Upholstery of an old armchair with wooden armrests. How to update an old armchair or sofa. We change upholstery ourselves. DIY recovery

12.04.2020

In the article I will consider the conditions, and possible options restoration and alteration of the Soviet armchair. I will tell you about the features that must be considered when restoring old furniture. I will write down the requirements for the necessary materials and tools. I will consider the types of alteration of the old chair, and provide original ideas to update furniture.

The main features of the restoration of the old chair

The process of restoring damaged furniture is not a partial restoration of parts, or a replacement of upholstery, it is giving a new look to an old chair, an opportunity to refresh. Alteration is carried out in the case when the legs stagger, the upholstery is erased, the springs stick out, or the structure is loosened.

A feature in the process of restoration is that it is quite difficult to produce it on your own, so this business is entrusted to professionals.

You can partially redo and restore upholstered furniture on your own:

dismantle the upholstery;
make a constriction;
repair or replace legs.

It is worth trying to restore furniture with your own hands with sufficient experience in furniture repair or with a lack of money for high-quality material.

Of the minuses of the restoration, one can only note the lack of professionalism in the restoration business.

Advantages of restoration at home:

cost savings;
the value of the interior item increases;
the interior is refreshed.

Necessary materials and tools

First you need to pick up a set of tools and materials.

You can use a standard set of tools, and a set of brushes and paints for a painter. Not available tools are purchased according to the recommendations of the master, so as not to harm the details during work. Furniture made of pure wood is afraid of floors, so it can dry out.

Required materials and tools:

chisel, spatula;
hammer, screwdriver;
stationery knife, wood glue;
set of brushes, roller;
acrylic paints, water-repellent varnish;
grinding machine, foam rubber;
stapler, sandpaper, new springs;
screwdriver, awl, large needles with silk threads.

The main types of alteration and materials

Restoration upholstered furniture, as well as the restoration of an old chest of drawers, it is divided into types that can be combined.

Padding

This method does not affect the restoration of the frame. Here the upholstery fabric is pulled. It is attached either to the old coating, which is not recommended by the masters, but this makes the chair voluminous. Or change the coating along with the filler.

High quality and durable fabrics

velor, velveteen;
eco-leather, jacquard;
flock, tapestry;
microfiber, chenille.

For the inner upholstery of the filling, a dense crinoline is suitable. The density and elasticity of the material will not allow foam rubber and springs to stick into the upper upholstery.

The stretch is done like this:

- parse chairs, even if it contains wooden handles or back;

- unscrew the bolts that fasten the legs to the frame;
- remove the armrests, disassemble the bottom;

- remove upholstery from the seat, armrests, back;
- the old upholstery is applied to the new fabric, the details are cut out according to the exact parameters;

- foam rubber is cut according to the parameters of the bottom with an addition of 2-3 cm;
- springs are attached to the bottom, then the filler, the structure is fixed with internal upholstery;

armrests sheathed with foam rubber and inner fabric, the back is restored as its bottom;
the details of the cross are attached to the frame, lined with outer fabric.

The constriction is made for a soft version. Furniture with presence wooden parts to be completely refurbished.

Upholstery

Restoration method for a chair with a rigid base. Seemingly furniture with clear geometric lines, upholstered with dense fabric with dense foam rubber inside.

Recovery requires:

remove the top lining;
remove the filler and its fasteners;
new parts are cut out on old parts;
the structure is checked for looseness, the damaged frame is replaced or restored;
the filler is fixed to the new base with a stapler, then the upper upholstery.

This method restoration is suitable for armchairs with a solid wooden base.

Repair

General view of the restoration work. Combines the process of upholstery, upholstery and complete replacement of the base. The design is checked for damage, the legs are replaced, a metal mount is added for strength.

Restore the surface with paints, varnishes, additional tools. This method of restoration is quite complicated, the chair is given to the work of masters.

What accessories may be needed

When restoring office chairs or models with movable wheels, casters or crosses are needed. In order not to injure the surface of the laminate or parquet, purchase sets of rollers with a mechanical lock.

Complete overhaul:

The master can update the chair more qualitatively, but it is possible to restore it yourself. It is necessary to choose high-quality upholstery material. Restore the appearance of furniture to match the interior of the room. Then there will be no need to purchase new furniture.

