DIY Upholstery Reveal | Antique Mahogany Dining Chairs

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If you’ve ever been tempted to take on an upholstery project but were intimidated by the enormity of the job, or are looking to get started with upholstery in general but don’t know where to begin, dining chairs could be a quick and easy job, with a high ROI. Or so I thought. 

In one of my previous posts I shared a set of antique dining chairs I found on Facebook Marketplace, and talked about my plans for a quick makeover. Today I’m here to share the outcome, and to eat my words – it wasn’t quick, far from it 🙂 The chairs were simple enough to reupholster, but the whole process took much longer than anticipated, and needed some repairs and skills I did not possess and had to figure out along the way. 

Despite their beautiful design, the chairs were in very poor condition. The frames were wobbly and creaky and most of the joints needed re-gluing. The mahogany finish was also in need of a refresh, faded and scratched, and sticky with grime from years of use. But the biggest challenge were the seats – dipped and loose and mushy, and very uncomfortable. So for the first time in my upholstery journey, a chair project required more than just new batting and new fabric, but a complete repair of the frame and new webbing for reinforced seat support. 

While not my quickest makeover, this was without a doubt a deeply satisfying job. I learned a lot and ended up enjoying the process quite a bit, which was a nice surprise. So, for those of you interested in taking on a similar project, I made a list of the things I did and, most importantly, what worked and what products I will be using again and would highly recommend (linked below).

1. To fix any loose joints, you’ll need some wood glue and an assortment of carpentry clamps. 

2. To restore the wood finish, I found an easy shortcut while researching different methods online, and it worked really well. First, clean any grime and sticky areas with a microfiber cloth and some lukewarm soapy water. I used a few drops of Dawn but any dish detergent will do. 

Once the frames are clean and dry, some fine steel wool pads dipped in Howard’s Restor-A-Finish (Walnut) will smooth out any superficial scratches, leaving the wood finish revived, velvety and soft.

This was such a helpful tip for me – in the past I’d removed existing stains and finishes using either sandpaper or chemical stripers, but given the amount of detail and fragility of the frames, I was afraid I’d sand over some of the intricate carvings.

3. To seal everything and add some luster to the wooden frames, a clean rag with some dollops of Howard’s Feed-N-Wax makes a world of difference, and pairs beautifully with Howard’s Restor-A-Finish.

A word of warning: I learned this the hard way but, ideally, all of these repairs need to happen after you’ve removed the old upholstery but before the new fabric goes on. It’s common sense but if you’re tempted by a shortcut, like I was, the new fabric could get easily stained.

4. Materials: The essential materials for reupholstering these chairs were the usual set of upholstery suspects: cotton webbing, batting, muslin, pipping (optional) and a choice of top fabric. To give you an estimate in terms of yardage, I used 0.75 yards per chair, plus contrasting fabric needed for the pipping.

So, after many weeks and several messes and missteps, the makeover is now complete, and I am looking for a new project to get my hands on. Here they are in our dining room!

For the top fabric, I reused parts of an old IKEA sofa slipcover I had saved, and have plans for future slipcovers that would prolong the life of the upholstery and bring in some variety. The chandelier is a vintage piece that I bought at Brimfield last year, and absolutely love in this space.

If you’d like to know more about this makeover or the upholstery process in general (tools, products and materials), let me know. Take care!