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How to Upholster a Cane Chair

I thought re-upholstering this chair would be difficult.

How to Upholster a Chair {rainonatinroof.com} #upholstery

I was wrong.

Shocking, I know.

Now, I will teach you how to upholster a cane chair like this.

Aren’t you so excited?But don’t ask me about upholstering other types of chairs – I’ve only conquered this one.

Reupholstering a Cane Barrel Chair

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This chair started off like this:

How to Upholster a Cane Chair {rainonatinroof.com} #upholstery #canechair

It is one of a set that my grandparent’s had. My dad is holding the other one hostage and refuses to negotiate – something about how he needs it to watch TV in. He can’t sit in the floor? But now he is impressed with my stellar upholstery skills and wants me to re-do his. Hmmm…..maybe I will “lose” it. Is it possible to “lose” a chair?

Back to this chair. It has all the cream colored fabric on it because once upon a time, I thought I would just re-cover it with that without taking off the old fabric, but I wasn’t really in love with that fabric so it sat like this for at least a year.

Then, I found this fabric at JoAnn’s that screamed Jonathan Adler to me and I knew it would be perfect for the chair and the Summer Soiree Style Series.

How to Upholster a Cane Chair {rainonatinroof.com} #upholstery #canechair

First, I got out a flat head screwdriver and pliers and began pulling out all the staples along the underside and frame of the chair, which resulted in this.

How to Upholster a Cane Chair {rainonatinroof.com} #upholstery #canechair

I made sure to keep my old fabric pieces in tact so that I could use them as a guide for cutting out the new fabric. You should do this too, it makes the process so much simpler.

Before, I started upholstering the chair, it needed a new paint job. I primed it first with Rust-Oleum‘s white primer spray paint, then a couple coats of Rust-Oleum’s metallic gold spray paint and finished it off with Rust-Oleum’s gloss topcoat finish. Can you tell I’m a Rust-Oleum girl?

Spray Paint a Cane Chair {rainonatinroof.com}

Spray Paint a Cane Chair {rainonatinroof.com}

Once it was all dry, I brought it inside to get down to business. I laid out the old bottom piece of upholstery on top of my new Jonathan Adler-ish fabric and cut it out.

How to Upholster a Chair {rainonatinroof.com} #upholstery

After getting it cut out, I put it onto the seat cushion and adjusted it into place.

How to Upholster a Chair {rainonatinroof.com} #upholstery

Before I could start stapling it down, I had to take care of this place though:

How to Upholster a Chair {rainonatinroof.com} #upholstery

The main piece of fabric on the seat would not cover this area where the arm meets the base. So, first I had to cover it and then put the main piece of fabric over the edges. Are you with me?

Here’s what I did. I took small rectangle of fabric and put it over a piece of cardboard I cut from a box. I stapled the cardboard with the fabric on it to the chair like this:

How to Upholster a Chair {rainonatinroof.com} #upholstery

How to Upholster a Cane Chair {rainonatinroof.com} #upholstery #canechair

Then, I just pulled the fabric that was stapled with the cardboard down and stapled it under the base of the chair. The main piece of fabric on the seat covered the raw edges of the fabric around the cardboard.

After doing both sides like this (it was only like this on the front legs, not the back), you can start stapling your fabric along the base of the chair and/or underside stretching it as you go to get a tight fit.

IMG_0460

For the seat back of the chair, I just cut fabric in the shape of the old upholstery that was there and stapled it to the frame as it had been before. I skipped the tufting on this one, but you can buy tufting kits if you wanted to keep it.

On the very back of the chair, I did not remove the old fabric:

IMG_0459

I was worried that if I removed that fabric I would essentially lose the whole back of the chair and have a hole there and then I wouldn’t know what to do. So, I just cut out a piece of fabric to fit there and hot-glued it on.

After everything is stapled down, you can take coordinating trim and hot glue it on top of any staples that show.

Jonathan Adler Inspired Chair Makeover {rainonatinroof.com} #chairmakeover #jonathanadler

Jonathan Adler Inspired Chair Makeover {rainonatinroof.com} #chairmakeover #jonathanadler

And now you step back and call yourself a rockstar.

Gold Spray Painted Chair {rainonatinroof.com} #gold #spraypaint

Or call me a rockstar if you like.

haha.

