We are used to seeing chairs in a regular solid color or with upholstery, and we leave them in their original condition from the moment we purchase them. But chair decor has been gaining popularity recently.
You can make an original chair by decorating it thematically for a wedding, New Year, Birthday or other holiday. You can also make everyday life more colorful: decorate an old shabby chair beyond recognition or simply make new furniture more fun.
Decorating chairs with your own hands for the holiday
Beautiful decoration of chairs
DIY chair decor idea
DIY decor subtleties
To decorate chairs with your own hands, you need imagination, patience, knowledge and minimal skills in working with tools. After all, this piece of furniture requires a more serious approach than a flower pot or vase.
To give new life to a chair, we may need a construction stapler, pliers, a screwdriver, or a drill. Accordingly, you must have the skills to use them.
There are also simpler ideas. The condition of the product plays a big role. Depending on whether you want to give it a new life, or just a new design, we will need different tools and different degrees of skill. However, anyone can decorate a chair with their own hands.
DIY chair decor
Original decor of chairs
See alsoChair covers for the kitchen
Interior decoration with knitted items
Today, knitting is one of the most popular types of needlework. After all, not only grandmothers knit, but also young people.
You can decorate your home with a wide variety of knitted items that are best suited to interiors in country, Provence or retro style. These are mainly various napkins, vases, etc.
To do this, you will need threads that match the color of the interior. Or, on the contrary, contrasting ones, if you need to focus on a certain area.
You can make very interesting candlesticks with your own hands. To do this, you need to take jars that are suitable in shape and size and crochet them. Any openwork pattern you like will do.
During daylight hours, such a candlestick will be an excellent decoration for your home. And in the evening it will surprise you with its stunning lighting effects, thanks to which comfort and warmth will come to your home.
Thus, with the help of strapping, new life can be given to many interior items. For example, pots, vases, cups, pillows.
As a result, you will be able to get a completely new and unique thing that will give you bright and positive emotions.
What to make from an old chair
It's time to update your old furniture. Look at the material it is made from and its condition. Will you have to change the upholstery, can you get by with cosmetic repairs, or should you completely scrap it? Depending on this, we will select several practical and simple ideas. Let's start with the decor of the chairs. We will also consider ways to replace the upholstery with your own hands.
Decorating chairs with your own hands for the holiday
Beautiful decoration of chairs
DIY chair decor idea
See alsoBrown sofa in the interior, photo.
We use fabric
This material is used in various ideas.
To hide scratches and abrasions on an old chair, or to give a new one a different look, we put them in covers. It is possible to make “clothes” for both the upper and lower parts. You need to measure the parameters of the furniture, cut out rectangular or square covers in accordance with the figures obtained, and sew them along the marked lines. This option is convenient: you can make several sets, wash them, and change them according to the season or holiday.
Using the patchwork technique you have an excellent opportunity to hide small holes. You need to cut out colored squares (or other shapes) from fabric and sew them to the upholstery with a decorative seam (you can also glue them to imitate the presence of a large decorative seam). This way we get a fun patch and interesting decor.
If the above options are not suitable, you need to completely change the upholstery. We will look at this case in more detail below.
DIY chair decor
Original decor of chairs
See also Furniture decoration: aging, decoupage, upholstery replacement.
New Year's chair covers
It’s worth taking care of this decoration in advance; it’s good that we still have almost a month before the New Year, because rushing is not good for sewing. To make an attractive New Year's decoration for chairs, there is no need to sew a traditional cover to the floor, a “U-shaped” cap on the back is enough. It’s better to spend time decorating it beautifully, for example, with embroidery or appliqué with the image of Santa Claus, a snowman, an elegant Christmas tree, a bell, a boot and other New Year’s symbols.
Red covers with a white trim in the shape of Santa Claus's hat have become quite common - they are easy to make, but they look elegant and original. By the way, if you have time, they can be knitted or crocheted. Make a large fluffy pompom from white yarn; it will be suitable for both a knitted and sewn hat.
We connect the “decoupage” technique
This option is suitable for chairs made of wood, without upholstery. It is well suited for fairly worn furniture. A correctly selected drawing will only add nobility to this nuance.
