How to Paint & Reupholster Old Furniture

Spread a drop cloth on the floor and set the furniture piece over it. Loosen the screws holding the chair’s seat pad to the frame and set it aside. Add the screws in a zipper bag to use when reassembling the reupholstered pad to the frame.

Rub the surface of the furniture piece smooth with fine-grit sandpaper. Remove sanding residue with a tack cloth.

Apply a light coat of primer over the wood using a small paintbrush. Brush the primer in the direction of the wood grain. Allow this coat to dry thoroughly before applying another coat.

Smooth out the primer with 220-grit sandpaper. Apply a coat of paint over the furniture, using the same method that you followed for applying the primer. Allow the paint to dry thoroughly before applying another coat.

Turn the seat pad over to locate and loosen the tacks or staples that secure the fabric to its frame with needle-nose pliers. Collect the upholstery hardware in a small container instead of spreading them over the ground as you work. Do not damage the old fabric that serves as the template for the new fabric.

Spread the old fabric on the new fabric. Draw a dotted line around the fabric template to transfer its dimensions to the new fabric. If required, pin the template while you outline to keep it in place. Set the template aside and cut around the outline with sharp fabric scissors.

Spread the new fabric cutout face down on a level ground. Center and lower the seat pad over it. Extend one edge of the fabric taut over the back of the pad and insert a row of three to four staples to secure it to the frame. Leave 3 to 4 inches of fabric around rounded corners loose for later.

Grasp the fabric at the opposite edge of the seat pad and repeat the process of stapling it to the frame, leaving the corners loose. Staple the fabric along the remaining edges over the frame as well.

Fold the fabric along a corner of the chair into a series of 1/2-inch-wide pleats. Pull the pleated fabric taut and extend it over the back before stapling it to the frame. Repeat this process along the other corners.

Reattach the seat pad to the chair.