Got a tear in that beloved couch you’ve had since college? Need a new easy chair, but only have enough money to buy one from the thrift store? Reupholstering furniture is a great eco-friendly way to do your part to reduce, reuse and recycle! Plus, you can preserve memories and ease the strain on your bank account at the same time ☺ This guide provides a few examples of fun reupholstering projects and some tips to help you through the process.
BENEFITS FOR THE ENVIRONMENT:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that three million tons of office furniture is thrown away every year!1 In 2005, a total of 8.8 million tons ended up in landfills (four times the amount of furniture thrown away in the 1960s).2 And while most furniture that has past its prime still contains perfectly recyclable materials like metal, glass, plastics, textiles and wood, usually only 34% of these materials are recovered.3
Cost: Buying new fabric can get expensive depending on the size of your project and the quality of the materials. However, when compared to the cost of buying brand new furniture, reupholstering is relatively cheap.
Time and Effort: Varies from low to high, depending on the chosen project.
Easy Projects
1. Lamp Shades
Lampshades are usually so, well, boring. I can only take so many pleats of off-white fabric before I feel the need to get out a seam ripper. The wire frame of a lampshade serves as a great base that can be covered with fabric or even an old map. Fabric should be hot glued onto the frame and then ribbon or cording can be used to cover the seams. 5;6
2. Bulletin Boards
Bulletin boards are usually made of corkboard, but fabric can be used to cover cork and add a bit of color to your office. Simply cover an old bulletin board with the fabric of your choice and add a picture frame that is sized to fit.7;8
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3. Guitar and Camera Straps
Although guitar and camera straps are not technically furniture, they can become worn-out from use and are easily recovered.
Moderate Difficulty Projects
1. Stools and Kitchen Chairs
Many are surprised to learn that stools and kitchen chairs can be recovered without any sewing, here’s how:
- Seats are usually screwed on, so the first step in recovering them is to unscrew the seat.
- Next, remove the fabric and make sure that the foam on the seat is still intact.
- Cover the seat with fabric by stapling it to the seat bottom.
- If the wood or metal of the furniture is beat-up, sand and stain or paint the wood to give it new life.
- Finally, re-screw the cushion to the chair.10
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2. Headboards
Upholstered headboards can add comfort and color to your bedroom, plus they can easily be updated when you decide to change your comforter.
- To begin, cut a piece of plywood to whatever size and shape you desire.
- Cover one side of the plywood with a layer of foam.
- Use the headboard as a template to cut out a layer of batting that can be attached to the board with staples on the back side of the board.
- Once your batting is secure lay fabric over top of the batting. Staple gun the fabric into place, pulling taught so you get a nice wrinkle-free finish.12
- If you want to get really fancy you can use pegboard instead of plywood and then pull the fabric from the back to create tufts.13
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Advanced Projects
1. Walls
To create a plush look you can transform a wall by adding tufted upholstery.
- To start, measure the size of the wall that you would like to cover.
- The easiest way to cover the wall is to cover 12 by 12 inch squares of plywood with fabric, and then attach the squares in rows and columns to the wall.
- Cover each square with one or two layers of batting, then cover with fabric by stapling it to the back of the square.
- Finally, screw each square into the wall and cover the screw with a covered button.15
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2. Arm Chairs and Couches
The ultimate upholstery project is the classic armchair or couch.
- To begin, examine your piece of furniture. Recovering a whole chair can seem overwhelming at first, but as you look it over you will be able to figure out all of the chair’s secrets. Things that appear sewn are often glued or stapled, making the project easier than you first thought it would be.
- Next, figure out which piece of fabric you think should come off first and remove it by prying off the staples.
- After all the ratty covering has been removed, try not to look at the chair too much or you will become paralyzed with fear seeing a favorite piece of furniture stripped down to its innards.
- Now the fun part—picking the fabric!
- Lay out the old pieces of chair covering that you have removed and trace the shapes onto the new fabric. Cut out the pieces, leaving an extra inch around each segment just in case. Use scraps to make welting, trim, buttons and such.
- When you apply the new material, just reverse the order in which you removed the old covering—the last worn piece you removed from the chair will be the first new one to go back on, and so on.
- Use a heavy-duty staple gun to attach each piece of material. The covering should be tight, without sags, but not so tight that the fabric tears.17
- Trial and error is a good policy. If you don’t like how the current part of the chair is going, replace it immediately or forever hold your piece :p
- When you are done, stand back to admire your work and then visit your local thrift store to rescue more treasures!
Before and after.18