Jonathan Adler Inspired Chair {rainonatinroof.com} #jonathanadler

Gold Spray Painted Chair {rainonatinroof.com} #gold #spraypaint

Jonathan Adler Inspired Chair {rainonatinroof.com} #jonathanadler

More Chair Makeovers & Upholstery Posts to Get You Inspired:

How to Waterproof & Repel Stains on Fabric – you’ll be mad you didn’t do this sooner!

Pink & Houndstooth Chair Makeover (Roadside Rescue) – super cute and fun twist on an old chair!

French Country Chair Makeover – classic lines, classic beauty!

Restored Rocking Chair – my great-great grandfather’s old rocking chair – restore!

Upholstered Box Spring – banish those ugly box springs!

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Comments

  2. Therese @ Fresh Idea Studio says

    Oh my gosh, Jenna! You are a RockStar! Actually I already thought that before this awesome chair. 😉 But oh how beautiful that turned out.
    Thanks for the 411 on the reupholstering too. I could totally use that for a chair waiting out in my garage right now.
    Cheers to you and yours!

    Reply

  6. MIDNIGHT_RIDER_1961 says

    Having seen this chair last weekend I will be the first to attest that this is both a fine piece of craftsmanship & work of art. And yes, I am gonna let my daughter re-do the other chair. But I am undecided about the colors. Being a Bama Graduate, I think Crimson & White would look very nice and be a comfortable place to be whle I watch the Tide beat up on the likes of LSU, Tennessee, & Auburn. Roll Tide! I guess she & I might have to look for material along with help from my precious granddaughter.

    Reply

  7. Lindsay says

    If possible, this chair looks even better in person, y’all! Jenna did an amazing job on it! I’m gonna let her redo my cane chairs like this! 😉

    (Mom, you didn’t just read that. Don’t tell Mamaw.)

    Reply

  8. Candace says

    I love your tutorial! I have a pair of chairs with similar style upholstery that needs to be replaced. I keep looking at them, afraid to take the fabric off and attack them. This gives me hope!

    Reply

  9. Julie Corbisiero says

    Hi, I can’t believe how beautiful the chair came out! You have a real talent for this and make it look so easy! I saw it on I gotta create!
    Julie from julieslifestyle.blogspot.com

    Reply

  12. Deborah says

    Nice job Jenna! I haven’t braved reupholstering a chair yet, but I have a couple set aside for the future! Thank you for sharing it and you lamp redo at to What We Accomplished Wednesdays. Have a great week!

    Hugs,
    Deborah

    Reply

  15. Kathy says

    I am stopping by from Happy Hour…you have inspired me to tackle two chairs that have been sitting in my closet waiting for me to do something with them!! Thanks

    Reply

  16. amy @ commona-my house says

    wow!! so great! you are fearless and I love the fabric choice! This would be perfect as MY vanity chair in my bedroom! Wish I could drive over to get it 😉 Thanks for sharing this tutorial, encourages me to tackle a few re-upholstery projects! XO.

    Reply

  18. Julia @ It's Always Ruetten says

    Jenna, I love the final chair! Great tutorial too! You chose great, great fabric and the perfect shade of gray! I just wanted to let you know that I’ve featured you on my Finding Friday: My Favorite Finds post on my blog It’s Always Ruetten {itsalwaysruetten.blogspot.com}.

    When you have a chance, I’d love for you to come by and grab my featured button!

    Great job!

    Julia
    It’s Always Ruetten

    Reply

  23. courtney says

    Visiting from Huckleberry Love’s party and from FrySauceandGrits.com! I’m going to attempt to reupholster a family heirloom chair in my living room. Your post has helped me gain some more confidence because this is my first time! The chair turned out great! Thanks so much for sharing!

    Reply

  30. Vel says

    This chair is pure gold! Love it! I have a pair of cane chairs that I have yet to tackle! Great job! Linking back from Savvy Southern Style!

    Reply

    • Jenna @ Rain on a Tin Roof says

      Really? I’m a rockstar? Could you call MTV and tell them? Maybe they could give a shoutout to my blog?! Haha! Thanks, gal! You can totally re-upholster something. It really was not near as hard as I thought it would be!

      Reply

  33. Delia says

    Wow! This is just gorgeous. I love the selected fabric, the paint color choice, and also the fabulous cane chair. You really need to torment ‘daddy’ until he gives in 🙂
    I admire the effort you put in to reply to each and every post…very encouraging. Keep it up.

    Reply

  34. shannon hynes says

    Hi Jenna – I’m visiting this bloggers page…. its relay nice.. you can check out this web site coolrattanfurniture.com for a better knowledge about Chairs.

    Reply

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