwined, like on a basket. Pastel paint and a pattern in silver or gold will help you make a vintage chair. Cover everything with craquelure varnish on top.

Give your child freedom of imagination. Let him paint the chair, and you just cover his creativity with varnish.

How to update an old chair? Photo

If you find that an old chair is completely worn out, do not rush to throw it away. Often old pieces of furniture bring with them pleasant memories of people and events in your family's life. And what’s the truth? Previously, furniture was made to last...

Therefore, a restored chair may well serve not only you, but also your children. Just by changing it appearance, you can return the furniture to its former attractiveness and newness. Fortunately, there are many options now. Everything will depend only on your imagination.

How to update an old chair? Pre-cleaning

To begin with, the surface of the chair needs to be clean off the old coating, whatever it may be. If there is soft seat upholstery, it must first be removed. You don’t necessarily need “male strength” to do this. Try turning the chair upside down and you will see that the seat is attached with screws that need to be removed. To do this, you need to arm yourself with a hammer (to knock out the seat) and a screwdriver (straight or Phillips).

Now you can start removing the old coating. To do this, you can use regular “sandpaper” of different grain sizes or a sanding sponge. It is important to sand the surface of the wood well. This will help you easily apply the coating you choose later. It is worth saying right away that this work is not easy.

But it is possible to simplify the process a little by periodically moistening the surface to be treated. This way you can get rid of dust. Just don’t be alarmed by the fact that moisture makes the old varnish viscous. This is fine. After the chair has completely dried, you need to sand the entire surface well again with fine sandpaper.

How to update an old chair? Everything is in order

Now it all depends on your imagination. If you decide to varnish the surface of the chair, you need to use a colorless primer so that the texture of the wood is clearly visible through the protective layer. A layer of primer will have to be used in any case. Even if you decide to paint the chair in the future.

The fact is that paint adheres better and lasts longer if the surface is first primed.
The surface must be coated with varnish in two layers. It is important that the first coat is thoroughly dry before applying the second. The varnish can be applied with a brush or by spraying it over the surface.

The chair can be painted any color. Nowadays white furniture is considered very fashionable. And the seat upholstery can be contrasting. Nowadays there are many ways to show originality. For example, use a stencil. Let it be flowers or any other ornament.

Another way to cover the surface of a chair is beeswax balm. The surface is also pre-sanded and primed with drying oil. Then cover with a thin layer of balm using a cloth. After twelve hours, the surface is polished with a brush.

Now you can begin restoring the upholstery. The old one needs to be removed. Previously, it was attached to the seat using ordinary nails. You will also have to get rid of the foam rubber. It is necessary to cut a new one according to the old standards. The fabric must be cut with a margin for hemming. The material for upholstery can be very different: either a special fabric for upholstered furniture, or regular linen or thick cotton. It is better to fasten the fabric with a furniture stapler. But if you don't have one, don't worry. You can use regular nails by hammering them in. It is important to remember that the material must be well stretched on all sides.

Now the seat can be inserted into its original place and fastened with screws.

Upgrade an old chair with a cover

There is another way to how to update an old chair - use a cover. It can be made from any fabric, hiding defects and imperfections without major intervention. The cover can be with a variety of frills, ruffles, bows, tassels... You can make several options. Festive and everyday options. Show your imagination! Don’t rush to throw away old furniture, try to become a designer, we are sure that you will succeed!

How to update an old chair? Photo

Chair restoration has become a popular business in the 21st century. Many people, when furnishing their apartments, strive to fill them with antiques. But not everyone can afford to buy antiques. And therefore, the owners prefer to update the old furniture that they inherited and, in memory of the past, was not thrown into a landfill.

Unpresentable-looking interior items, which have been collecting dust in dachas and attics for a long time, are handed over to professionals, so that they can then decorate the rooms of their home with furniture that has found a second life. But in order to renew the dilapidated upholstered part, back and legs, it is not necessary to turn to the craftsmen, because the owners can do this themselves.

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How to update a chair?

Restoring old chairs with your own hands is an interesting and easy task. Knowing some of its subtleties and armed necessary tools and materials, in just a few hours you can turn a shabby and faded object into a bright and unique element of the interior own home, cottages or apartments.

The main problems of all solid wooden chairs are:

  • peeling paint and varnish;
  • holes made by small insects;
  • scratches and cracks;
  • drying out of parts, as a result of which the object began to wobble.

All these problems can be easily eliminated by coating the damage with wood glue and painting special compounds and varnishing each wooden element.

To restore a chair consisting not only of solids, but also of soft parts(seats and backrests), the fabric or leather material of which fades and becomes damaged over time, you should replace the filler in the leaky element and decorate the upholstery with fashionable fabric.

