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You could sew a slipcover yourself with a fabric of your choice, easier, less risky, and removable if you get tired of it. Otherwise I would have it done by a professional.

Buy the slipcover from ikea, rip out the seams with a seam ripper, and use it as a pattern to make your own. Then you can sew it back together and dye it your favorite color.

upholstery takes special skills and tools. If you don't alraedy know how, then you're much better off with a slipcover.

A slipcover would be easier - Bemz has a variety of colors/patterns here: http://www.bemz.com/index.php/prod_id/3/page/shop/model_id/60/

I upholstered a very similar chair I got at a thrift store. I thought it was an Ikea chair and bought a slipcover, only to find it was just too large to stretch over my chair. It was difficult, and it was by fourth reupholstery/ slipcover project. I also had my mom (who has done some amateur reupholstery herself) to call for advice at awkward moments. It looks ok, but I made the mistake of using hard to hammer decorative furniture nails and some curtains for fabric that hasn't held up very well.

It's not a terribly hard piece to work with, but if you have no experience, it's going to be hard to have it look nice. If you know what a tack strip is, and how to use one, you'll be fine. It'd be an ideal piece for a reupholstry class, if there's one offered in your area.

If I was in your position, I'd buy one of the Ikea slipcovers, take it apart, and use it as a pattern to make a slipcover out of material of my choice. Of course, that's spending $60 on something just to use as a pattern, but I like projects more than I like just buying something and I'd probably put it back together and swap between them when I wanted a change.

...I only suggest the slipcover because upholstering a curved piece of furniture is more difficult than one with nice 90degree angles, especially for a beginner.

Sorry, I mean to say that the chair was just too large for the slipcover to fit.

Also, if you do decide to reupholster it yourself, you might find this really helpful: http://www.jcarolinecreative.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Store_Code=JC&Screen=UPHOLSTERY

I have to agree with kimg924, unless you got the skills already you will probably jack it up and then end up buying a slipcover anyway. If you find that the Ikea slipcover selection is not to your liking try Bemz. It's more expensive, but it has a wider selection (plus you didn't pay anything for the chair anyway).

http://www.bemz.com/index.php/prod_id/3/page/shop/model_id/60/

If you're good at sewing, you'll have luck with miss_m's method - I'm quite a good seamstress, but don't have much experience with slipcovers - however, when I've had a pattern to work with, I've always gotten a really nice, professional fit.

Just be very careful with measurements and seam allowances, and try each piece as you make it. Rip out anything that doesn't align exactly - tiny errors compound themselves very quickly with 3-D sewing!

You'll be able to get the look of upholstery if you do the chair itself and the cushion separately.

Try the As-Is section at Ikea. Find one there and dye it, or use it as a pattern for your own slipcover. Since you're only using it for a pattern, it doesnt matter what it looks like.

I love all of bemz.com's choices in fabric. If I were to get an Ikea sofa, I would definitely personalize it more with bemz.

How much does professional re-upholstery cost? Just a ballpark figure for the chair pictured here, for instance, with a standard (non designer -- inexpensive) fabric. Thanks!

I say go for it! You might as well try and get the satisfaction of fabricating something on your own. To make things easier don't use a stretchy fabric or one with a directional pattern.

If you don't want to take off the fabric, another way to create a pattern, is to take cheap fabric or tissue paper and pin it to the chair along the seams. You draw the seam lines on the fabric (space between the pins), label the piece, unpin, and cut (allowing for seam allowance). It's also a good idea to pin several pieces at once and indicate (with slash marks) where the pieces meet up. I've used this method before when I had to create a slipcover for a chair I couldn't take apart.

Good luck!!

lurker2209--thanks for that link! Learned some new tricks.

One last tip: use cording. This applies to upholstery and making slipcovers. It takes a little effort to learn to make it if you can't find premade cording you like, but this will be well worth the fact that cording hides all manner of imperfections in seams and tucks. Try the site I posted above for an easy tutorial. (And no, I don't work there; I just like their stuff!)

Slipcovers are not hard to make but they take a lot of time. I lay craft paper out and cut my own pattern (some people sew a muslin first). There's welting that comes with a little edge. That makes connecting sections really easy. I once covered a sofa and a love seat with cotton canvas piped in navy. It looked awesome when it was finished. But all told it was about a month's work. As time often = money you may be better off buying.

I've found some really cool fabrics at Ikea.

You don't need a pattern necessarily if you have a lot of pins and patience. You can pretty much just pin the pieces together, maybe trace along where you actually want to sew the seams with chalk, and then sew it on a machine (assuming you have one). It does help as someone said above to check it at each point too. I used binding tape when I made my ottoman slipcover, which I think makes things easier too.
- MM

Great idea - take the old one apart and use it as a template and stretchy sounds good, or the opposite - slouchy and loose. Check out your tech schools for evening courses in the fall - just ask around. We have a few offered here in Indianapolis. This chair would be great as a practice chair for a skill that would serve you well.

I am an upholsterer and would be happy to help you get through this if you want to try it. I have some tutorials for simple projects posted on different sites. I haven't posted anything this complicated because DIY upholsterers usually don't have the patience to follow it. Look up my projects and profile on Curbly and email me if you want help along the way. You can do it. I personally think slipcovers are more difficult than upholstering.

how much does it cost to take it to a professional upholsterer...it seems it would balance out out in cost and time you will have to go find the fabric, buy the tools, put it together...

You could easily dye the Ikea slipcovers using ordinary RIT dye from the grocery/drug store. I did this (for the same chair!) and sent a fabric swatch that I was trying to match to the RIT company -- they mailed back a 'recipe' for a custom color using their dyes. So you don't have to settle for the basic colors on the shelf -- the possibilities are endless, inexpensive, and really simple (no sewing necessary!).

Good luck!

How about just buying some colorful fabric markers and drawing right onto the fabric? Maybe actually "work" with one of the stains to come up with a cool pattern that you repeat over the whole chair? I tried this on a stool with some decent result once.

I agree with mazmon. I would use markers, paint pens etc. and create a work of art. When you get tired of it you can slipcover it with one of the above suggestions.

DeeCee, I just had an upholstered piece repaired -- two large cushions that fit on a wooden frame -- and paid $62.50 for excellent work that took about a week. However, it was just repair work, not total upholstering, and I do live in a rural area.

I don't sew, so I have no hesitation paying someone to make slipcovers or do upholstery.

it is so easy, just follow the present upholstery taking pictures as you go for later reference. this is what i do and i am on my 8th piece.