We will need a paper napkin with the selected pattern (or printing the image on thin paper), PVA glue, a brush, and wood varnish. Separate the top layer of the napkin with the pattern and place it on the base. Next we cover it with glue. You can smooth it out during the process, or, on the contrary, wrinkle it a little to give it an antique effect. After attaching the image, let it dry and varnish it. Varnish the legs and other parts.
This technique of decorating chairs with your own hands is also suitable for a new household item. If you want to add a noble touch of antiquity to its appearance (in this version, decoupage looks more advantageous), you can artificially “age” it. To do this, take sandpaper and rub in several places. By adjusting the pressure and intensity of work, you will get abrasions of different depths, thereby emphasizing their naturalness.
Decorating chairs with your own hands for the holiday
Beautiful decoration of chairs
DIY chair decor idea
See also: Decorating a chest of drawers with your own hands
Chair design ideas for wedding celebrations
At a wedding, people always pay attention to the style of the room and all the small details, because they create the mood. The beautiful decor of all wedding chairs is easily achievable with minimal costs, because many ideas can be implemented at home
For example:
Handmade bright embroidery. Many girls know how to embroider - labor lessons at school should not be in vain. Hand embroidery for decoration is always an ideal option: cheap, most pleasant, and it’s also an excellent opportunity to show your future husband what a good needlewoman his bride is. But if you don’t have time to decorate all the chairs in the banquet hall with embroidery, then limit yourself to just the seats of the newlyweds.
Decorating with beads is also an interesting idea, especially if you still have old beads and necklaces at home. Feel free to use them for wedding decorations
And it doesn’t matter that the beads are not the same color and size, in the end this mix will look vintage, and guests will definitely pay attention to this creativity
Colored paper. Paper details that look like fans, flowers or pompoms look very stylish at any occasion and a wedding is no exception. There are many master classes on the Internet on how to make them yourself.
Leaves or greenery look especially good if the wedding ceremony is held outdoors. Guests will definitely appreciate this design in boho or rustic style.
Photos. Joint photographs of the newlyweds will look romantic, touching, and soulful on the newlyweds’ chairs. An original idea is to attach photographs of guests to each place where they will sit.
Fabric
More often, fabric is used to decorate wedding chairs. The classic technique is identical fabric covers tied with a tulle or satin bow. The covers are diversified with different drapery: ruffles, flounces, tucks. In this way it is easy to hide less than presentable furniture under a beautiful fabric. The color and texture of the fabric is selected to match the dress, the bride’s bouquet or other decor of the banquet hall. Light shades are common: white, peach, beige, pink and other pastel colors.
Flowers
Floristry looks especially chic in a wedding interior, where plants of different shapes and colors are used along with decorative elements. If you choose floral decoration for your celebration, the wedding will be exclusive, because each composition is unique. Flower arrangements can be linear, round, garlands, wreaths, with candles, whole wedding arches in the shape of a heart or a semicircle, and all this is attached to the chairs of the bride, groom, and invited guests.
The chairs are draped with both fresh and artificial flowers, collected in a bouquet or in the form of capital letters of the newlyweds' names. Usually the flower arrangement on the chairs or tables of the banquet hall is the same and is made in full accordance with the chosen color scheme and style of the wedding celebration. The main task of flower arrangements is to set the bride, groom and all guests in a festive mood, without interfering with the enjoyment of the holiday.
Bows and ribbons
It’s easy to transform an ordinary chair into an elegant piece for a wedding hall using very simple methods: ribbons or bows. They look great on folding wooden chairs, tied at the back. Ribbons are used plain or colored. This decor looks especially colorful in nature: multi-colored ribbons will flutter in the wind, creating an atmosphere of joy and positivity.
Bows are tied on top of covers or simply on a chair. As a rule, if the cover is a light shade, then a contrasting bow is chosen. With the help of bows, it is easy to save on wedding decor by simply tying them on the chair of each guest: it will look less elegant than with a cover, but more soulful. The materials used for bows are:
- silk;
- guipure;
- chiffon;
- organza;
- atlas.
