Chair Rehab

One of the schools in my area has shut down and so all the old school desks, chairs, lamps, etc were being sold. I fell in love with this piece almost immediately because it cost $10 (!!!) and because I've been looking for an accent chair to put in my room.
FYI this was my first time upholstering anything so it's probably not the "right" way =)

Target Delano Armless Upholstered Accent Chair (Pictured) = $74.98

Chair ($10), fabric ($18), upholstery nails ($1), Old English ($4) = $33

Savings = $41.98

Instructions:

Buy fabric (Joann's - Pretty Paisley). I got a yard and a half and had some material left over. It's better to overestimate!

Remove wood plugs and screws from cushion until you're only left with the frame.

Eeek these cushions, put them off to the side.

Clean the frame. The frame was in fairly good condition so I used Old English wood cleaner. Two applications brought out the wood's natural color without having to sand or stain.

Cut the fabric to size. Consider how much you want to cover and how much fabric allowance to leave because you're going to be pinning and stapling. Do the edges then the corners.

Have someone (my uncle!) pull the fabric taut as you staple (staple gun) or nail (upholstery nails) the cloth on. If you're working alone, you can use adhesive spray to keep the fabric from bunching up and moving around.

For the corners, fold the edges like you would if you were wrapping a present. Consider what will and won't show. We are not aiming for perfection here.

The bald spot and nails will be covered by the frame.

Reassemble chair and...
Voila!

If I were a hardcore DIYer, I would have added or replaced the foam and batting, but I'm a cheap and lazy DIYer. You can take shortcuts as needed and still have an amazing product. Sit back, relax, and enjoy your new chair.

Tips

When buying furniture look at the structure of the piece first...aka the frame. Try not to get hung up on wear and tear or crazy colors because those things can be fixed more easily than the actual structure of the piece (I'm not a carpenter!). When looking at the structure consider size, durability, style, and function.

With the remnant fabric you can make some more inexpensive wall art!

XO Sarah