It's the fourth Thursday of March and that means it's Furniture Fixer Uppers day. I always look forward to this series each month and I had planned on sharing today's makeover with you last month. You may remember a cold knocked me flat off my feet so I put this labor-intensive makeover on the back burner.

Well, it's a new month and I still have that cold but I wasn't going to let that stop me from finally giving this pair of Mid-Century Modern Danish Armchairs a flower power makeover.

Mid-Century Modern Flower Power Armchair Makeover

If you haven't heard of Furniture Fixer Upper Day, every month six blogging friends who have a passion for rescuing furniture that has seen its better days, come together to bring you six furniture makeovers that include tutorials and helpful tips. The goal is to inspire others to breathe new life into dated furniture at a fraction of the cost of replacing it with something new.

If you missed the challenge in February, I transformed a set of Turned Leg Nesting Tables with Jacobean Floral stenciled tops.

There's a funny story about these chairs. We purchased them through a local online auction site and when picking them up discovered the seller was a cousin's ex-husband. That cousin was raised in our house, which we purchased from my Aunt and Uncle. Judging by the labels found under the chairs, they may have originated from this house (that hasn't been confirmed yet but is very likely). Talk about coming full circle.

This is what the chairs used to look like...


This post contains affiliate links so you can find the products I used or recommend If you make a purchase I will earn a small commission with no extra costs to you.

Restoring the Chair's Wood Frame

After removing the hundreds of staples (the worst part of reupholstery) on each chair along with the filthy dirty upholstery, the next order of business was to restore the worn teak. With 150-grit sandpaper, I was able to remove the surface scratches and even out the wood tones.

Upholstery Tip #1

Before you remove one staple, ALWAYS take close-up photos of every angle, every fold, and every joint in the old upholstery. Trust me, you will refer to these photos often when adding each new piece of fabric.


Using a damp cloth I removed the dust and followed up with a tack cloth. Next, using a lint-free rag I applied Scandinavian tung oil.

I was a little concerned about the oil because judging by the amount of dust on the top of the can, this stuff had been in the workshop for probably over a decade.


I was amazed how after just one coat it renewed the luster of the wood. I applied a second coat just in the places where the wood was worn.


When I saw the bolt of fabric at Fabricland (a Canadian retailer), I instantly knew it was THE fabric for these chairs. I just love the bold colors and floral print that just screams retro. For your convenience, should you want to purchase it, pictured below is the fabric label.

Upholstery Tip #2

When purchasing fabric with a print, remember to allow for pattern repeats. Because we were doing two chairs and wanted the pattern repeats to be echoed on each chair, I purchased 4 meters (4.37 yards). I was hoping to have fabric left over to sew two matching pillows but unfortunately had just enough for both chairs. Keep this in mind should you want to sew cushions.

Cutting the new fabric

As I mentioned earlier, the original fabric was filthy and dirty. Instead of using it for the pattern pieces to cut the new fabric, I traced each piece onto craft paper. I added an extra 4 inches all around each piece so there was room for error and labeled them accordingly.

With the fabric spread out on the floor, lay out the pattern pieces so you get the exact same pattern repeat for each piece per chair.

Upholstery Tip #3

When removing the original upholstery, label each piece on the back with a marker. They will become your pattern for cutting the new fabric.


Once the pattern pieces were laid out and we were 100% certain the pattern repeats were identical for each chair, we placed weights onto each pattern to hold the fabric in place while cutting. You could draw the pattern using tailor's chalk or a pencil but this method is much quicker.

Replacing the old muslin cover

Thankfully the original stuffing and cotton batting were in good condition. All we had to do was replace the dirty muslin with new batting.

Upholstery Tip #4

If you don't do a lot of upholstery projects, a heavy-duty stapler does the task just fine. Electric staplers make the task much easier and are a great option if you have a few upholstery projects planned.