An armchair is an integral attribute of the interior, which is found in almost every home. A person uses this furniture almost every day, which leads to a deterioration in its condition. Such an operation as the repair of chairs will help restore the technical parameters of the design.

Features of furniture restoration

Furniture repair is a complex operation, which depends on the type of product and the breakdown itself. Today, such operations are rarely carried out independently. It is advisable to entrust the solution of such tasks to experienced specialists who will perform them much faster and better.

Restoration of furniture is the restoration of not only its functionality, but also its appearance. A feature of upholstered furniture is that it uses fabric upholstery. To repair the internal structure, the fabric will need to be dismantled or replaced. This operation also requires certain skills and efforts.

What can be done with your own hands?

Breaking the chair is not always a problem, as you can try to restore its condition yourself. There are several types of operations that are easily performed at home:

Padding. This process involves replacing the old fabric with a new one. This also includes changing the filler (foam rubber, etc.) and restoring the internal structure of the chair. If necessary, the wooden surface itself can be restored.
Upholstery. This approach involves upholstering fabric on the surface of the chair in order to update its appearance. Often such operations are performed with old rigid structures, the surface of which is not so easy to restore with paint.
Repair. This is general concept, which includes the previously discussed operations. But often this word is understood as all repair work related to the restoration of the state of the chair frame. This includes strengthening the structure with metal corners, replacing legs or seats, as well as restoring the surface of the material with paint and sanding.

To carry out all the previously described operations, you should not only have experience, but also stock up on a lot of special tools.

Accessories

Modern armchairs are made from various materials. The design of such modifications consists of many elements that can be replaced if necessary. Often, such chairs include office models that are equipped with a gas-lift mechanism. For the restoration of such products, several types of components may be needed:

Videos. This mechanism is made from various kinds plastic. When choosing this product, it is important to consider its purpose, connector type and method of fixation.
Gaslift. Almost all office chairs are equipped with this element, which allows you to hold the chair at a certain height. There are several types of these structures on the market today. It is important to pay attention to the type of mechanism that was previously used in the damaged chair.
Cross. Plays the role of a support element. Performed in the form of a 5-ray star, to which the rollers are attached. When buying, it is important to pay attention to the quality of the material and the way the parts are connected.

There are many other accessories that will be needed when repairing such furniture. This includes everything from small knobs and bolts to specialized fabrics.

How to drag and drop: step by step guide

One way to restore an old leather chair is to reupholster it. This process is quite lengthy and laborious. First of all, new fabric is bought. Padding can be done with leather and other popular materials. Some experts also recommend purchasing stuffing materials (foam rubber, batting). To simplify the hauling operation, you must also have a stapler, nails, hammer, etc.

The algorithm for solving this problem can be described in several successive steps:

At the first stage, the fabric is dismantled from the bottom of the chair. In simple models, this part is fixed only from below. But there are complex models, so it is important to initially free this part, and then proceed to the rest of the operations.
After that, the fabric is completely removed from the surface of the structure. It is important to do this consistently to avoid any damage to the elements. Please note that each element of the chair is covered with one piece of fabric. Therefore, it must be released sequentially, layer by layer. These elements should not be torn, as they will then need to be used as blanks for cutting.
The next step is to remove the old foam upholstery. To remove it, you should carefully unbend and remove all the metal staples with which it was fixed. Also try not to tear the material, which will later be used as blanks when replacing foam rubber.
Cut out the material. This operation involves the formation of new upholstery elements. To do this, use old pieces of fabric that were attached to the armrests, back and seat. The size of the new elements should be slightly larger than the old ones. This is due to the fact that it is not always possible to predict how accurately the fabric will lie. Therefore, it is better to take it with a margin.
This step involves fixing the foam rubber. Previously prepared pieces are sequentially placed on a specific part of the chair. If the foam protrudes in certain places, then it should be cut off. Thus formed appearance each element. Then a synthetic winterizer is placed on top of the foam rubber. After that, both substances are fixed on the frame with a stapler. It is important to fasten them so that they follow the contours of individual parts of the structure.
The process is completed by attaching the fabric. This operation is very similar to the previous one. But it is important to properly position the pieces on the surface. Before fixing, carefully align the fabric and stretch it. Initially, the middle part of the workpiece is nailed with staples. This is necessary in order to avoid distortions. Then each of the corners is sequentially stretched and fastened with a stapler.

