Wooden Chairs
Mid century inspired wooden chair with cushioned sit and backrest.
Refurbishing wooden chairs was one of the first project I wanted to take on when we moved into our flat in Barcelona.
Mainly for two reasons:
Because chairs, sofas, stools (basically anything you can sit on) are my personal favorite furniture items, so making one over is super satisfying
Because chairs are freaking expensive. I’ll insert some exemples below.
The moodboard and choice of material
Structure
I wanted Mid Century Modern chairs for my kitchen/dining table, preferably with armrests and cushioned seats (at least).
Those retail mostly between 500€ up to 1 600€ — a budget I do not really have.
Now, I wasn’t yet sure if I wanted a set of 4 identical ones or if I’d dare having four different chairs in around the table.
Wood color and finish
Because the flat came furnished with a big wooden wall unit that work as a TV cabinet, storages and doors, I knew I was going to have a hard time matching the wood (that is not the nicest tbh, but I don’t mind it).
Although I liked the finish look of a light toned wood like pine, I wasn't matching the rest of the room and just didn't feel right. I wanted a warm, rich and dark wood without an orange undertone.
Fabric colour and texture
Although I was going towards a bouclé type of fabric, I quickly realized that I was probably being to trendy and not thinking ahead. I wasn't sure how the material was going to last to bo honest. I then leaned towards a more classic — thick cotton-like material.
When it cames to the colour, my personal taste were going more towards beige tone as it is easy to pair with surouding items.
Gallery of inspiration
The find
After weeks of scrolling through Wallapop, I found a set of 4 chairs that matched the structure I wanted — and for 50€ only!
The important thing when you look for second hand pieces that you want to make over is for me to get a good quality raw material. It will make the process much easier for you, and the result more beautiful and durable.
Of course, having solid wood is a much better option. But being sure of it when thrifting only is sometimes difficult. Don’t hesitate to ask the person who listed the item if you can go check them out!
In this case, upon checking them with the owner where he stored them, I really could see the sturdiness and health of the wood. I could see no rotten part, no wiggle when picking them up or sitting on them.
So, I picked them up and go to work almost immediately.
The makeover process
1. Clean and deassamble the chairs
Cleaning is really important cause, eh, you never know what they have been through before right? Also, before sending them down and going to the core and raw material, you want to be sure that is it dust, grease, bacteria, you name it-free. Think of it like an surgery! Is it appropriate to say? Maybe not. Shout out to the real doctors!
Also, you'll want to deassamble the chairs (at least the seats and backs from the wood). Don't forget to take picture of this process so you can refer to it when reassambling.
2. Assess the material you are dealing with
Now, that’s when it took me a loooot of time and brain juice! Because I was new to this, I wanted to understand what I was working with to then take the right decision.
For instance, the wood. To be completly honest with you, I still am not sure of the wood I was working with. Pine was my first obvious guess, but after working on it, it felt like a more durable hard wood.
I’ve watched countless youtube videos and 15 years old forum to try to figure it out. But really, nothing is more powerful than the knowledge of a professionnel. So if you’re really in doubts, don’t hesitate to go visit your local woodworker and they’ll probably tell you.
3. Sand, sand and sand again
Actually, I was maybe lying before. THIS took me a lot of time, and arm-juice. And because I do not want to be a loud or disturbing neighbor, I gave up my electric sender that I had just purchased to sand all by hand.
It’s a real love and hate relationship with sanding. It’s a very long and repetitive process, but wow it’s satisfying.
After hours and days of sanding, they were finally looking all clear and ready for their next life.
4. Stain the wood
My favorite part for sure.
But the start of this step wasn't really promissing at first. After looking at endless samples of wood stains both online and in-store, I was even more confused than before. I ended up buying three different stains before finally finding one that was fiiting the rest of the room and my taste.
And then—WOW! Staining wood is to me like peeling off a plastic protective layer of a new microwave. Do you see what I mean by that? Anyways. The staining process when smooth and I was happy after one coat of it—so it was also a quick process. To protect the wood, I have then applied two coats of a mate varnish.
5. Reupholster
As you can see, the upholstery on the cushions were—let’s say—vintage. Some liked it, some didn’t. One thing was for sure tho, it was worn out and needed to be replaced.
So my first step here was to taking out the old fabric by removing the 3087402 staples. Although you could technically leave them on and staple back next to it, I did like the idea of starting again with a fresh base.
I went to my local fabric store to pick a new fabric and I've had to involved too many people in the decision making process. I'll insert below all the choices I considered. I now realise that my final choice isn't even in there. What happened? I don't know. Did I panic? Probably.
Then, it was time to reupholster.
I purchased a manuel stapler off amazon, and it worked perfectly. I though I’d need an electric one, but it was really not necessary. The best advices I had read for this step of the process were : pull the more you can on the fabric so it stays in place and make the corner look neat the best you can. Which is what I did!
6. Reassembling
And that's almost the end. Reassembling was a very exciting time for me! I could finally see everything coming together.
I did encounter one issue here! Spotting where the holes are for the screws was actually very difficult. When trying to screw them back in the wood, it pulled some threads from the fabric all along the length of it. I've spent quite a lot of time trying to loosen it again but I still have some imperfection at some spots.
The solution I found after struggeling on the first two chairs was to use a drill through the fabric and wood to then insert the screws.