How to Reupholster An Occasional Chair With Tufted Back

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 An occasional chair is generally one that has an exposed wood frame and legs with an upholstered seat and back. Occasional chairs can be easily found in second-hand stores, garage sales, flea markets, and anywhere else that used furniture is sold, and they’re generally quite inexpensive. So by learning how to reupholster an occasional chair, you can save hundreds of dollars over purchasing a brand new occasional chair.

Occasional chairs come in all sizes and shapes, with or without attached seat cushions, with or without button tufting. More than likely your chair won’t be exactly like this one, but these directions should help you understand the general process for reupholstering an occasional chair.

For this tutorial, this is the chair that will be used:

 

Project Cost:

Approximately $75. This cost could vary greatly depending on the fabric you select, the original cost of the chair, and whether or not you have to purchase new foam.

 

Materials:

*You will need to determine on your own the amount of these materials that you need. Simply measure/count the existing materials (fabric, foam, etc.) and purchase a similar amount of new materials.
1. Foam for seat (I used 2″ high density foam for the cushion),

2. Fabric for upholstery,

3. Cord to cover with fabric,

4. High loft polyester batting,

5. Thread,

6. Polyester cord,

7. Large upholstery needle,

8. Buttons,

9. Pliers,

10. Hammer,

11. Spray primer,

12. Spray paint,

13. 150-grit sandpaper,

14. Scissors,

15. Hot glue gun (I recommend a real, adult-size, professional high temp glue gun with the big glue sticks. There’s nothing more frustrating than trying to do a professional-looking upholstery job with a tiny kid-sized glue gun and glue sticks that are gone with two squeezes of the trigger.),

16. Staple gun.

 

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