How to sew yourself?

The chair upholstery process is slightly different from the upholstery, although in many ways it is very similar. This operation involves covering the chair with a cloth. For such purposes, only furniture is used that was not originally equipped with fabric upholstery.

Upholstery technology involves several sequential operations:

Before you cover a chair at home, you should stock up on some tools and materials. To perform such operations, you need fabric. As this substance, you can use products made from bamboo, cotton and other natural materials. It is important that the fabric withstand constant loads and retain its properties for a long time. You will also need a construction stapler, scissors, etc.
On the this stage you need to disassemble the chair into separate parts. This will greatly speed up the plating process. At the same time, try to remember in what order the elements were dismantled so that in the future it is easy to assemble the structure back.
After that, fabric blanks are made. They are cut out in accordance with the dimensions of a separate element of the chair. Try to use substances with a small margin in order to be able to correct the location of the material on the surface. If you are planning to do easy chair, foam rubber is placed inside it. This substance also occupies a certain volume, which should be taken into account when forming a tissue blank.
The final step is plating. Start it with small details, such as an armrest. The skinning algorithm is quite simple. Initially, the fabric is placed on the surface of the product and pulled a little so that it evens out. It is advisable to do this with an assistant, which will greatly speed up the process. When everything is in place, the material is nailed to the frame from the inside. It is important to constantly control the tension in order to avoid distortion.

All other elements are sheathed in the same way. If necessary, the material can be cut.

How to update old furniture: ideas

Old chairs are often very strong and durable. But after a long period of operation, they lose their attractive appearance. Do not rush to throw away such furniture, as it can be easily restored.

The technology for updating the chair depends, first of all, on its design. This can be done using several approaches:

Products from the 60s can be restored simply by changing the upholstery. This process is relatively simple. The main thing is to choose the right style of fabric. Some designers recommend using several color shades that will fit into the overall interior.
Restoration of the outer covering. This approach involves changing the paint layer on wooden or metal surfaces. It is used for armchairs made of rattan, wood, wicker and other natural products. This also includes the restoration of natural or faux leather(painting, cleaning, etc.).
Replacing certain items. An old chair will look original if you change the armrest in it for a product of a different shape. Similarly, you can do with the legs or back. It all depends on your imagination and possibilities.

How to repair yourself?

Armchairs today have different design, on which the algorithm depends repair work. If it's common wooden product then fixing it is pretty easy. A problem should be identified, which is often poor-quality fasteners or a violation of the structure of the material. You can fix this by replacing the wooden element (back elements, frame base, etc.) with a new one or simply tightening the bolt.

It is more difficult to repair shell chairs, which often have an external fabric upholstery. To get to the breakdown, you first need to dismantle the fabric. The process of repairing such chairs is much more complicated, therefore it is not always possible at home.

Office chairs are mechanisms that consist of several parts. There are many reasons why this design loses its characteristics:

Dropout of rollers. Often this can only be corrected by replacing the cross or these moving elements. It is important to first check what the cause of the breakdown is (broken hole, missing retaining ring on the roller, etc.).
Disruption of the gas lift. There are also several reasons here, including improper fastening of the piastres or malfunction of the control lever mechanism. Therefore, these attributes should be checked first.
Cross breaks. You can restore the health of this element only by replacing it with a new one.
The back does not bounce. The main cause of this problem is the violation of the integrity of the metal parts inside. Sometimes the spring mechanism also fails. You can restore the work only by replacing parts with new ones.

Do-it-yourself furniture upholstery is a laborious, long process that requires rich experience and skills. For this reason, many simply throw away old furniture without imagining that it can be restored with your own hands. If you are good at working with your hands and have a rich imagination, hauling a chair with your own hands will not be difficult, especially if you follow the instructions.

Restoration of furniture is the restoration of not only its functionality, but also its appearance.

Do-it-yourself new life for an old but beloved armchair

Making something with your own hands is a fascinating process that allows you to unleash your creative potential. It is not for nothing that in the age of factory production, handmade products are valued higher than factory counterparts. Such a thing will surely attract the attention of guests, will decorate your interior.

