Summer Projects

I was given two 1930s chairs from a factory that was closing down. The brown velvet wasn't really to my liking so I thought they could to with a bit of a makeover.

First of all I unscrewed the seat and put that aside for re-upholstery later.  I stated with an electric sander but I didn't really like the noise and dust, it wasn't very relaxing!  So I changed to sand paper and block.  It was much more time consuming but I really got a feel for the chair and you sort of get into a rhythm.

Once I had sanded it down I did the first coat of primer. This was my first chair to re-do so I learnt from my mistakes as I went along.  My first mistake was painting the primer onto thickly, I needed a smaller brush.  On the next chair I watered down the primer. After each coat the chair was sanded down.  I found that it was better to do a thin coat then sand when dry.  It needed more coats but the finish was much better.

I did three thin coats of primer.  I was super eager to get painting, the first chair was a bit rushed and I learnt that taking time to sand in between coats had a lovely smooth finish.

Sanded down ready for first coat of primer

After four thin coats and sanding in between, I was ready to start on the seat.

 I started by taking all the staples out.  I took photos of each stage as a reminder of the order, so it would be easier to put back together.

I referred to a few upholstery books.  The base was good so I was ready to put it back together with new foam and calico.

 I cut the foam out and stapled it to the seat and then followed each stage from the photos that I had taken earlier.

 I had chosen two fabrics that were similar for each chair and stapled it to the base.

I finished by putting the calico base on.  On the 2nd chair I doubled the calico so that is wasn't see through.

Ta Da!!! My finished chair.  

It was so satisfying and I loved every minute.  On the 2nd chair I cut the edges of the foam so that I wasn't so square.