How to restore an old chair: tips from experienced furniture makers and a kaleidoscope of ideas. We do the restoration of chairs with our own hands: step by step instructions How to transform an old chair

This approach has many advantages. Here are just the most obvious ones:

• It won't take long, especially if you follow the instructions.
• Using old Soviet furniture instead of buying new one will save a lot.
• It will help to create new, at the same time, unique interior items that no one else will have.

The thing is that chairs, like any other pieces of furniture, are not something eternal. Even high-quality chairs are subject to aging and breakage, especially in cases where we, in one way or another, "help" them, inadvertently causing damage. So it turns out that pieces of furniture become unusable. Of course, chairs, being one of the most actively used pieces of furniture, suffer in the first place. In this case, as a rule, the chair seat is subjected to the greatest damage, while all other parts remain more or less intact and unharmed.

If you are interested in restoring old chairs with your own hands at home, then you can be sure that you do not even need to have any rich experience in decorating and repairing. It is enough to learn a master class on hauling, painting, decoupage and other options for reworking and decorating old furniture and you will be able to repair the chair. In any case, this experience can come in handy in the future, as you can upholster "grandmother's" sofas and reupholster chairs of about the same age. Thanks to this approach, almost any furniture is provided with a second life, and not just a place in a landfill or in a closet, as often happens.

Meanwhile, the idea of ​​repairing furniture has one more, albeit not the most obvious, plus. The point is how to restore old chairs at home will help not only to make something new that already seemed unnecessary. In addition, you can feel the pleasure of embodying your creative energy.

How to update a chair or armchair

First of all, it is necessary to recall that the method of recovery depends on the nature of the damage. If you try to highlight the main damage, you can identify the most common types of damage:

• Broken leg, problems with the back, seat or other wooden part.
• There is wear on the upholstery.
• The paintwork on the wooden surface has worn off (especially when restoring Viennese chairs).

So, the way the chair is restored will depend on exactly which part is broken or worn out. So, the scheme of restoration and repair should be chosen depending on the places (or places) in which there are problems.

It is often enough to simply connect the dispersed parts, restoring one of the connecting parts that could deteriorate over time. We are talking about the groove and the spike. The wear or expansion of one of them just leads to the fact that the chair gradually becomes unstable and begins to stagger on its legs. Repair, as a rule, consists in the almost complete disassembly of the structure with the extension of the spike. To solve this problem, you will have to, as they say, try.

On the other hand, if you need to restore a wooden chair that has lost its old paintwork, this can be done much more easily. If the varnish is cracked, you just need to remove it, treat the surface with fine-grained sandpaper. And then apply a coat of paint again. Or varnish, if you are provided with this particular type of coating. In any case, paint or varnish - it's your choice.

It is also quite simple to reupholster old chairs. To do this, you only need to replace the old worn or torn fabric with a new one. Let's take a closer look at the main stages of the restoration of chairs at home.

Recovery steps

Any chair can be made new. However, for this it is necessary to know at least in general terms the sequence of work. If you do not have experience in doing such things, then for this it is recommended to study at least a short master class, which will be discussed below.

Preparatory stage

With the proper approach, even if the upholstery is torn, the legs are loose, the old varnish or paint is partially or completely cracked, it can be completely transformed by doing the restoration yourself. First of all, you will need the minimum required set of tools and materials:

1. Tools for restoring a chair: a screwdriver, a hammer, 2 different screwdrivers, scissors, a brush, a clamp, a stapler, sandpaper, a small mallet and scissors.
2. Materials: screws (self-tapping screws), staples for a stapler, glue for wooden furniture, foam rubber, paint and varnish, upholstery fabric.

After preparing the materials, try to clean the chair from dirt and dust by washing it thoroughly. To do this, you can wipe the chair with a slightly dampened sponge.

Disassembly

Before restoring the chair, it must be disassembled. After waiting for the chair to dry after wiping with a damp sponge, you can proceed to disassemble it. The seats and back, as a rule, are removed quite simply, after which the frame is disassembled. Use a rubber mallet rather than a metal mallet to prevent damage to the components when knocking them out. In any case, work should be done very carefully.

If the table is assembled with screws or screws, then it is not difficult to disassemble it, since you just need to unscrew them. In any case, it is advisable to dismantle all the parts, as they may interfere with the repair. In this case, if there is such an opportunity, designate the details of the fasteners or simply fold them in such a way that you cannot later confuse them.

