Restoring chairs

Learn how to bring old chairs and stools back to life

Almost every house has an antique chair or stool somewhere in the attic, whether it be a family heirloom or a favourite chair from your own childhood. Can’t bear to part with it? Then you can easily restore and re-upholster it with our tackers.

This is what you'll need:

old stool or chair (e.g. dining room chair or desk chair)
5–10-cm-thick foam material the size of the seat surface
fleece, dimensions: seat surface + 15 cm on every side
a hard-wearing fabric that is approx. 5 cm larger than the fleece on every side
tacker, e.g. the Novus J-17DA hand tacker, and fine wire (A-staples) and flat wire staples (D-staples)

And here's how it's done:

1. Remove the seat of the chair or stool. If necessary, carefully remove the old cover.

Restoring a chair — Step 1: Remove the old seat

2. Cut the foam to fit the seat.

Re-covering chairs – instructions — Step 2: Cut the foam to size

3. Lay the fleece over the foam and fasten the protruding edge to the underside of the seat with flat wire staples using a tacker. Staple two opposite sides first, so that the fleece remains taut.

Restoring chairs — Step 3: Tack the fleece in place on the back of the seat

4. Lay your chosen fabric over the fleece and fold it over the edges of the seat. Here, too, you need to staple down two opposite sides first with fine wire staples. It is important that the fabric lies smooth and taut on the seat.