How to Refinsh and Reupholster a Dining or Accent Chair

I've been on the hunt for two accent chairs to go in our living room that I am in the process of furnishing.  I've been looking every free minute I've had the past two weeks hoping to find a new one in my price range so I didn't have to create another project for myself.  However, I had no luck and I was tired of looking.  So, last week I found these two chairs for $15 each at a local thrift shop and decided these were going to have to work as my new accent chairs. 



To begin my transformation, I unscrewed the cushions and began the tedious process of pulling out all of the staples to remove the fabric and padding.  I quickly tired of this process and ended up just cutting the fabric with a razor just before the staples, so I didn't have to pull out the hundreds of staples that were used to attach the fabric.  Big time saver. Make sure to keep the old fabric and padding to use as a pattern for your new fabric. 

Next, I used my sander and roughed up the surface. I then sprayed the chairs with Valspar's glossy white paint/primer in one.  These two chairs took three bottles.  I let the chairs dry overnight and then I applied a wax to protect the paint.  I used Annie Sloan clear wax.  I've also used Johnson and Johnson's on furniture in the past and it also works well. 

Next, I used my old fabric and padding as a pattern to cut out my new fabric and padding.  The fabric I used is actually from a table cloth that I found at Target for $10.  I purchased the padding at Joann's for around $8 (using a 40% off coupon).

I stapled the padding down first using my staple gun.  Then I attached the fabric.  I covered the underside with burlap at the end (forgot to get a picture of that) just to make it look more finished. Make sure to pull tightly to eliminate wrinkles.

Next, I screwed the cushions and backing into the chairs.  I had a few stray strings of fabric  on the back cushions that I just tucked back in using a butter knife. 



This is a time consuming project, but is an inexpensive way to create a gorgeous accent chair.  I was able to get two accent chairs $60 and a few hours of work.