How To Repair Saggy Cushions Fron Your Bambu Chair

A few weeks ago, when I revealed our depression-budget, high-impact kitchen makeover, I shared that the vintage faux bamboo chairs I found for the kitchen ended up having a major flaw…

While the double-sided caning was in perfect status, the frames were structurally audio, and even the fabric was in great shape, I neglected to actually SIT in the chairs when I met the Craigslist seller at his storage unit. You guys, I was so excited I blithely handed over my coin and completely broke the Craigslist 101 rule ofalways actually trying out the furniture.

I got them dwelling house, arranged them around the kitchen tabular array, and was talking Bryan'southward ear off about what a notice they were, how thrilled I was, how perfect they were for the space. And then he saturday down with his bowl of cereal and loudly exclaimed, "I'm falling through the chair!"

I sabbatum down myself.

It was true.

While the cream cushions all the same appeared plump and supportive, any back up beneath had plainly given upward the ghost long agone.

Now, here'southward where I tell you, truthfully and honestly: I have a history of talking myself into buying "project pieces" so letting said "project pieces" languish in the garage foryears because I'm too decorated/unmotivated/intimidated to actually tackle them.

I know this near myself. And Bryan knows this.

So over the years, he'south instituted and enforced a very strict "No project pieces" rule… because he loves me and wants to relieve me from myself. If I don't have a definite program or knowexactly what I'm going to do to fix up, refurbish, and actually use something – it doesn't come into our abode.

But these project pieces were already in our abode. Sitting around our kitchen table. Roped off with imaginary yellow "Caution" record, sure, merely possession is nine/10ths of winning the statement, right?

I spent the side by side several weeks combing Craigslist for alternative chairs that wouldn't demand to exist stripped down to their blank bones and rebuilt using skills I may or may not possess. (With these chairs, I wouldn't know what was required untilafter I gutted them and potentially rendered them un-re-sellable.) No suitably perfect replacements presented themselves, and I got closer and closer to wrapping up the kitchen.

Finally, I stumbled across the most perfect upholstery fabric in the universe one evening and justknew it was meant for my kitchen chairs. Faux bamboo kitchen chairs, with double-sided caning on the backs.

"I'm keeping those chairs! And I'grand going to effigy out how to fix them!"

*Today's mail may contain chapter links.If y'all brand a buy through an chapter link, I may receive a small commission. You can read my full disclosure here. I hope you all know by now that I exercise only share things I actually truly beloved!

You lot Will Need:

Upholstery staple remover tool – admittedly essential and a complete life-saver! I purchased one with a wooden handle, but I would recommend a unlike handle to help preclude blisters.
Needle nose pliers
5 mm underlayment or i/4″ plywood – I purchased a 2'x4′ "Project Panel" at my local hardware store, which was plenty to fix the seats of my four chairs.
Forest glue
Replacement fabric – bank check out this guide to help you lot effigy out how much yardage to purchase
Upholstery staples + stapler – I have an electric staple gun, just I find it doesn't do as a skillful of a job equally my little, transmission stapler. For upholstery, I utiliselite duty five/16″ staples. Occasionally, I need to follow up with a hammer to make certain they go in all the way. A pneumatic stapler is the gold standard for upholstery, only I just oasis't pulled the trigger (hehe) on this buy yet, since it requires an air compressor as well.

Stride 1: The Nighttime of 1,000 Staples

It was time to actually assess the situation. No turning back.

I unscrewed the chair seats from the chairs and began removing staples with this miraculous fiddling tool.

Most of the time, information technology popped the staples up enough to use a pair of needle nose pliers to fully remove them.

Once I had the black material dust comprehend removed, I could clearly encounter the saggy-bottomed culprit:

The wooden seat frame was hollow in the middle, with a slice of rubbery mesh that I suppose at 1 fourth dimension had been elastic enough to provide back up, but which was now stretched out and disintegrating.

I'll tell you a secret: usually, when I re-embrace dining chairs, I just stretch the new fabric over the one-time fabric (as long as the old material is in decent shape) and staple information technology on.

Only in order to really ready the problem with these chairs, I needed to completely strip the chair seat down to the wooden frame.

Betwixt the dust cover, the piped trim, the upholstery cloth, a layer of batting, and the disgustingly crumbling safety mesh, I spent a little over an hr on each chair seat, pulling out five separate layers of hundreds of staples to complimentary the wooden seat frame.

Tip: If you're extra conscientious with your staple removal, y'all'll exist able to reuse pieces like the grit cover and even piping, and yous can use the old fabric every bit a template for cutting new textile.

Footstep two: Plug The Hole

I grabbed my plywood and cut it down slightly larger on all sides than the hole in the wooden seat frame. I used a hand saw because that'due south all I have, merely it got the job done.

I squeezed a zigzag of woods glue all around the edges and glued the plywood to the Height side of the wooden seat frame. And so, I stacked paint cans and bricks (really, any heavy objects will exercise) on pinnacle to hold the plywood onto the frame while it dried overnight.

Step 3: Reassembly

The next solar day, I repeated the steps of the previous mean solar day in reverse.

Start with the foam and batting, upside down:

Add the wooden seat frame, and staple the batting to the frame:

Next, use the erstwhile upholstery textile as a template for cutting the new fabric:

Lay face downward on the ground, then wrap the edges effectually the upside-down seat cushion and staple at the elevation, lesser, left and right sides to hold:

Then, work your way out from those staples towards the iv corners, pulling the material taut every bit y'all become.

This is how I like to fold my corners:

Next, trim any excess fabric away from your line of staples:

And finally, I stapled the dust encompass back on. It gives it a nice professional person finish, don't you think?

All that was left was to reattach the seats to the chairs and requite them a examination-sit…

Voila!

No sag! No imminent threat of falling through!

And I absolutely adore the vintage Oriental rug-look tapestry fabric! It's luxuriously heavy weight and the colors are perfection!

Tin can y'all believe I was most ready to just requite upwardly on these chairs? This project definitely taught me a lesson in not existence and then easily intimidated!