Methods of restoration by decorating a chair

To give antique item The following methods are used to create a fresh and attractive interior:

  • Application to wooden elements several layers of varnish or paint.
  • Application of decoupage technique.
  • Decorating a piece of furniture with fabric material.
  • Frame repair and upholstery reupholstery.

Restoring an old chair with your own hands should be done carefully and without haste, so as not to damage or break it.

Decor using fabric

Among the types of restoration work carried out on furniture, decor using fabric is often found. It looks unusual and can be used for both temporary and permanent transformation of the chair.

This method consists of decorating parts of a wood product with ribbons and satin stripes of one or more colors. You can either simply wrap them around individual elements, or make luxurious flowers and butterflies out of fabric, tie bows and decorate the back of the item with them. This decor is often used to decorate a festive event (themed party, birthday, New Year's Eve).

DIY chair restoration can be done using jute rope. For this purpose, you need to remove the soft parts of the product, and instead wind a rope around the frame, weaving it with a mesh or using the macrame technique.

Before decoration old furniture It should be updated with fabrics (repaired and painted), since the material will not completely cover the entire product. An interesting option Updating a piece of furniture will involve sewing a cover for it. You can make several versions of the product and change them periodically.

Decoupage technique

Decoupage is the decoration of interior items with ornaments or pictures cut from special napkins, wallpaper or paper and pasted onto a previously prepared surface.

To transform an antique chair using decoupage, we restore its solid parts step by step:

  1. All old layers of paint or varnish are removed from the wood.
  2. The top of the product is leveled with putty.
  3. A primer is applied to the elements of the object.
  4. Furniture is painted with a composition of a suitable shade. For the decoupage technique it is better to do wooden surface lighter than it was (it’s worth painting the product white or cream, then the design will look more impressive).
  5. The desired picture is cut out of paper and glued to the area to be decorated.
  6. The pasted pattern is painted over the edges with a translucent composition.
  7. The entire product is top coated with acrylic varnish.

The decoupage technique is not difficult. But this work takes more time than other methods of decoration, because one layer of coating (primer, paint, etc.) must dry completely, and then another layer can be applied to it.

Chair restoration by staining

The fastest way to restore a wooden chair is by painting it. Before this, the surface of the product must be cleaned of the previous coating with sandpaper. When sanding parts of an interior item, you need to move the sandpaper in the direction of the wood fibers so that they do not stand upright. Dust generated during this process should be removed with a dry cloth, otherwise the paint will lie unevenly. The next step is to coat the surface with a primer. After it has dried, you can start painting.

The product is covered with stain, oil, enamel, acrylic and chalk paints. Using a brush, they are applied in several layers to the hard parts of the chair with the back so that the compositions lie evenly. If you want the interior item to shine, then apply varnish over the paint.

Restoration by reupholstery

For both elaborate Viennese and simple furniture, upholstery of the soft part is often used. For fresh upholstery, you can use the most different materials: microfiber, jacquard, flock, chenille, etc. The main condition is that the fabric for restoring the chair should be dense to the touch, durable, easy to clean, wear-resistant and not fade in the sun.

To reupholstery, you need to remove old material. It will be useful as a template for a pattern. Place the seat on the foam rubber, trace the base with a felt-tip pen or marker, and cut it out along the drawn line. Place faded or torn fabric on a dense material and perform the same action as with foam rubber.

If you decide to restore an old chair yourself, turning a solid wooden piece of furniture into one that is comfortable to sit on, then for the upholstery, allocate an amount of material that is 5-6 cm larger than the size of the foam rubber. The allowance is needed to tuck the fabric under the seat. When the material is cut, lay it on the foam rubber, slightly stretching it, and even out all the folds. Then secure the upholstery to the soft element using staples.

Step-by-step instructions for restoring stool

Proper restoration of a chair, performed at home, includes the following operations:

  1. Prepare the tools and materials necessary for the work.
  2. Clean and wash all parts of the product from dust and dirt.
  3. Dry the piece of furniture thoroughly.
  4. Disassemble the product.
  5. Repair wooden elements: legs and frame.
  6. Sand hard parts.
  7. Assemble the frame.
  8. Coat the wood with paints and varnishes.
  9. Decorate with fabric, ribbons, jute rope.

If you need to turn a hard chair into a comfortable one, then while the wooden parts are drying, make a comfortable seat or reupholster it. Then the soft elements of the furniture are connected to its frame.

Surely at home each of us has one old, or even a couple of good, solid wooden chairs, which, however,... And everything would be fine, but their appearance leaves much to be desired. It seems that something with history is practically an heirloom, so it would be a shame to throw it away. But why throw it away if there is a DIY restoration of chairs? It is absolutely not necessary to contact a master who can do this for you. After all, firstly, you still need to try hard to find such a master. And, secondly, in this old item you can realize your new ideas and design fantasies. Try your hand, and we will show you how to upholster a chair with your own hands and make it the highlight of your interior!

