Ugly Chair Renovation

 Look at this gloriously ugly chair.  LOOK  at IT!  (You are jealous, aren't you?)  I know you may cringe....Goodness knows that I have!  This valuable piece of crap furniture resides in my classroom, where I have to look at it everyday use it daily, or graciously bestow it upon my parent volunteers as one of the few adult-friendly sized chairs available.
Well, I decided got brave and totally went for reupholstering it!  First, I patched all the holes and refilled them.  Sure, I used cotton balls and duct tape...what else was there to use, since I hadn't prepared for that step, and I was AT THE SCHOOL?...but, it worked.
After all holes were sufficiently repaired, I removed the bottom seat and set to work.  I had found this gorgeous black and white damask table cloth-type fabric (with felt on the back), for under $3 a yard, at a big low-price chain.  Perfect for a cheap classroom makeover!   I simply laid the seat on it, face down, and cut around it to leave enough to staple gun to the bottom. 
It may have taken me around an hour to both repair, remove all the screws, and staple gun the entire bottom part, but goodness, what a difference!  I LOVED it, and couldn't wait to finish the top!

The top did prove to be a bit more tricky!  Since there are upholstery tacks hammered in, I had to pry everything out first, and then I could recover the top.  I also had to figure out a way to recover the flimsy chipboard-like backing....I finally settled on hot glue, which worked well.   Once both pieces were covered, I set to work, hammering all the upholstery tacks back in, and meticulously lining screws, etc., back up to put the chair back together.  I think for under two hours of work, that the results are amazing!  I am so happy that this is now what my chair looks like, instead of the baby-poo ugly yellow/green it was!  I am also glad that my first experience reupholstering a chair was on something of such low value.  Even though I didn't have any difficulties, pulling your material taut is a big deal, and corners can be tedious to stretch so they don't gap or overlap and look messy.  Hope this inspires you to try one on your own!  (BTW-I don't know how long the cheap covering will hold up, but it's WAYYYY better than the before picture, wouldn't you agree?
~Hoppy Crafting!


P.S.--Yes, I am aware that I "messed up" and made the top and bottom patterns go completely opposite directions!  OOPS!  I didn't realize that I had turned the top fabric until I was done with the top.  By that point, I wasn't freakin' redoing it figured the chair was looking a billion times better, so it was just going to have to be.  :)