Signs and inscriptions
The most daring and unusual solution is to decorate wedding chairs for all participants in the celebration with signs with inscriptions. They can be easily made at home and then attached to the backs of chairs in a banquet hall at any convenient time. This is the most budget option of all, just choose an interesting font, background and print the guest’s name in A4 format on a color printer. Don't like name tags? Use different male and female silhouettes or inscriptions, for example, “Prince”, “Princess”, “Madame”, “Mister” and the like.
Repainting an old chair
As with the previous technique, this one is suitable for wooden products. Painting an old chair is not as easy as it seems. Let's get started.
First, you should remove the remnants of the old paint so that the new one will stick better, and sand the base with sandpaper. Now you can start painting. All your imagination is applicable here.
- You can make the chair look monochromatic by simply refreshing it.
- If you are a skilled artist, it is possible to use hand painting techniques. It will take more time than the first option, but it will bring more pleasure and a new, fresh look.
- If Nature has not endowed you with artistic talent, use stencils. This method is quite simple and looks just as attractive.
- You can combine simple hand drawings with stickers or stencils.
- You can also apply the above-described decoupage technique to a plain base.
After painting, the product must be varnished to give the design a noble shine and durability.
DIY chair decor
Original decor of chairs
See also Interesting DIY lampshade decor ideas
Getting ready for work
Before we begin, let's decide what is needed to carry out the work. Let's prepare the tools. We will need a screwdriver, a tape measure, a stapler, a pencil, scissors, fabric for upholstery and lining. Everyone knows how to use these tools, so there is nothing difficult about replacing upholstery.
Now let's move on to choosing fabric for upholstery.
Decorating chairs with your own hands for the holiday
Beautiful decoration of chairs
DIY chair decor idea
See alsoDecorative drawings for exclusive do-it-yourself wall decor
Choosing material
When decorating chairs, an important part is the choice of material. The upholstery material should be chosen taking into account the color scheme of the interior and the quality of the fabric. Let's consider the most suitable material for upholstery, its positive and negative sides.
| material | compound | pros | minuses |
| upholstery tapestry | cotton with artificial fibers added | durable and wear-resistant | difficult to clean, the direction of the fibers is only in one direction, due to which the pattern may be displaced when upholstering |
| furniture silk | natural silk fibers (50%) artificial fibers (50%) | has an elegant look and adds shine to the product | expensive |
| jacquard | natural or artificial fibers (depending on the type of jacquard) | high-quality material, gives the chair a noble look, used for upholstering antique items | expensive |
| arpatek | faux leather | durable, proven to work well in everyday use | has a fairly simple appearance, not suitable for upholstering exclusive furniture |
DIY chair decor
Original decor of chairs
See alsoYou can create original watch decor with your own hands
Work order
Having dealt with the preparation, let's get down to business.
- Take a screwdriver and unscrew the existing bolts. Then remove the seat from the base.
- Remove the old upholstery by straightening and removing the staples.
- Measure the seat around the perimeter, add 3-5 centimeters to the obtained values for the hem (depending on the height of the seat), and measure these parameters on the fabric. Another, simpler way: place the seat on a piece of fabric and trace the outline with a pencil. Add 3-5 centimeters. And you will get the same result.
- Then you need to cut the fabric according to the marked marks.
- We fix the material on the seat. For this you will need a stapler. Gradually place the fabric on the back of the chair and secure with staples. You can pre-fix it to the base so that it does not move while working with the stapler.
- Measure the back of the seat (where we attached the material) and cut out the corresponding silhouette from the fabric for the lining.
- Using the same technique, secure the lining, covering the attachment points of the upholstery.
- Final step: Screw the seat back to the base of the chair. Ready!
Decorating chairs with your own hands for the holiday
Beautiful decoration of chairs
DIY chair decor idea
See also: DIY flower pot decor
Decoration with ribbons
If for wide and fluffy bows the fabric consumption will be large, you can use ribbon decoration as an alternative. They can also be tied with a bow around the back:
Fresh flowers inserted into a bow will look elegant and delicate:
For a wedding in winter, a composition of pine cones and twigs and a New Year's ball would be a wonderful decoration. You can buy them ready-made, or you can collect the necessary materials in the forest. To fasten the components together and then conveniently fix them on the tape, you need wire. We connect a twig and a ball with it (through the hole for the thread) and hook it to the bottom layer of scales of the cone. Leave the ends of the wire longer to secure the composition to the ribbon knot. It turns out very beautiful:
Narrow ribbons of different colors tied behind the top bar of the back of the chair look gentle and romantic. This method of decoration can be easily combined with other wedding table accessories. It is enough to buy one of the ribbons of the same color as the tablecloth or table napkins.
