I got this chair for $5 from a college student on Kijiji. It probably wasn’t even worth that much, but I wanted a computer chair to use at my sewing desk that didn’t have arms, was on wheels, and that raised up and down. I also wanted it to be cheap, so… done and done. I’ve been using it as I received it for the last year but I decided it’s time for something prettier.
This project shouldn’t take you the weekend. It won’t even take more than an hour. Mind you, I rushed it a little bit because my daughter Charlotte was having “one of those days” and demanded my attention for about 90 percent of it. Therefore, if you don’t have a teething, learning-to-walk, non-sleeping-10-month old, you should be able to pump out an even better version than mine in no time flat.
Since all computer chairs are not created equal, I will give you basic instructions on how to do this project and you can tweak where necessary to suit your specific type of chair.
What you need to reupholster a computer chair:
- Fabric (preferably home decor quality)
- Screw driver
- Scissors
- Needle and thread and/or…
- Staple gun
First you will need to take your chair apart (just a little) in order to expose the fabric edges. I would assume some chairs may not come apart as easily as others, but on mine the plastic back popped off the back rest once I unscrewed it from the base, and there was no cover on the bottom — it also just needed to be unscrewed.
Take your chair apart, don’t be scared.
Once you have the chair back and seat removed and the guts exposed, lay each one on your fabric and cut around making sure you make it big enough to wrap up and over the edges.
Use your chair piece as a template. Cut bigger than you need to be safe.
Pull your fabric tight around the piece you’re working on and attach however possible. In my case, I tucked the new fabric in under the existing upholstery on the back rest, then I hand sewed some rough stitches to hold it in place. For the seat, I stapled the new upholstery on with a staple gun. Depending on how stretchy your fabric is you may need to pleat it around the corners to make it smooth on the front. Play around with this until it is.
That wasn’t so hard, was it? It’s such an easy and quick way to make a room a little prettier. You can have so much fun with this project and use bright colored fabrics or use two different fabrics for the seat and the back. Be creative and see what you can come up with!
Tracy and Joc are sisters, wives, and mothers, and they love to make things with their own two hands. Read more of their great homemaking tips on their blog Little Boozy Homemakers. Read the original post on upholstering a computer chair.
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