An old chair with torn upholstery can be turned into a chic exclusive piece of furniture.

Having decided to reupholster an old chair yourself, you are free to choose finishing materials, and you can also save on buying a new chair. Any design, texture, the only limitation is your fantasy and imagination. And also things made by hand are much nicer and closer than bought in a store.

Fabric selection, attention to detail

Variety of upholstery fabrics

When choosing a finishing material, first of all, you need to pay attention to how to pull the chair, as well as indicators of strength and wear resistance.

By choosing suitable material upholstery, pay attention to the presence of special impregnation. It will extend the service life, simplify the care of the fabric. Therefore, before buying, check with the seller about the presence of impregnation.

Required set of tools

Necessary tools and materials for sewing a cover

Consider a set of tools that is needed to reupholster the chair. Prepare them in advance so as not to waste too much time.

A furniture stapler is the main working tool with which the upholstery is attached to the frame. You can buy it at any hardware or hardware store, for a small price. To the stapler, you need to buy special staples of the appropriate size. It is better to take them with a margin so that you do not have to interrupt the work process.

Foam rubber or batting - if the old filler has lost its former elasticity, it is necessary to replace it with a new one. Sold at a hardware or hardware store.

Furniture filler - foam rubber

Batting for filling upholstered furniture

Flathead screwdriver or pry bar for removing old staples.

The minimum set of tools for repairing furniture at home

A hammer, pliers, tailor's scissors, an adjustable wrench - all this will be needed for the complete assembly and disassembly of the chair.

Sewing machine, tailor's chalk or bar of soap, for sewing new upholstery.

A sewing machine will be needed to sew a new chair cover

A metal brush, coarse and fine sandpaper - to update the external wooden elements, as well as varnish or paint of the desired shade.

Dismantling the chair before restoration

The internal structure of the soft chair

Having prepared the entire set of tools, you can begin to disassemble the old chair. First of all, you need to put it on its back to get to its bottom. Using a screwdriver, unscrew the legs and wooden armrests, if any.

We disassemble the bottom, for which we remove the old staples. It is convenient to pry them with a flat screwdriver and finally remove them with a pry bar. We remove the upholstery of the bottom, we must get to the back of the seat. After that, we begin to remove the old upholstery with pliers. It is important to do everything with extreme caution, as the upholstery will be needed to cut the new fabric.

Scheme of a chair for sewing new parts

To simplify the process, you need to mark the sequence of steps, this will come in handy when reassembling. You can also note which part, where it was, so as not to get confused. Since the upholstery is attached with staples, remove them with a flat screwdriver and a pry bar.

After dismantling the old fabric, you can evaluate the quality of the stuffing. If the foam turned yellow, began to crumble, it is better to replace it with a new one. If it just lost its shape, you can add a new layer of foam rubber or batting on top. In places where fasteners remain, they should be removed for a better fit of the skin or filler.

Wooden frame chair

The process of sewing a new chair

We take measurements, make patterns, leaving allowances for seams

The next step, using a tape measure, is to take measurements from the old upholstery, write it down separately. Then we go to the store and buy a canvas of the appropriate size. At this stage, you can choose the material, texture, pattern to your taste. It is advisable to take the canvas 10% more than the required length. In any case, it will be possible to cut off the excess, but if the length is not enough, it will no longer be possible to sew. For fabric with a pattern, specifically take more fabric to match the pattern on all elements of the chair.

Cutting and cutting pieces from the main fabric

We place the old upholstery details on the fabric, outline them with tailor's chalk, leaving a small margin.

Stages of sewing the side of the chair cover

If the fabric is woven or piled, pay attention to the correct direction of the pile: from top to bottom and back to front.

We replace the soft stuffing - synthetic winterizer or foam rubber

To create decorative folds, mark the folds of the fabric and use sewing machine. Before sewing, fasten each element to the frame of the chair with pins, check how it will look in ready-made. After a series of trials and experiments, you can proceed to the final tailoring. Having cut out all the details and brought them to the proper form, you can proceed to the constriction.