As for how best to remove the remnants of old glue, especially epoxy. Those places where there are glue residues must be covered with pre-moistened rags or sponges. Any old and unnecessary rags will do. Keep it on the parts of the chair until the glue is completely soaked, after which it can be scraped off fairly quickly with a knife.

Please note! For this job, it is better to find an old dull knife, since it makes no sense to use a new one or a well-sharpened one.

In any case, after you have finished getting rid of the old glue, you will need to leave some time for the wooden parts to dry. In cases where epoxy has got into a hard-to-reach place, it can be removed in much the same way, with the only difference being that steam will need to be used instead of water. If you do not have any special devices that create hot steam under pressure, you can use the old grandfather's "method", which involves using a hose with a tip that is put on the kettle's spout.

Step by step recovery instructions

So, after the preparation has been completed, we can proceed directly to the restoration of the old chair. Here's what you have to do:

1. First of all, get rid of chips and possible cracks. This is done with putty.
2. Then carefully sand the wood with sandpaper, first with coarse and then with fine grit, so that the work surface becomes smooth.
3. Take a good look at the stele and all its details. If the legs are wobbly, then this needs to be addressed. There are several options: either using a wedge (it is driven in from the end of the trunnion), or wrapping the trunnion with a bandage, followed by coating with glue.
4. If the legs of the chair are very loose, but, for one reason or another, could not be dismantled, then there is one way that helps to solve the problem. So, you need to drill a thin hole at the junction, and then pour glue into it using a syringe.
5. In order for the glue to "take" better and the connection to become reliable, put any available weight on the seat and wait until the glue is completely dry.
6. After that, the seat of the chair is restored, if necessary. It can consist of both soft upholstery and be made of wood. It all depends on the design of the chair. As for the alteration of the frame, you can use several different finishes for it, ranging from varnishing or red to such a rare technique as decoupage.

By the way! Alternatively, you can sew covers. This will not only update the old chair, but also make it attractive due to the interchangeable design of the covers.

DIY recovery

And now let's see what can be done with antique chairs during restoration and how best to decorate them.

Decor with fabric

To make such a decoration is quite simple. You need to either reupholster old soft spots or sew covers. By the way, a similar approach can be applied to sofas and other pieces of furniture.

Backrest update

There are different options. Among the most common ones that can give chairs new life are decoupage and the use of textiles (including denim).

Upholstery restoration

The main thing in this case is the choice of high-quality and durable fabric. These include: jute, tapestry and jacquard. Sometimes velor is also suitable. Upholstery of chairs using tapestry is a wonderful technique, which, by the way, gives an excellent result in the end. By the way, you can add a pattern woven using the macrame method to the fabric.

We use macrame for decoration

If we talk about macrame in a little more detail, then it should be noted that this can be done even if you do not have weaving skills with this method.

One possibility is that if the back of the old chair is upholstered, remove the upholstery and weave a simple mesh with a square section. By the way, the cell size can be both large and small. To give the updated chair a more harmonious appearance, you can also redo the seat upholstery.

Decoupage technique

This option can make your chair a real decoration. Using this method, you can finish a lot of things by doing various crafts, up to decorating a box for souvenirs. So, you can extend the life of antique chairs, however, only if all their structural elements are made of wood.

jute decoration

And finally, I would like to say a few words about how you can decorate an old, for example, Soviet chair, if you have unnecessary or torn jeans. There are two options for decorating: completely redraw the chair with jute, and use denim as an additional decoration. It can be a strip or a small patch.

Do not rush to throw away old furniture. From a “four-legged friend” battered by life and honed by moths, you can get a real work of art with just a little effort and imagination. Today you will learn how to update an old chair with your own hands to give freshness and newness to your home interior.

Method number 1: decorating a chair with paint

Not only a real “old man’s” Soviet chair, but also a wooden “Viennese” and a folding country version are easily transformed with paint.

Coloring technology

To paint old chairs, you will need:

• acrylic paint;
• flat brushes made of synthetics (separately for varnish, paint and putty);
• gloves;
• putty;
• white spirit (for metal);
• lacquer remover (for lacquered models);
• matte varnish or wax;
• fine to medium grit sandpaper.

Restore old chairs according to this scheme:

1. The first step is to prepare the furniture for painting: wash, sand with sandpaper. The surface should remain slightly rough.
2. It is better to degrease the iron model with white spirit before painting.
3. Treat lacquered furniture with a special lacquer remover.
4. Mask all cracks and scratches on the surface of the legs and back with furniture putty.
5. After that, paint the entire surface of the furniture in 2-3 layers, waiting for the complete drying of each layer. Open the product with varnish.

