How Do You Reupholster a Leather Bar Stool?

To reupholster a leather bar stool, remove the seat from the base, strip the old cover and staples, replace any tired foam, cut new leather or faux leather with a 5cm margin all round, then pull it taut and staple from the centre of each side outwards before refitting the seat. A round backless stool is a two hour job for a careful beginner. A stool with a shaped back and piping is considerably harder.

The work rewards patience rather than skill. Most failures come from rushing the stapling, which produces creases that cannot be pulled out afterwards.

Deciding Whether It Is Worth Doing

Before starting, look at the frame rather than the covering. A solid timber or welded steel frame with a sound gas lift or footrest is worth recovering. A frame with wobble at the joints, a failed lift mechanism or split laminate will still be tired once it looks new.

Look at the seat shape too. Flat or gently domed round seats take a new cover easily. Deeply sculpted seats with tucks, buttoning or a wrapped back panel need pattern making, and the results are rarely tidy on a first attempt.

If the frame is failing rather than the cover, replacement is the honest answer. Our modern leather bar stools UK sale range covers both bonded and faux leather seats on steel and timber frames, which is worth comparing against the cost of materials and an afternoon of work.

Tools and Materials You Will Need

A staple gun is the one item worth buying properly. A manual heavy duty gun with 8mm to 10mm staples works, but an electric or pneumatic gun makes the difference between an even pull and a fight. You will also want a staple remover or flathead screwdriver and pliers, a sharp craft knife, a rotary cutter if you have one, sturdy scissors, a screwdriver or Allen key set for the base, and a marker pen.

For materials, allow a piece of leather or faux leather at least 15cm larger than the seat in both directions. Genuine leather hide is sold by the square foot and varies in thickness. Faux leather and bonded leather come by the metre and are more forgiving to work with, since they stretch evenly and do not carry natural marks.

New foam is optional but usually worthwhile. High density upholstery foam at 3cm to 5cm thickness suits most stool seats. A layer of polyester wadding over the foam softens the edges and stops the leather sitting hard against the corners.

Removing the Seat and Old Cover

Turn the stool upside down on a protected surface. Most seats are held with four to six screws through a mounting plate, sometimes hidden under a fabric dust cover. Note the screw lengths as you remove them, since mixing them up can mean a screw punching through the seat pad.

With the seat off, work around the underside pulling out the old staples. This is the slowest part and worth doing thoroughly, because a single missed staple will show as a bump under the new cover. Keep the old cover intact as you remove it: it becomes your pattern.

Inspect the seat board. Chipboard that has crumbled around the staple lines should be replaced with 12mm plywood cut to the same shape. Trace the old board rather than measuring it.

Replacing Foam and Padding

Old foam goes yellow, then crumbly, then flat. If it does not spring back when pressed, replace it. Use the old foam or the seat board as a template, cut with a long bladed knife or an electric carving knife, and glue it to the board with spray adhesive.

A slight dome improves the finished look. Cutting the foam 5mm larger than the board all round and chamfering the top edge gives a soft crown rather than a flat pad with hard corners. Lay wadding over the foam and wrap it just over the board edge before covering.

Cutting and Fitting the New Leather

Lay the material face down and place the old cover on top as a pattern, adding 2cm in case the original was cut tight. If the old cover is unusable, place the seat face down on the material and mark a line 5cm out from the board edge all the way round.

Check the direction of any grain or pattern before cutting. Faux leather often has a subtle directional texture that catches the light differently, and once stapled it cannot be rotated.

Now the important part. Place the seat face down on the reverse of the leather, centred. Put one staple at the centre of the front edge, then one at the centre of the back, pulling firmly. Then centre left, then centre right. Those four staples set the tension for the whole seat. Work outwards from each of them in alternating pairs, front then back, left then right, keeping the pull even. On a round seat, work in quarters using the same alternating method.

For corners on a square seat, pleat rather than cut. Pull the corner point in first, then fold the surplus into two even tucks on each side. On a round seat, ease the surplus into small regular gathers rather than large folds, and warm the material gently with a hairdryer if it resists.

Trim the excess to about 2cm from the staple line, then fit a dust cover of black cambric or lining fabric to hide the underside.

Refitting and Finishing

Refit the seat to the base using the original screws in their original positions. Do not overtighten into chipboard. If a screw hole has stripped, plug it with a wooden matchstick and glue, let it set, then redrive.

Finish by wiping the new surface with a dry cloth. Leave conditioners and creams alone for the first few weeks on genuine leather, and never use them on faux leather, which does not absorb them.

Caring for the Finished Stool

Once recovered, the covering lasts longer with very little effort. Wipe spills promptly with a damp cloth and dry immediately. Keep stools out of direct sunlight where possible, since UV light stiffens both real and faux leather over time. Avoid household cleaners containing solvents or alcohol, which strip the surface finish.

If the base is chrome, treat it separately from the seat: a dry microfibre cloth and an occasional wipe with warm water is enough to keep it bright.

When Recovering Is Not the Answer

Some stools are simply not built to be reupholstered. Moulded one piece shells, seats bonded to their base, and designs where the cover is glued rather than stapled all resist the process. If you cannot find a staple line on the underside, the seat was not intended to be recovered.

In those cases, or where you want a different look rather than the same one restored, changing material entirely is often the better decision. Fabric brings warmth to a hard surfaced kitchen and our modern fabric bar stools UK range offers that alternative. If the seating sits in a wider living space, matching it to existing upholstery from our modern leather sofas UK sale collection can pull an open plan room together more effectively than restoring a single stool.

At Furniture in Fashion we stock a wide range of bar seating with free delivery to most UK mainland postcodes, and returns are available up to 30 days.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take to reupholster a bar stool?

A simple round backless seat takes around two hours for a first attempt, most of it spent removing old staples. Shaped seats with backs or piping can take a full day.

Can I use faux leather instead of real leather?

Yes, and for a first project it is easier. Faux leather stretches evenly, has no natural blemishes and costs less, though genuine leather generally ages better under heavy use.

How much material do I need for one stool seat?

Allow a piece at least 15cm larger than the seat in both directions, which for most stools means around half a metre of 140cm wide faux leather per seat.

Do I need to replace the foam?

Only if it no longer springs back when pressed. Crumbling or flattened foam should be replaced, since a new cover over old foam will look tired again quickly.

Why does my new cover have creases?

Almost always uneven stapling. Tension is set by the first four staples at the centre of each side, so if those are not pulled evenly the creases cannot be worked out later.