DIY Thrifted Office Chair Makeover

05 May

Do you have a boring, standard-issue office chair?


You know the ones... they are usually solid fabric colors like grey, beige, black, or maybe even blue; they have a plastic base that you can see if you flip the chair upside down, and they are adjustable to be more ergonomic.


They are usually pretty comfortable since they are adjustable but... *yawn* 🥱 so boring!


Well, you can totally change that and it's easier than you might think!


DIY Thrifted Office Chair Makeover


DIY Thrifted Office Chair Makeover

If you saw my Craft Room Tour post and video, then you saw this chair. 


I found it at a thrift store for just $6.00! My work table in my craft room is taller than a regular table so I needed a taller chair.


I decided to reupholster this chair with a vintage barkcloth pillow cover I had.


Here is a screenshot from the video with the pillow cover lying over the seat. I was trying to visualize what it would look like covered in that fabric.


DIY Thrifted Office Chair Makeover


You can see in this picture that the chair was a little stained... and just boring, right?!

DIY Thrifted Office Chair Makeover

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Supplies Needed

To reupholster a chair like this, you first need to remove the chair back and seat from the rest of the chair and get the plastic backing off. The plastic should just pop off by slipping a flat-head screwdriver between the edge of the plastic and the fabric. You can see the little plastic pegs here once I popped the chair back off.

DIY Thrifted Office Chair Makeover

Once you have the plastic removed, staple the new fabric onto the chair pieces. 

I didn't remove the old fabric, it just adds another layer of cushion in my opinion but if yours is torn or if you are recovering a dark-colored chair with light fabric, you may want to remove it (TIP: make sure you don't cover over the holes where the plastic back attaches).

DIY Thrifted Office Chair Makeover

When you are upholstering something you want to center your piece on the fabric and staple just one staple on all sides. In this instance, I put one staple on the bottom edge, one on the top edge, and one on each side. Then continue around in the same manner adding a second staple on all sides, a third, and so on. Doing it this way ensures that your fabric stays straight and isn't pulling in one direction, distorting the pattern.

DIY Thrifted Office Chair Makeover


Look how nice that beautiful barkcloth looks!! 😎 If you don't know what barkcloth is, here's an excerpt from Wikipedia:

Today, what is commonly called barkcloth is a soft, thick, slightly textured fabric, so named because it has a rough surface like that of tree bark. This barkcloth is usually made of densely woven cotton fibers. Historically, the fabric has been used in home furnishings, such as curtains, drapery, upholstery, and slipcovers. It is often associated with 1940s through 1960s home fashions, particularly in tropical, abstract, "atomic" and "boomerang" prints, the last two themes being expressed by images of atoms with electrons whirling, and by the boomerang shape which was very popular in mid-century cocktail tables and fabrics and influenced by the Las Vegas "Atomic City" era. Source: Wikipedia

DIY Thrifted Office Chair Makeover

The backrest is then just screwed back into place.

DIY Thrifted Office Chair Makeover

Next, the seat. It will probably have a plastic strip stapled around the edge. Use an upholstery staple remover to make this job easier (although if you don't have one, a flat-head screwdriver will work too).

DIY Thrifted Office Chair Makeover

DIY Thrifted Office Chair Makeover

Then recover the seat the same way you did the back and restaple the plastic edging.

DIY Thrifted Office Chair Makeover

That's it! Pretty simple!


DIY Thrifted Office Chair Makeover

DIY Thrifted Office Chair Makeover

DIY Thrifted Office Chair Makeover

No need to live with plain, boring, or ugly furniture! I've had the barkcloth pillow cover for years, I've always loved it but it never quite went with the decor and colors in the rest of my house but it definitely goes in my bright and colorful craft room!

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DIY Thrifted Office Chair Makeover

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  1. Now that $6 chair has some personality and looks great in your fabulous craft room!

    ReplyDelete
  2. What an improvement! Love the barkcloth and it's perfect for the chair.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I just love backcloth--well, except for the atomic stuff. This is a beautiful piece of fabric and brings so much to your "craft kingdom."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much Vikki!! I'm still working on my kingdom! haha!

      Delete

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