Interesting! If you want to achieve an interesting worn effect, then initially apply a dark shade of paint to certain areas, and then cover them with wax. Paint the entire area with the desired shade in 2 coats, and then go over the previously marked areas with fine-grained sandpaper to “expose” the dark areas.

• If you have not decided what color to paint the furniture in, then you can not go wrong by choosing a bright white shade. This color is versatile and goes well with all bright upholstery materials.

New! Chalk paints are a newfangled type of colorants that are not yet very common in stores, but we recommend using them because of the bright colors and super-fast drying.

• Use masking tape to paint individual areas of the surface.

Method number 2: seat constriction

Do-it-yourself restoration of old chairs by the method of constriction is the second most common technique after paint.

Interesting! Even if the stool does not have a comfortable soft seat, you can make it yourself.

Tightening process technology

For work you will need:

• dense upholstery fabric;
• furniture stapler;
• screwdriver or screwdriver;
• tape measure;
• self-tapping screws;
• overlocker for processing edges or a sewing machine.

An old upholstered chair is restored in this way:

1. Turn the product over, laying it with a seat on the work surface. Using a screwdriver or screwdriver, unscrew the soft part from the frame of the product. If it is screwed not on self-tapping screws, but on nails, then pull them out with pliers.
2. Measure the width and length of the seat, add 7 cm to each value, open the part from the new fabric. Finish the edges of the fabric blank on a sewing machine or overlocker.
3. Lay the pattern face down on your work surface. Place the seat on it with the wrong side towards you. Make sure that the distance of future bends of the pattern is the same on all sides.
4. Bend and fasten two opposite sides of the upholstery fabric to the seat with a stapler. At the same time, slightly stretch the material. The staples of the stapler are fastened in steps of at least 10 cm, and the corners are not yet fixed.
5. Do the same with the rest of the sides.
6. Lastly, pull the corners into the center of the seat and also secure with staples.
7. Install the seat on the frame, fasten again with self-tapping screws. If initially it was held with nails, then it makes sense to replace them with self-tapping screws.

• A soft seat can be decorated with beautiful furniture carnations around the perimeter.

• Choose upholstery so that it matches the style of the stool. So classic jacquard does not look on modern designer furniture, and an old wooden chair with a back and patterns looks strange with geometric print upholstery.

• Often, chairs look perfect if their style uses the same fabric from which the curtains or curtains in the room are sewn.

The match looks harmonious.

Method number 3: sewing a cover with gathers in the corners

A clear advantage of sewing a cover is that this method is much cheaper than seat upholstery.

It is enough to purchase 2-2.5 m of fabric, correctly make a pattern and sew.

The fabric is selected on the principle of wear resistance, as products are constantly subjected to increased stress, especially in the dining room and in the kitchen.

To sew a cover on an old chair, follow these steps:

1. First of all, you need a pattern. For measurements, you will need masking tape, paper or newspapers.
2. Attach a large spread of the newspaper to one or another part of the product, mark the outlines of the furniture on paper, remove the excess with scissors.
3. Prepare the second part, and attach it to the first, gluing it with masking tape. Having fully assembled the pattern, cut it in those places where the seams will be. Thus, you will get a more or less accurate pattern specifically for your product shape.
4. Remember that you need to leave allowances for the seams and take into account the fractional orientation of the matter, especially if it will have a pattern in the form of stripes or large flowers. Pay special attention to the back. It happens that in order to recreate the exact bends, you will have to cut out a separate part along its side. If you do not have a goal to convey all the frills, it is enough to make wide allowances of 5-7 cm along the side cut of the back.

Important! It is better not to make the back cover very narrow, otherwise you simply will not be able to put it on the chair. Cut the back part wide or flared, then fold the excess into a pleat, and tie a beautiful bow at the back. If you like a "stretched" cover, then install a twisted zipper in one of the seams.

Method number 4: Decoupage of a chair with paper

Remaking old chairs with your own hands does not always require drastic changes. Sometimes a new chair will turn out from an old one if you mask minor defects, scratches and stains with an original fashionable print or beautiful patterns.

