DIY Do it Yourself or Not®

Add pizzazz to an old chair from a flea market with bright, colorful fabric and you'll make it a focal point in a room. Reupholstering a straight back chair, as opposed to a larger overstuffed one, is a good first-time project for the not-so-handy homeowner because it's small in size and doesn't require a lot of time or expensive tools. The most difficult part of the job is choosing from the myriad of decorator materials. For planning purposes, do any refinishing or painting to the chair frame before reupholstering the seat and back.

To reupholster a basic 20-inch square chair seat in moderately priced fabric, a reupholstery service will charge $150, which includes the labor and material. You can do the job for $30, the cost to reupholster a chair which covers the fabric and batting to pad the seat. Use a long-nose pliers to remove nails or staples in the frame, then unscrew the old seat with a screwdriver and remove the fabric and padding. Cut new fabric the size of the old material and center the design of the new fabric on the seat. You'll need a pair of sharp scissors to cut the fabric and batting to size. Then use an electric staple gun to fasten the new covering to the bottom of the chair frame and reinstall it with the screws you removed.

A good book on the subject is Style Stitch Staple: Basic Upholstery Skills to Tackle Any Project by Hannah Stanton.

Tip: If your chair facelift includes refinishing its frame, schedule that work first and allow time for the new finish to dry thoroughly.