I have reupholstered plenty of things over the years. Mostly easy chair seats, but I've tackled some tougher things. Shoot, back in college, my best friend and I reupholstered an entire Goodwill couch using nothing but cheap fabric, furniture tacks and a butter knife! So I felt adequately prepared to try something a bit more challenging. Plus, I had recently watched one of those two-minute facebook videos that showed how to recover a chair with a fabric back, so obviously, I knew exactly what I was doing, right?
I found my victim on facebook marketplace. A very traditional, but very dated chair with lots of potential. Just look at that orange velvet!! If that doesn't take you back to Grandma's living room circa 1972, I don't know what would!
After I negotiated the $60 asking price down to $30, I was ready. I bought fabric, foam, a button kit, and some nailhead trim. I carefully removed the original upholstery, taking pictures throughout so I could remember exactly how to put it all back together.
Then it was time for paint. I had some white chalk paint leftover from the kitchen cabinet project, and it has such a quick drying time that I thought it would be perfect for this quick and easy project. I was a little concerned about painting the rattan sides with a brush, but it went better than I expected. I just sort of smushed it in there with a brush, smoothed it out and smoothed out drips on the other side. Three coats later, it was ready for wax. I used minwax paste wax, and my same "smush and spread" technique on the rattan, and everything looked great.
It was time to tuft. First I had to make fabric-covered buttons. I had this easy little kit so it couldn't be that hard, right? Wrong. SO WRONG. It took me at least an hour to make ten of them since the button fronts kept popping off. There was cussing. Lots of cussing.
Once I finally had the buttons done, I covered the cardboard with foam, laid the fabric over it and put a few staples in the back to hold it in place. Then I began the battle to shove the buttons through the fabric and twist the 20 gauge wire to hold it into place. There was cussing, sweating and bleeding. And then a couple of the button fronts popped off after I had them anchored in place!! I was just about ready to say, "Tuft this!" and give up, but I was in too deep. After I'd wiped the blood off the fabric and repaired as many buttons as I could, I was one button short. Back to the fabric store, grumbling all the way.
I hate you, stupid lower right button!!
Once the tufting was finally finished to the best of my meager ability, it was time to move on to upholstery. I'll spare you the details of how many times I had to rip out staples and start over again- mostly because I lost count. When I finally got the fabric all stapled on as straight as I could manage, I realized that I had forgotten to put in the layer of cotton batting that goes between the cardboard and the back piece of fabric. D'oh!!
Saggy, wrinkled, and no batting
(shrug)
There was no way I was going back at this point, so I forged ahead. I used nailhead trim to cover the staples and the unfinished edge of fabric. That was fairly easy, and as long as you don't look too closely at the fabric poking through, it looks okay.
See my assistant peeking under the chair?
The hard part was done, right? The seat would be easy-peasy, right? Of course not!!!! I cut the foam, I covered the seat, I put 600 staples in it, and I set it in the chair. It was too small. I had pulled the fabric too tight and compressed the foam too much, and I had about two inches of space around the entire thing. ARRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Remove 600 staples, cover it AGAIN, and shove that stupid son of a.... (you get the idea) back in the chair. Still not perfect, but close e-freaking-nough. Once I screwed the seat back down, I realized there was a distinct ridge where the edge of the foam met the wood of the seat, but I just couldn't care anymore.
Ugggghhhhh, why????
It was done, and I learned that a two-minute facebook video does not make you an upholstery expert. I also understand why having something reupholstered is so dang expensive. Y'all, that junk is HARD!! But I did it- sort of. And my husband thought it looked good. In fact, he already put it to use!
It has filled its purpose as a cast-off clothing holder!
But, God as my witness, I will never try tufting again!!!!
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