Dining Chair Reupholstery: A Simple Guide

Dining chairs quietly take more abuse than almost any furniture you own. Every meal, every spilled glass, every kid swinging their legs, every guest who leans back on two legs (you know who you are). So when the seats look tired, dated, or stained, you do not have to replace a whole set you otherwise love. Dining chair reupholstery brings the set, and the whole room, right back.

Here is a simple guide to reupholstering dining chairs: what is involved, how to choose fabric, and when it is worth it. It is some of the most satisfying furniture reupholstery we do.

Two kinds of dining chairs, two levels of work

Most dining chairs fall into one of two camps:

• Drop-in seats. The seat pad unscrews from the frame. These are quick and affordable to recover, and a great budget refresh for a whole set.
• Fully upholstered chairs. Padded seats and backs, sometimes with piping or tufting. More labor, more impact, especially on host chairs.

Either way, if the frame is solid the chair is worth doing, the same test we apply to any piece in how to tell if your furniture is worth restoring.

Choosing the right fabric (durability first)

Dining chairs are not the place for delicate fabric. They catch food, drinks and daily wear, so lead with a durable, cleanable performance fabric or quality faux leather. We get into weaves and rub counts in how to choose the right fabric for your sofa, and if you have kids or pets, our guide to the best fabric for pets and kids applies double at the dinner table. For the long history of the craft, Wikipedia has a nice overview of upholstery.

A good dining set is built once and recovered many times. The frame is the keeper, the fabric is the fashion.

Why reupholstering a set makes sense

Quality wood dining chairs are expensive to replace and often built better than what is in stores now. Recovering a set:

• Costs a fraction of buying new quality chairs.
• Keeps a set that already fits your table and space.
• Lets you pick the exact fabric and color you want.
• Refreshes the whole dining room in one move.

Curious how furniture pricing works in general? Our cost to reupholster a sofa guide explains the factors, and most of them scale down nicely for chairs.

Frequently asked

Tired of looking at those seats every dinner? See real work in our projects, then send us a photo of your chairs for a free estimate.