I was recently asked to be a mentor for a student from a local school, who was doing an interior design project.  As part of her project she was keen to learn some basic upholstery techniques.  We decided to take an old unwanted chair with a drop in seat and revamp it.  So I found a dark wood chair at a local auction, which I picked up for next to nothing in a job lot.

This sort of thing is a nice straight forward first upholstery project for anyone.  The drop in seat pops out, so it is easy to work on.  The seat was stripped back to the frame,  and the rest of the seat was rubbed down, then primed and covered in two coats of cream paint.

The seat was rewebbed and covered in a layer of hessian.  It was padded with layers of needled felt, then a layer of white felt.  It was then covered in calico, prior to the top fabric being put on.  The underside was then finished off with a layer of black bottom lining.

Finally the frame was distressed and rubbed with wax.  With the seat popped back in, I’m sure you’ll agree that this unwanted chair has now been given a lease of new life with it’s Cath Kidston fabric and would look lovely in any childs bedroom.

Chair in Cath Kidston fabric