How to Upholster Barstools and Studio 5~

Last Thursday, I had the opportunity to appear on Studio 5  where I talked about actually making some of those projects I've been pinning on Pinterest .  

My completed Pinterest-inspired project

As you can tell from this photo, I have had these black saddle-style bar stools for quite a while.

More after the jump...

You may remember that I added vinyl numbers to them when we lived in Massachusetts.  They were cute that way. But the numbers have long since disappeared, and the bar stools were looking a little worse for the wear.  So I was considering replacing them.  Until I saw a pin on Pinterest about reupholstering these very stools.  (You can find the inspiration post from A Lo and Behold Life here). 

This was the perfect solution!  I could have "new" bar stools without having to fork out all that money!

Here's what I did.  (You can also find my instructions on the Studio 5 website here.)

Supplies needed:

Wooden Bar Stools

Staple Gun with Staples

Foam (approx. ½-1 inch thick)

Quilt Batting

Upholstery Grade Fabric

Spray Adhesive

.       Cut foam to the size of your bar stool seat.  Foam can easily be cut with sharp scissors.

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2.    Use spray adhesive to attach the foam to the seat.  A light coat on the seat should do the trick.  This step isn't completely necessary, but will help keep the foam from slipping while you are trying to upholster the seat.

3.      Cut quilt batting into a rectangle approximately 3”-5" larger than seat  (or large enough that you can wrap the fabric down around the seat sides and over to the bottom.)  I then cut away the corners so that there will be less bulk there when the corners are stapled.

4.      Place seat upside down on top of the batting and wrap each side down around to the bottom – creating tight hospital corners at each corner and wrapping carefully around bar stool legs – and staple underneath the seat.  Remember:  Staples are your friend!  Don't be afraid to use a lot of them.  The end product will look more professional.

5.       Repeat steps 2 and 3 with fabric.  Make sure and pull the fabric tight to avoid ripples.  When you staple the fabric around the legs, try to get the staples as close to the legs as possible.

And when you're all done - and your hands are super tired from all that stapling - you'll have some custom upholstered bar stools that will add a beautiful touch to your kitchen. I  love how they look in mine!

And here's a link to my segment if you'd like to check it out.