How to reupholster a wing back chair

I’ll soon be sharing the misadventures of my international relocation as well as the trials and tribulations that come with restarting in Canada after over 20 years spent living abroad but let’s kick off my return to Confessions of a Refashionista with a groovtastic garbage upcycle!

One of the most fabulous refashionista perks that I’ve (re)discovered about Toronto is garbage day. As householders are permitted to leave oversized items out for pick-up along with their trash and recycling each and every garbage day has the potential to be an amazing treasure finding adventure:

How to reupholster a wing back chair

Just look at that beauty left by the side of the road! Removing that nasty beige cover revealed a high end wing back chair that had definitely seen better days but was absolutely fixable:

Here’s my refashionista version of how to reupholster a wing back chair:

How to reupholster a wing back chair

I raided my stash and grabbed the 4 metres of thick fabric I’d originally bought for making some funky curtains (until I got it home and realized that the colours were all wrong for the room) + my tape measure and scissors.

How to reupholster a wing back chair

Full disclosure: I had never reupholstered a wing back chair, had no idea what I was doing and just let my imagination take over.

After removing as much of the original upholstery fabric as I dared I measured and noted the length and width of each side as well as the front, back and seat areas.

How to reupholster a wing back chair

I then grabbed my trusty staple gun and began my reupholstery journey by tightly securing that fancy new fabric around the front of the arms of the chair.

The front of the seat was a bit of a challenge. I easily affixed the bottom of the fabric to the wood on the underside of the chair however the actual seat area had nothing to secure the staples to so I ended up painstakingly handstitching the fabric around the interior of the front of the chair seat.

How to reupholster a wing back chair

The sides of the arms were straightforward and quickly completed by simply chopping the fabric to size, folding under the raw edges and stapling it in place. (9 to 5 in the background definitely makes picky work more enjoyable!)

How to reupholster a wing back chair

Once the sides were done it was time to ponder just how to recover that pesky backrest:

How to reupholster a wing back chair

After much deliberation I decided that the best course of action was to stretch a long piece of fabric over the backrest and stuff the edges around and in between the sides and seat of the chair then securely staple them to the interior wood of the back. Whew!

How to reupholster a wing back chair

At this point I was running out of fabric, akk! Luckily I only had the back left to do so I grabbed the biggest remaining scraps, stitched them all together and stapled them around the edge of the back of the chair.

How to reupholster a wing back chair

I wasn’t a fan of those visible staples so I snagged a roll of lace and my glue gun

How to reupholster a wing back chair

and stuck a lovely lace border over those unsightly staples!

How to reupholster a wing back chair

The worn out seat cushion cover was easily replaced by using the original as a template to create a lovely new cover.

How to reupholster a wing back chair

Lastly, the legs of the chair were spruced up with a fresh coat of paint.

How to reupholster a wing back chair

S o  M u c h  B e t t e r !

I honestly thought reupholstering this chair would be ridiculously difficult and time consuming however it turned out to be a fairly simple project with incredibly dramatic results! The next time you spy an unwanted piece of furniture by the side of the road stop, take a peek and let your refashionista imagination take over!

Update: I managed to thrift a bag of groovy vintage borders so was able to replace that cream coloured lace with some fab black trim, hooray!

2021 Update: The chair has moved house twice since being created and is still going strong & looking fab:

Need more groovy furniture & decor DIYs? Have a scroll though my Tutorials for the Nest and get upcycling!

Enroll in all of my rockin’ refashionista E-courses & discover how to live affordably sustainably, because being eco-friendly shouldn’t cost the Earth!

 Want to transform your entire wardrobe for pennies? Grab all of my groovy CoaR tutorial collections right here:

12 Comments

  1. Sharon l Martin says:

    Sure glad you are back. Missed you!

    1. Cheers! It’s great to back creating again!

  2. Wow! I’m drooling over the change and the fabric. Not a big fan of the white lace though, I’m thinking some red lace would make it pop. it’s not my chair but you definitely got me thinking of some possibilities at my house.

    Anyway, welcome back. It’s good to see what you are up to again.

    Hugs from Wisconsin!

    1. I really wanted to have either red or black lace but had to go with what I had in my stash for now. I do plan on changing it when I manage to thrift the perfect trim 😉

  3. Claudia says:

    What a fabulous refashion! I simply love the fabric.
    Good to have you back again on your blog, Sheri!

    1. Thanks Claudia, the fabric is not only a dreamy pattern but also super thick and sturdy, hooray!

  4. Angie says:

    So glad to have you back!

    1. Great to hear Angie! I’ve got loads of groovy projects in the works 😀

  5. Pam says:

    I have really missed your blog during your move. Thrilled to see you back!!!

    1. Thanks Pam <3 Life is slowly but surely getting back to a solid(ish) routine, hooray!

  6. Saeriu says:

    Fantastic work–it looks great! So glad you’re back. 🙂

    1. Cheers my dear! It’s great to finally be settled and sorted enough to get back to work 😀

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