You can use ribbons from different fabrics and fasten them in the center with a flower:
To do this you will need a thin wire. It must be folded in half like a hairpin and carefully pierce the bud. Then collect the ribbons tied to the back of the chair in the center and secure with wire. Bend the ends well, or better yet, trim them so that none of the guests ruin their outfit.
Holiday decor
We can give a chair a new life, and also transform it, making it an original accessory for the holiday.
Decorating chairs in a festive way is a very interesting and exciting activity. The energy you put into this household item will contribute to the emergence of a positive festive atmosphere.
DIY chair decor
Original decor of chairs
See also DIY storage box decor
Getting ready for the wedding
A wedding is an event that everyone approaches with great responsibility. You can entrust the decor of the bride and groom's chairs, as well as guests, to an experienced designer. But it’s better to check everything yourself. Or even create a design yourself.
The most common elements for this holiday are bows and flowers. Chair covers with satin bows tied on them look beautiful. We will select decorations depending on the style of the wedding.
- Traditional. Bows, lace, and artificial flowers would be appropriate here.
- Eco style. Fresh flowers, wreaths made of leaves, flowers or vines, pine cones and other dry natural material.
- Country. Pillows, tablets with inscriptions, linen bags with enclosed wishes or inscriptions.
- Mediterranean. Blue covers, starfish and other accessories that match the nautical theme.
By making cute trinkets and covers for wedding decor, you will have a lot of fun, charge the atmosphere with your energy, and get exactly what you wanted without any modifications or misunderstandings.
See alsoCreate simple and amazing wood decor with your own hands
Unconventional ideas
If we delve deeper into the issue of decorating chairs, there is no doubt that a wide variety of, sometimes unexpected, materials can be used. You won’t surprise anyone with simple coloring; twigs, ropes, flowers, candies, tree bark and old discs are used.
Chair decor with rope
This option is considered more suitable for massive stools and chairs. Although, if you wish, you can try to decorate more sophisticated furniture. The upholstery is removed from the chair and pieces of twine of the required length are prepared for each individual element (legs, crossbars, handles). Next, follow a simple technique: fix the end of the rope with a stapler or a small nail and begin to tightly wrap the product. The other end is secured in the same way. You can make simple weaving on the backs of the chair, which will become a noticeable decoration.
The rope can be left plain or decorated as you wish. In general, you can use not only rope for winding, it can be artificial rattan or scraps of fabric twisted into a rope.
Natural materials
The use of natural materials is relevant not only in school crafts. Even Italian designers (Andrea Magnani and Giovanni Delvezzio from the Re Sign studio) distinguished themselves with the simple but unexpected idea of decorating chairs with bark. Not everyone can buy designer furniture, but anyone can take an idea and bring it to life.
Wooden chairs should closely match the natural material, so they are cleaned of varnish, sanded with fine sandpaper and left in that form. The maximum that can be done is to cover it with stain to give it a tint. The prepared tree bark is glued in a loose order; the designers chose one leg and a back for gluing.
Another equally interesting approach is to decorate the chairs with flat pebbles. The stone is glued directly to the seat and back. An unusual chair can decorate a bathroom, balcony or garden, especially if there are other marine-themed items nearby.
Mosaic
If, in addition to old chairs, you also find unnecessary or damaged disks at home, you can decorate a piece of furniture with a mosaic. A pattern made from small colored pieces will look original and interesting, and the updated chair will fit perfectly into almost any interior.
The mirror side of the discs is rubbed with fine sandpaper, after which colored glossy paper is glued onto it. Then cut the disk into equal squares (it’s more convenient to immediately divide them into colors). The chair also needs to be prepared. The surface is sanded, degreased and primed. Mosaic squares are glued one by one in the form of a selected pattern or randomly. After drying, the gaps between the “tiles” are filled with construction putty, and the surface is coated with varnish.
