Reupholstering a bar stool cushion means unscrewing the seat pad from the frame, stripping the old cover, replacing the foam if it has flattened, then stretching new fabric over the pad and stapling it to the underside. On a simple round or square drop in seat the whole job takes about forty minutes per stool and needs only a screwdriver, a staple gun and a pair of scissors.<\/p>\n
It is one of the more satisfying furniture jobs because the result is immediately visible, and because a tired seat pad is usually the only thing wrong with an otherwise sound stool.<\/p>\n
Look underneath first. If you can see four screws holding a flat board or a moulded pad to the frame, you are in good shape.<\/p>\n
Fully upholstered stools where the cover wraps the whole seat and back are a different proposition. Those need the fabric cutting away in panels and the new cover made to match, which is closer to proper upholstery than a weekend job.<\/p>\n
Moulded seats with no separate pad cannot be recovered at all. If the seat is a single piece of plastic or bent timber with a thin foam layer bonded to it, replacement is the only route.<\/p>\n
A screwdriver or cordless driver, a staple gun with 8 or 10 millimetre staples, sharp scissors or a rotary cutter, a flat head screwdriver or tack lifter for removing old staples, and a marker pen.<\/p>\n
For materials you need upholstery weight fabric, foam if the old pad has compressed, and a layer of polyester wadding to soften the edges. Add calico or a light lining if the fabric is pale, since it stops the foam colour showing through.<\/p>\n
Buy fabric generously. Allow the pad width plus 15 centimetres on each side, so a 40 centimetre seat needs a 70 centimetre square. That margin is what you grip while stretching.<\/p>\n
Unscrew the pad from the frame and set the fixings aside in a pot. Photograph the underside before you take anything apart, because the order of the corner folds is easy to forget.<\/p>\n
Prise out the old staples with a flat head screwdriver or tack lifter, working around the edge. Pliers help with stubborn ones. Take your time here rather than tearing the fabric off, since the old cover makes a useful template.<\/p>\n
Lay the old cover flat and check whether it is still a good shape. If it is, use it as your pattern. If it has stretched badly, measure the pad instead and add your 15 centimetre margin.<\/p>\n
Press the foam with your palm. If it springs back, keep it. If it stays compressed or crumbles at the edges, replace it.<\/p>\n
Upholstery foam is sold by thickness. For a bar stool seat, 5 centimetres of medium density foam suits most designs, and 7 to 8 centimetres gives a softer, deeper seat if the stool geometry allows it. Cut it slightly larger than the board, around 5 millimetres oversize on each edge, so the finished pad has a filled rather than a hollow edge.<\/p>\n
Cut foam with a long bread knife or an electric carving knife in a single steady pass. Sawing produces a ragged edge that shows through the fabric.<\/p>\n
Add a layer of polyester wadding over the foam and wrap it slightly down the sides. This is the step most people skip and it is what gives a professional soft edge rather than a hard rim where the foam ends.<\/p>\n
Lay the fabric face down on a clean surface, centre the wadding covered pad on top, and check any pattern is square before you commit. A pattern that runs off true is very noticeable once the stool is back at the counter.<\/p>\n
Staple the centre of one edge, then the centre of the opposite edge, pulling firmly to tension the fabric. Repeat on the two remaining sides. You now have four anchor points and even tension across the pad.<\/p>\n
Work outwards from each centre staple towards the corners, alternating sides as you go and placing staples roughly 3 centimetres apart. Keep the tension consistent rather than tight in places and slack in others.<\/p>\n
Corners need the most care. On a square pad, fold the fabric into a neat pleat at 45 degrees, trim the bulk inside the fold and staple through the folded layers. On a round pad, gather the fullness into small even pleats rather than one large fold, which keeps the edge smooth.<\/p>\n
Trim the excess fabric back to about 2 centimetres from the staple line. Leaving too much creates a lump that stops the pad sitting flush on the frame.<\/p>\n
Screw the pad back onto the frame using the original fixings. If a screw hole has stripped, plug it with a matchstick and a little wood glue, let it set, then re drive the screw.<\/p>\n
Check the pad sits flush and does not rock. A lump of trapped fabric under one corner is the usual cause.<\/p>\n
While the stool is upside down, tighten the frame bolts and check the floor pads. Doing this at the same time saves handling the stool twice.<\/p>\n
Kitchens are demanding, so fabric choice matters more here than on a bedroom chair.<\/p>\n
Look for upholstery weight material with a reasonable rub count rather than dress fabric, which wears through quickly at the front edge of a seat. Tightly woven textures hide marks better than smooth flat weaves.<\/p>\n
Faux leather and coated fabrics wipe clean, which is a genuine advantage where children eat at the counter. The trade off is that they feel cooler to sit on and can crease at the corners.<\/p>\n
Mid tones and subtle patterns hide daily use best. Very pale fabrics show every mark and very dark ones show dust and crumbs.<\/p>\n
If the frames are as tired as the seats, recovering may not be worth the effort. Comparing the cost of foam and fabric against a fresh pair from our modern fabric bar stools UK sale<\/a> range is a sensible check before you start, and wipe clean options in the modern leather bar stools UK<\/a> selection suit households that would rather not repeat the job.<\/p>\n Where you are refreshing the whole seating area, the broader modern bar stools UK sale<\/a> section shows heights and seat depths together, and matching the new fabric tone to nearby dining chairs UK sale<\/a> keeps an open plan room coherent. At Furniture in Fashion<\/a> we stock a wide spread of finishes so a recovered stool can be matched or replaced without a compromise.<\/p>\n Measure the pad and add 15 centimetres on every side. A 40 centimetre round seat needs roughly a 70 centimetre square of fabric.<\/p>\n Only if it stays compressed when pressed or crumbles at the edges. Sound foam can be reused with a fresh layer of wadding over it.<\/p>\n Upholstery weight woven fabric or a coated wipe clean finish. Dress weight fabric wears through at the front edge of the seat quickly.<\/p>\n It is possible but much more involved, since the cover has to be cut away in panels and remade. Drop in seat pads are the straightforward case.<\/p>\n 8 or 10 millimetre staples in a manual or electric staple gun. Anything longer risks going through a thin seat board.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Recovering a bar stool seat pad is one of the most rewarding furniture jobs, and on a drop in pad it takes under an hour per stool. The method is straightforward: unscrew the pad, lift the old staples carefully so the cover can serve as…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":57723,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3334],"tags":[17,5307,1533,5474],"class_list":["post-57721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-how-to-guide-for-your-home","tag-bar-stools","tag-diy-furniture","tag-kitchen-seating","tag-reupholstery"],"acf":[],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furnitureinfashion.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57721","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furnitureinfashion.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furnitureinfashion.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furnitureinfashion.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furnitureinfashion.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57721"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.furnitureinfashion.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57721\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furnitureinfashion.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furnitureinfashion.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furnitureinfashion.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furnitureinfashion.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Frequently Asked Questions<\/h3>\n
How much fabric do I need per bar stool?<\/h3>\n
Do I have to replace the foam?<\/h3>\n
What type of fabric works best for kitchen stools?<\/h3>\n
Can you reupholster a fully upholstered bar stool?<\/h3>\n
What staples should I use?<\/h3>\n