Where to start?

First of all, it is necessary to realistically assess the amount of work to be done. Remember that any chair, no matter what condition it is in. You can always replace worn out and broken parts with new ones. After an objective look, you need to think about the end result. That is, what would you like to get from this chair in the end. Think carefully about the room in which it will be located. And build on this further. The interior in which the updated chair will be located will become the starting point for the restoration of this piece of furniture at home.

Coloring

Whatever repair you undertake, painting or varnishing the surface of the chair is a must. To give this piece of furniture an updated look, you should get rid of the old coating. Therefore, you will need to use sandpaper. With its help you can easily remove cracked paint or varnish. But first you need to remove the seat and upholstery. For these purposes, use a hammer and, if necessary, a screwdriver. Some chairs have a seat that is secured with nails, so you will need a nail puller to remove them. Upon completion of this stage, you can safely sand the legs, back and frame with sandpaper. If you decide to renovate furniture at home, be prepared to do a good job of sanding. This is perhaps the most tedious stage in restoration. wooden coverings. Wood can be painted with several layers of varnish or paint, so at first it is better to work with coarse sandpaper. Sanding is carried out with fine-grained sandpaper.

Now you can go directly. It is known that wood absorbs any liquid very well. Therefore, our repairs will not be complete without a primer. This will allow the paint to spread more evenly over the surface and last much longer. The primer can be white or colorless. The first one is better to use if you are going to paint a chair. A colorless primer will be needed for those who will continue to use varnish and do not want to cover the wood texture. After applying one or more layers of primer, you need to wait for it to dry completely. Now all that remains is to go over it again with fine-grained sandpaper and start applying paint or varnish. But if you want to give the product an even more polished look, use a special wax balm. It is applied after the primer has dried before applying paint. It should dry well, after which it will need to be carefully polished with a brush. Now you can paint. In order for the product to remain in its original form longer, it is best to apply two layers of dye, first allowing each to dry thoroughly.


You can realize your design ideas

Sometimes an interior design does not include the use of soft seats. Therefore, chair repair ends with painting the seat and screwing it to the frame. If you want to completely repair the chair using new upholstery, proceed to the next step.

Upholstery replacement

It is important that the upholstery, the chair itself and the interior do not differ from one another. design solution. Therefore, you need to think through everything in advance to the last detail. Use only thick upholstery fabric, even if you are not just renovating soft seat, but also make a chair cushion.

Remove all staples from the old seat. This is easy to do with large tweezers. Now let's start replacing the batting. The pre-cut piece needs to be placed on hot glue and allowed to firmly adhere. If this is the first furniture renovation in your life, we recommend using plain fabric. (and even more so in stripes) you will have to constantly check how evenly it is located. But for a beginner this can be quite complicated and troublesome.

Be sure to leave a five-centimeter margin of fabric along each edge. Maybe even a little more. Pin the fabric to the surface to control the placement of the design. Gradually tighten the upholstery, securing it with a construction stapler at a distance of no more than 1–2 centimeters. Depending on the shape, the fabric at the corners can be fixed as follows:

Furniture is one of the main elements of the interior. However, after some time, sofas, armchairs, chairs, wardrobes, chests of drawers and other attributes lose their usual appearance. IN in this case You shouldn’t throw them away, because familiar accessories can still last for a long time. To do this, it is necessary to reconstruct the furniture. This way you can update the stool. The process does not take much time. You can do it yourself.

Self-sewn covers for stools will create an atmosphere of coziness and comfort in your home.

Instructions for replacing upholstery on chairs

One of the simplest and original ways To update a stool with your own hands is to replace the upholstery. Exists large selection tissue for this procedure. To carry out the work, you need to prepare all the tools:

  • textile;
  • scissors;
  • hammer;
  • foam;
  • sandpaper;
  • screwdriver;
  • special stapler.

To completely renew a stool, you need to clean it of the old coating.

Tools for repairing a stool: gloves, a set of rasps, a hacksaw, a ruler.

To do this, you need to unfasten all connecting elements. If the chair already has upholstery, then it must also be removed. All screws and bolts are separated. Craftsmen perform this procedure using a screwdriver and a hammer.

The next step is to free the surface from the old coating. This can be done using sandpaper. Thanks to this work, all gaps and cracks will be removed from the surface.

To replace the upholstery, you need to select a fabric. The material must be dense, wear-resistant and reliable. Therefore, experts recommend purchasing linen, tapestry, thick cotton, velor or artificial leather for these purposes. These materials must be cut according to the prepared pattern with a margin. And if you make a cover out of fabric, it will be convenient to remove and wash.

To the base of the stool you need to attach foam rubber, cut to the size of the seat. You can fix the material using a construction stapler. Then the fabric is stretched over the surface. Attach the product with nails or staples.

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