To reupholster a dining room chair with a back, you work in two separate stages: the seat first, then the back panel. Remove the seat by unscrewing it from underneath, strip the old fabric and staples, replace the foam and wadding if needed, then pull new fabric taut and staple it to the underside. For the back, you either remove the outer back panel to access the inner padding, or if the back is a fixed upholstered pad, you cover it in place and finish the rear with a neatly folded panel or decorative trim. The whole job takes an afternoon per chair for a first attempt and less once you find your rhythm.<\/p>\n
Chairs with backs put people off because the shape looks complicated. In practice, most dining chairs sold in the UK use one of three back constructions, and once you identify which one you have, the method becomes obvious. Below we walk through identifying the build, stripping it down, choosing materials, and getting a clean finish on the corners, which is the part that separates a tidy job from a lumpy one.<\/p>\n
Turn the chair over and look at the underside and the rear face. You are looking for screws, staples, or a stitched panel.<\/p>\n
The first type is a drop in seat with an open timber back, sometimes with slats or a cut out. Only the seat is upholstered. This is the simplest chair to work on because the back needs nothing beyond a clean and a polish.<\/p>\n
The second type has a separate upholstered back pad fixed to the frame with screws from the rear. You unscrew the pad, work on it flat on a table like a large seat, and screw it back on. This is genuinely straightforward.<\/p>\n
The third type is a fully upholstered chair where seat and back flow into one another with no visible fixings. Here the outer back is a separate piece of fabric held with staples, tacks, or back tacking strip, hidden under piping or a stitched edge. You remove that outer panel to reach everything else. This one takes the longest but is still within reach for a patient beginner.<\/p>\n
Take photographs before you remove anything. When you are three hours in and cannot remember which way the fabric folded at the rear leg, those photos save the job.<\/p>\n
Use a staple remover or a flathead screwdriver and pliers. Work slowly along each edge, lifting staples rather than tearing fabric. Keep the old fabric intact if you can, because it becomes your pattern. Lay each piece flat, label the back of it with chalk, and note which edge sat where.<\/p>\n
Under the fabric you will usually find wadding, then foam, then either a solid base or webbing. Inspect the webbing closely. If the straps sag, feel brittle, or have pulled away from the frame, replace them before you go any further. New fabric over tired webbing gives you a seat that dips within months.<\/p>\n
Dining chairs take daily contact, so upholstery weight fabric matters more than colour. Look for a woven fabric with a rub count suited to domestic use. Cotton blends, wool mixes, heavyweight linens, and performance velvets all behave well. Very loose weaves and dress fabrics pull out of shape when you tension them over foam.<\/p>\n
Plain fabrics and small repeats are far more forgiving on chair backs, because a large pattern needs centring on every panel and you will need extra metreage to match. As a rough guide, allow around half a metre per seat and a little more for a chair with an upholstered back.<\/p>\n
For the foam, high density is worth the extra cost. A 25mm to 50mm layer suits most dining seats depending on how the original sat. Add a thin layer of polyester wadding over the foam to soften the edges and stop the foam profile showing through the fabric. If you are also refreshing the rest of the room, our range of modern fabric dining chairs UK sale<\/a> shows the kind of tailored finishes worth aiming for.<\/p>\n Cut your new fabric using the old piece as a template, adding around 50mm of overlap on every side. Lay the fabric face down, place the wadding and foam on top, then the seat base.<\/p>\n Start stapling at the centre of the front edge, then the centre of the back, pulling firmly so the fabric is taut but not distorted. Move to the centre of each side. Work outwards from these four anchor points in alternating pairs, keeping tension even. Check the face of the seat regularly, especially with any pattern or weave direction.<\/p>\n Corners are where most people struggle. On a square seat, fold the fabric into a single neat pleat at each corner, tucking the excess underneath so the visible face stays smooth. Trim the bulk inside the fold before you staple it down. Once all four corners are done, trim the excess fabric roughly 20mm from the staple line and, if you want a professional finish, staple a black bottoming cloth across the underside.<\/p>\n If the back pad unscrews, treat it exactly like the seat, with one difference: the rear face is visible, so the finish has to be tidy. Some pads are covered front and back with the same fabric, wrapped and stapled at the edges before the pad is refitted, which hides the staple line entirely.<\/p>\n For a fixed upholstered back, remove the outer panel first. Replace the inner back padding, pull the front fabric through the gap between the back and the seat where the original passed, and staple it to the frame at the rear. Then create the outer panel using back tacking strip along the top edge: staple the strip and fabric face down along the top, fold the fabric down over it, and you get a crisp straight top edge with no visible fixings. Pull the sides and bottom taut and staple, then finish the perimeter with matching piping or gimp glued in place.<\/p>\n Where the back curves, relieve the tension by cutting small V shaped notches into the surplus fabric on the underside of the curve. This lets the fabric follow the shape without puckering.<\/p>\n Puckering along a curve almost always means too much fabric in one place. Release the staples, notch the surplus, and retension.<\/p>\n A seat that looks flat and hard usually needs more wadding rather than thicker foam. Wadding gives the softened dome that reads as comfortable before anyone sits down.<\/p>\n Visible staple lines suggest the fixing points sat too far in from the edge. Move the line closer to the outer face where the trim will conceal it, or add piping.<\/p>\n If the fabric sheen looks different on two chairs in the same set, you have cut the panels in opposing directions. Velvet and any fabric with a nap must all be cut running the same way.<\/p>\n Reupholstery makes sense when the frame is sound. If the joints are loose but repairable, glue and clamp them first. If the frame is split, the legs are uneven, or the chair is a flat pack build with particle board rails, the labour rarely repays itself, and replacing the set is the more sensible route.<\/p>\n It is also worth thinking about how many chairs you are committing to. Doing one chair is a pleasant weekend project. Doing eight is a serious undertaking. If your set is tired across the board, browsing dining chairs UK sale<\/a> may take less of your time than a full refurbishment, and at Furniture in Fashion<\/a> we stock upholstered, wooden and leather designs to suit most dining rooms.<\/p>\n Vacuum the upholstery with a soft brush attachment every few weeks to stop grit working into the weave. Deal with spills by blotting rather than rubbing. Rotate chairs around the table occasionally so the ones nearest the kitchen door do not wear faster than the rest.<\/p>\nReupholstering the Seat<\/h3>\n
Working on the Chair Back<\/h3>\n
Common Problems and How to Avoid Them<\/h3>\n
When Reupholstery Is Not the Answer<\/h3>\n
Caring for Your Newly Covered Chairs<\/h3>\n