Decoupage will help you. Take:

• multilayer napkins with the desired print;
• PVA glue;
• a pair of brushes;
• scissors;
• matte clear lacquer;
• roller

To make original designer furniture out of old chairs, follow this algorithm:

1. Clean furniture, paint as directed in Method #1.
2. Separate the top layer of the patterned napkin, cut out the desired size fragment from it.
3. If you want to change the whole decor of the old chair: from the back to the legs, then randomly tear the napkin into pieces of 10x10 cm.
4. Lubricate the desired place of the future decor with plenty of PVA glue. Lay a cut-out piece of napkin on the desired piece of furniture, smooth it with a brush with the remnants of PVA, removing bubbles and smoothing out the wrinkles with a roller.
5. The top layer of PVA should be as thin as possible. Leave it to dry for a day.
6. At the end, cover the entire surface of the furniture with a transparent varnish in 3-4 layers, allowing each to dry.

As you can see, remodeling an old chair is not as problematic as it might seem at first glance.

Creative furniture decor solutions

• To give an old stool a touch of vintage, you can paint it pink, blue or cream. For painting, gold or silver paint is useful. On top of everything, apply craquelure varnish to the entire area. The effect of antiquity is created by small cracks from the varnish.

• An old stool will be saved by upholstery made of multi-colored straps. Weave them according to the “basket” principle, and fix them from below with self-tapping screws.

• Let your kids get creative with acrylics. Cover the result with varnish. You will not only receive designer furniture, but also a future family heirloom.

Now you know how to restore an old chair, turning it into an exclusive little thing for mere pennies. If you have other modernization ideas and restoration experience, share with readers in the comments.

Video: Restoration of an old chair

It is not always necessary to throw out old furniture; with your own hands you can perform work on its restoration or complete alteration. The refurbished armchair, table and stool are quite suitable for the terrace, kitchen, hallway. The alteration itself may include painting, seat upholstery, the use of beautiful and stylish covers.

Restoration of old furniture includes painting, seat upholstery, the use of beautiful and stylish covers.

The process of reworking with your own hands is not so complicated, it is enough to show imagination. Materials are usually used as simple as possible: for upholstery, you can take old jeans, pieces of unnecessary drapery fabric, remnants of linen for curtains. Buttons, beads, brushes are used. If painting is planned, then first it is better to inspect the surface of the item being repaired, it is quite possible that you will have to replace the chair seat or mask the cracks.

Before restoration, you should carefully inspect the stool for defects.

In addition to repainting furniture, you can also use beautiful fabric covers for stools and chairs to disguise old upholstery. The order of work is simple, but first you need to draw up a rework scheme. For example, you need to completely transform several stools for the kitchen, make them more attractive, comfortable, suitable for the overall style of the kitchen. First, the stools should be carefully examined, as they may be covered with cracks, chips. Further work can be divided into 2 options:

1. The surface of the stools is durable, there are no defects. It is only necessary to clean off the old paint, polish the wood.
2. On the surface of the wood there may be cracks, small chips. If such defects are identified, then it is recommended to fill the cracks with a mass of sawdust and PVA glue. If the damage is significant, then some elements should be replaced.

After the old paint is removed and the surface is repaired, you can start decorating. If all the furniture for the kitchen is made in light yellow, then the stools can be decorated in a darker tone, but with a pattern of contrasting details. You can choose light yellow covers, and paint the chairs themselves in light green color, use applications. For sewing covers you should take:

• piece of fabric at the rate of sewing 2-3 covers (according to the number of stools);
• fabric for application under the main color of furniture;
• threads, needles, scissors;
• ruler;
• chalk for marking or a special marker that does not leave marks after washing;
• iron;
• sewing machine;
• several sheets of paper;
• colored braid;
• primer on wood;
• brushes;
• acrylic paint;
• sandpaper;
• polyethylene film.

Work begins with the fact that the stools are completely cleaned of old paint, after which the surface is leveled with sandpaper. There should be no dust or burrs left. It is best to work by laying plastic sheeting on the floor so as not to stain it. It is on a horizontal surface that it is most convenient to work with materials.

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Working with primer, paint, upholstery

Before painting the stool, it is necessary to cover the surface with a special primer for wood.

When the stools are ready, it is necessary to cover their surface with a special primer for wood. One layer is enough, but before further work it must dry completely. It may take a different time, here you should pay attention to the recommendations of the manufacturer.

When the primer dries, you can start painting the stool. Various options are used. The simplest is painting with a brush, but it is better to use a roller for the seat and legs. The most convenient and economical option is painting using a special spray gun, which allows you to process even the most complex surfaces.