We make cuts on allowances in those places where one part is sewn to another

Padding: step by step instructions

Before reassembly and re-upholstery, the external wooden elements should be updated. To do this, remove the old paintwork with a wire brush or coarse sandpaper. After sanding these parts with fine-grained sandpaper and coat with varnish or paint of your choice.

We fix new case staples

Once again, try on all the details to the furniture with the help of pins: if everything fits together, you can start tight. We start the process from the place where we finished disassembling the chair. We fasten one end of the part to the frame with brackets, starting from the center, leaving a distance of 10 centimeters along the edges. Having fixed, we stretch the fabric with front side, check for the absence of folds. If everything is in order, we stretch it and fasten the remaining sides. Again, we check the appearance. If everything is in order, we fasten the edges of the upholstery to the frame.

Fasten with staples internal detail seats

By the same principle, we fasten all the elements of the chair, observing the reverse order of disassembly. As a result, the fabric will completely envelop the entire chair, and all edges will be folded.

We make holes in the case for attaching the legs and fasten the legs

A complete upholstery of furniture can take a lot of time, but the most important thing in this process is not to rush anywhere. It is important to note that different chairs its own characteristics, so you will have to figure out many details on your own. The final result will definitely pay off all the efforts for the hauling and will delight you for a long time.

Finished chair after do-it-yourself upholstery

Chair back restoration

We will separately consider the repair of the back if it was broken for any reason. After the complete dismantling of the upholstery, you need to determine the cause of the breakdown. These may be loose mounting bolts that need to be tightened.

If there is a crack in the frame, you can try to find a similar part and replace the broken one. Or personally carve a new one out of wood.
If the cause of the breakdown is a loose tie band, it must be tightened. To do this, remove one of the edges of the tape and evenly stretch, after which we fasten it with staples.
If the tapes have lost their former properties, it is necessary to replace them with new ones. The remaining excess is cut off with scissors so as not to spoil the appearance after the waist. Get a beautiful chair at no extra cost.

Video: Do-it-yourself furniture repair. Chair restoration.

At my dacha, there was a chair for a long time, since my grandmother's time. I always liked it very much, and then I came up with a plan for its restoration. Moreover, in recent years, "vintage" is becoming increasingly important. Then I decided to bring it home and update it.

So, for work we need:
- Stain (you can choose the color that suits you);
– Furniture varnish (we used varnish in a bottle);
– Screwdriver;
– Upholstery material (we used curtain material);
- Foam rubber (to give the seats a softer and thicker coating);
– Construction stapler;
– Wooden shield;
– Glue for wood;
– Drill;
- Vibration grinder.

1. First you need to disassemble the chair.

During our disassembly, it became clear that one part of the legs consists of chipboard and over time it dried out and began to crumble. This item was not recoverable. We decided to replace it with a wooden furniture board.
2. Now we need to sand all these details. This is the longest and most difficult process. Stock up on patience. We removed the varnish from the parts using a special iron nozzle on a drill. And then, the train was cleaned with a machine until the natural color of the tree appeared.

3. Then we cut out the details of the shape we need from the construction board and cover all other details with stain.

We chose dark color. Now we wait 5-6 hours until the stain is completely dry. After that, we cover them with furniture varnish.

We really wanted to preserve the effect of natural wood, so we did not want to achieve a thick and shiny layer of varnish. The drying time of the varnish is approximately from 22 hours to a day, it depends on the thickness of the coating.
4. After all the details have dried, we begin to assemble the legs. To do this, we needed to drill holes in new parts in order to connect them with the rest of the parts.

Then, using furniture glue, we connect all the parts together and leave for 3 hours for the glue to dry.
5. We proceed to the sheathing of the chair seat itself. We remove the old coating and take out all the nails and staples. We left the old foam rubber because it did not deteriorate much.

Our goal is to make the chair more voluminous, so we cut out the new foam and put it on top of the old one.

We cut off the corners of the new foam rubber so that the edges are not very straight, but slightly rounded.

After, we sew the old foam rubber to the new one so that it does not walk and does not move inside the chair.

6. Now you can fit the seat with material. Our chair is not a complex geometric shape, so we successfully managed to fit it in one piece, without resorting to sewing. Gently pulling with the help of a construction stapler, we sew it to the frame of the chair.