Before & After: Reupholstered Wingback Chairs for the Dining Room

updated May 5, 2019

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Two vintage tufted armchairs with wooden frames, labeled "before." — (Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

Jennifer picked up these chairs last year when she began planning for a dining room makeover. She knew she wanted two armchairs to anchor her dining room set, but wasn’t 100% certain how to finish them. As her vision for the space evolved, so too did her vision for these wonderful chairs.

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

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Jennifer stripped the chairs down to the wood frames then spray painted them with Rustoleum Metallic Gold with a top coat of spray poly. She added more padding to the seats and filled in the holes left by the original tufting before covering the seats with a drop cloth. Jennifer also modified the back, reducing the number of button tufts. Her secret tufting weapon? Getting the buttons custom covered by a local upholstery shop- the machine pressed buttons with prong backs made tufting easy. Finally, after adding some extra padding to the back side of the chairs, Jennifer covered them with a colorful accent fabric (Santa Maria Desert Flower by Waverly). The chairs have taken a place of pride in Jennifer’s evolving dining room.

For detailed instructions and photos, check out Dimples and Tangles: Dining Room Host Chairs: Ta Da!

(Images: Jennifer/Dimples and Tangles)

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