While the paint dries, which can take a few days, although most acrylic paints dry quickly, you need to start sewing the covers. If a simple design with a cloth is required, then it is enough to perform only cutting.

If you want to install comfortable chairs in the kitchen, then it is best to pre-upholster the seat with foam rubber.

A square is cut out of a large piece, the area of ​​\u200b\u200bwhich will be slightly larger than the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe seat. This is done so that the foam rubber can be carefully bent over the edge, attached with a construction stapler. Such a square can be used as a template for the rest of the stools to make it easier to work.

When the upholstery is ready, you need to proceed to the next stage of reworking old furniture. First, a pattern is prepared, according to which the canvas will be cut. There is nothing complicated about this, most often these are large rectangles that will be tied under the seat with ribbons. After the fabrics are cut out, you should carefully process the products with a sewing machine. A beautiful ribbon or braid is used for decoration. It all depends on what kind of interior is used.

Over time, any furniture loses its original appearance and quality. To solve this problem, it is necessary to carry out restoration work, independently or with the help of specialists. Most often, chairs are restored with their own hands. A master class and a step-by-step photo will help you do it correctly and with the highest quality.

List of materials and tools for restoration

Before starting work, it is necessary to assess the condition of the furniture and identify problem areas - damage to the body elements, deterioration of the paintwork or unsuitability of the connecting components. After that, you need to draw up a restoration plan - repairing or replacing parts of the chair, restoring the protective layer or improving the fasteners. Usually these works are performed in a complex.

Depending on the type of restoration measures, the optimal set of tools and consumables is selected. The minimum configuration should include the following components:

• screwdriver or screwdriver;
• furniture stapler;
• hammer, grinder;
• a sheet of plywood, preferably four-layer;
• varnish and stain;
• set of brushes;
• clamps for fastening chair elements;
• screws, self-tapping screws.

Do-it-yourself chair restoration

You need to get ready that all the work on the restoration of the chair can take from one to five days. Such a long period is due to the drying time of the paintwork. If you connect the parts at once, the probability of an uneven distribution of the protective layer will increase.

Structural disassembly

Removal of the casing is performed if it makes it difficult to access the screws. The brackets are removed using a slotted screwdriver and pliers. Then it is necessary to dismantle all fasteners. To do this, use a screwdriver or screwdriver. If there are wooden dowels in the structure, they are drilled out without damaging the bearing parts.

At this stage, you must adhere to the following rules:

• each part is numbered according to the location on a pre-prepared drawing;
• inspection for cracks or other mechanical damage;
• if necessary, take photos of the disassembly process.

Then you can proceed to the main part of the repair.

Processing with adhesives

To restore damaged parts, use wood glue. If permanent woodwork is not carried out, it is recommended to buy a small amount of adhesive composition. More often they use "PVA-furniture" in aluminum tubes of 50 ml. The average consumption is 100 g / m², the price is from 45 rubles.

The order of gluing parts:

1. After applying the composition, you must wait 5-10 minutes.
2. With the help of clamps, the parts are connected and are in this state for 1-2 hours.
3. Excess glue is removed with a rag.
4. After the final drying, the protruding composition is removed with a grinder or fine-grained sandpaper.

The adhesive can be used as a filler for deep cracks. It must first be mixed with wood dust. Then the chip is filled with the resulting mass.

Making a new seat

Most often, damage occurs in the seat structure. If they are irreversible, it is necessary to make a new one from plywood in terms of dimensions. Then, foam rubber is cut out to the same dimensions and placed on the top of the seat.

It is best to buy a new fabric base. Its dimensions should be 7-10 cm larger than the dimensions of the seat. Then you should perform the following steps:

1. Foam rubber does not need to be rigidly fixed to the glue. It is important that it covers the entire area of ​​​​the workpiece.
2. A tapestry (fabric) is laid on a flat surface, foam rubber is placed on top of it, and then a seat.
3. The edges of the fabric are fixed on the back of the wooden shield using a furniture stapler.

Some chair designs have wooden side elements. They are dismantled before the upholstery process and then reinstalled.

Protective coating

To prevent the appearance of fungus or mold, as well as to update the appearance, a paint and varnish composition is applied to the surface of the parts. First, each element is treated with stain, and then, after a day, with varnish. The latter must be applied in 3-4 layers.

Alternatively, consider painting the chair. After the final drying of all layers, the structure is assembled. In the process, it is recommended to refer to the previously drawn up scheme.