That’s right—I even used the word dastardly. We should have been working on our office cabinets, but that’s a much bigger job (one weekend, maybe two). Instead I finally tackled the rocker that’s been giving me the stink eye since November, even before we moved. Quick recap: I scored it on Craigslist for $25 because I liked its clean lines, then it sat untouched for over nine months—until this weekend.
What stopped me at first was the upholstery. I knew how to redo a simple seat bottom, but the top had a hole that had to look finished on both sides, and that completely stumped me. I posted a call for upholstery advice and got lots of helpful responses pointing out multiple ways to approach it. Armed with ideas from readers, Google, and a reupholstering-savvy friend, I finally dove in and improvised my way through the project.
This job turned out to be multi-day and multi-phase, so I split the process into parts with lots of photos. Here’s part one.
First I gave the rocker one more long stare, then began removing the old upholstery, staples, and nails to see what I was working with.
My tip: use small channel-lock pliers for removing staples and tacks. They grip better than needle-nose pliers or the back of a hammer and reduce the chance of slipping.
After an hour I had a small pile of fasteners and fabric—only about 30% done. I kept pulling nails and tacks for a few more hours, then removed the two wooden seat slats to reveal the bare frame.
After a few hours it looked messy and I knew the frame would need wood putty and sanding before any stain or paint. I switched to a less demanding task: upholstering the two wooden seat pieces. I taped them together with delicate painter’s tape so I could treat them as a single piece instead of dealing with a seam later. The tape only needed to hold things temporarily, since batting and fabric would secure everything long-term.
I used multiple layers of extra-loft batting—JoAnn’s “Soft N Crafty.” I could have used foam, but I wanted a firmer seat instead of a plush cushion; after five layers the seat was just the right balance of firm with a bit of softness.
After applying five layers, I realized the seat needed to hinge to fit past the arms and legs and lay flat on the base. I almost panicked at the thought of unstapling everything, but my husband suggested simply turning the seat over and cutting the tape across the back. The batting was flexible enough to fold forward so the seat could be installed without removing staples, and that worked perfectly.
Next I reupholstered the seat with a Kravet Design remnant I found on clearance—two yards for $4. The fabric pattern required centering, so I loosely folded and positioned the fabric until the design looked right.
I flipped the seat and set one staple in the top middle and one in the bottom middle while pulling tight. That let me check alignment on the front side and easily remove the staples if needed. Once centered, I added staples at noon, three, six, and nine o’clock, then continued stapling around the perimeter. For the carved corners I folded the fabric much like wrapping a present, keeping everything tight and neat.
Here’s the back after stapling:
And the front—much better, right?
I tested the seat in the frame to confirm it still hinged and fit. Success—I heard angels sing.
Then I turned back to prepping the frame. I filled visible holes with wood putty, sanded thoroughly (starting with low-grit paper and moving to higher grits), and used a liquid deglosser to prepare the surface for finish.
After all that work I realized dark wood stain wouldn’t give an even finish—the chair’s surface variations would show through. Since this was a $25 Craigslist find and not an antique, I decided to paint instead of stain. I used oil-rubbed bronze (ORB) spray paint with built-in primer, applying three thin, even coats. The subtle metallic in the ORB gave the piece depth and the look of rich dark wood more than plain paint would.
Here’s a peek at the rocker partway through the final step—almost finished and looking much better. I’ll share the rest of the process and final after photos in part two.
Update: A reader pointed out the chair fabric matches a Ballard Designs catalog cover. That same fabric is sold retail for about $32 a yard, and Ballard also offers a similar upholstered chair for several hundred dollars—fun to discover after finding the remnant so inexpensively.
Have you ever delayed a project because it felt intimidating? What small tricks have helped you push through? For me it was lots of advice, trial and error, and a can of ORB spray paint when stain wouldn’t cooperate.
Reference: https://www.productexpert.com/best-ergonomic-office-chairs/.