To reupholster a bar stool with a back, you separate the stool into its parts, cover the seat first, then the back panel, and reassemble everything in reverse order. In practice that means unscrewing the seat pad from the frame, removing the back panel or its outer cover, stripping the old fabric while keeping it as a template, replacing tired foam or wadding, then pulling new fabric taut and stapling it to the underside of each board. A stool with a back takes longer than a plain round stool because the backrest usually has two faces to cover, but the method itself is simple and needs no specialist workshop.
Most upholstered stools sold in the UK are built to be taken apart. Look underneath and you will normally find four to six screws holding the seat board to the frame, and either a second set of screws inside the back or a stapled outer panel that lifts away once the staples are removed. Once those parts are separated, you are working with flat boards rather than an awkward three dimensional shape, which is what makes the job manageable at a kitchen table.
Gather everything first, because stopping halfway through a taut pull is how creases set in. You will want a staple gun with 8mm or 10mm staples, a flathead screwdriver or staple remover, pliers, sharp fabric scissors, a screwdriver or cordless drill for the frame screws, and a marker for tracing. For materials, allow around one metre of upholstery fabric for a single stool with a back, plus new foam if the old pad has flattened, and a layer of polyester wadding to soften the edges.
Fabric choice matters more than most people expect. Upholstery weight fabric with a tight weave holds a staple line and resists the constant scuffing that happens at a breakfast bar. Dress fabrics tear at the staples and stretch unevenly across a curved seat. If you are matching your stools to seating elsewhere in the room, it helps to hold your sample against the tones you already have in your modern living room furniture UK range so the finish reads as intentional rather than accidental.
Turn the stool upside down and rest it on a towel to protect the frame. Photograph the underside before you touch anything, because the order of washers and spacers is easy to forget. Remove the seat screws and lift the seat board away. If the back has a separate outer panel, run a staple remover along its edge and lift the panel free in one piece rather than tearing it, since it doubles as a pattern later.
Keep every screw in a small pot. Loose fixings are the most common reason a rebuilt stool feels wobbly afterwards. If any screw thread looks worn or the hole has widened, plan to fit a slightly longer screw of the same gauge when you reassemble.
Work the old staples out with pliers, moving around the board rather than along one side, so the fabric releases evenly. Peel the cover back slowly and note how the corners were folded. Those folds tell you exactly how the factory handled the curve, and copying them is far easier than inventing your own method.
Lay the old cover flat and use it as a template on your new fabric, adding around 5cm all round for the pull. Mark the centre point of each edge on both the template and the new piece. Those marks keep the pattern square when you start stapling, which is essential on stripes, checks and any fabric with a visible weave direction.
Foam compresses over years of daily use, and no amount of new fabric will disguise a flat pad. Press the centre of the seat with your palm: if it feels noticeably softer than the edges, replace it. High density foam of around 50mm suits a seat that is used every day, while 25mm is enough for the back panel, which takes far less load.
Cut foam with a long bladed knife in one continuous stroke rather than sawing, then bond it to the board with spray adhesive. Wrap the foam in a single layer of wadding and staple that to the underside first. Wadding rounds off the hard foam edge and stops the fabric from wearing thin along the rim, which is where most covers fail first.
Centre the fabric face down, place the padded board on top, then bring one edge up and put a single staple in the middle. Move to the opposite edge, pull firmly and staple again. Repeat on the two remaining sides. With four anchor staples holding the tension, you can work outwards from each centre point, easing the fabric as you go and keeping the weave straight.
Corners need patience. On a round seat, gather the surplus into a series of small even pleats rather than one large fold. On a square seat, pull the corner point in first, then fold each side over it like wrapping a parcel. Trim the excess only once you are happy, leaving about 15mm inside the staple line so nothing frays.
The backrest is the part that separates this job from a simple seat pad. Cover the inner face first, wrapping the fabric around the board edges and stapling on the reverse. Then cut the outer piece, fold its edges under to create a clean hem, and either staple it into the rear frame rebate or fix it with slim gimp pins along the folded edge.
If your stool has a curved or waisted back, cut small notches into the fabric allowance so it can follow the shape without puckering. Notches release tension exactly where the curve tightens. Work slowly here, because the back of a stool sits at eye level in an open kitchen and any wrinkle shows more than one on the seat.
Bring the parts back together in the reverse order, tightening screws by hand at first so you can feel the thread bite. Sit on the stool and shift your weight side to side. A slight creak usually means one screw is under tightened, not that the frame has failed. Check that the seat sits level and that the back leans at the same angle it did before.
Finish by wiping the frame. Chrome legs respond well to a dry microfibre cloth, while timber frames benefit from a light wax if the finish has dulled. A refreshed frame makes new upholstery look considered rather than patched.
Recovering makes sense when the frame is sound, the height suits your counter and you like the shape. It is less sensible when the gas lift has failed, the welds have cracked, or the seat board itself has split around the screw holes. Labour and materials on a badly worn frame can easily exceed the value of the stool, and the result still moves under you.
In those cases a replacement is the calmer choice. Our modern bar stools UK sale selection covers the shapes people ask for most often, from low backed kitchen stools to taller designs for home bars. If you want the softness of a recovered seat without the work, our fabric bar stools UK arrive ready padded, and our modern leather bar stools UK suit households where spills are frequent and a wipeable surface matters more than texture. You can browse the full picture across modern bar stools furniture UK sale or start from the homepage at Furniture in Fashion.
British kitchens tend to be compact, so the depth a backrest adds is worth measuring before you commit. A back typically pushes the stool 10cm to 15cm further into the walkway when it cannot tuck fully under the counter. If your kitchen is a galley or the stool sits on a route to a back door, a lower back that slides underneath will serve you better than a tall one, however comfortable it feels in isolation.
Think about light too. North facing kitchens flatten pale fabrics, so a mid tone with some texture holds its character better than a flat cream. In rooms with strong afternoon sun, deeper shades on the sunny side of an island can fade unevenly over several years, which is worth knowing before you choose a bold colour for a stool that always sits in the same spot.
Vacuum the seat and back with a soft brush attachment every couple of weeks to lift the grit that grinds through fibres. Blot spills rather than rubbing, and treat marks from the outside inwards so you do not spread a ring. Keep a small offcut of your new fabric: it lets you test any cleaner before it touches the stool, and it makes a neat patch if the seat is ever damaged.
Allow two to three hours for a first attempt, including stripping, cutting and reassembly. Once you have done one, a matching stool usually takes around ninety minutes because you already know how the corners were folded.
Around one metre of 140cm wide upholstery fabric covers a single stool with a back comfortably, including the pull allowance. Patterned fabric needs a little more so you can align the repeat across the seat and the backrest.
You can, but it rarely looks crisp. The old layer adds bulk at the edges, the original staples get in the way, and any dirt or odour stays trapped underneath. Stripping back to the board gives a much tidier line.
No. A good manual or electric staple gun handles seat boards without trouble. What matters is staple length: too short and the fabric lifts, too long and the points push through thin plywood.
Only if it has flattened, crumbled or smells damp. Foam that springs back within a second or two of being pressed still has life in it and can simply be wrapped in fresh wadding.
Most domestic bar stools hold between 100kg and 150kg, with gas lift models commonly rated…
Distance from the counter is not a single measurement but four working together: overhang depth,…
Taking a gas lift stool apart looks intimidating because of the cylinder, but the job…
A 9 foot island, or 108 inches, comfortably seats four bar stools along one long…
Recovering round bar stools follows the same route as any seat pad, with one difference…
Building your own bar stools starts with choosing a construction method and drawing the stool…
This website uses cookies.