Giving an old chair a new lease on life through cleaning, repairing and recovering is a great way to give your living or dining space a new look and save money that you would have spent on a new chair.

The three tips below are designed to help you bring your chair back to life.

Work On The Frame

The frame is only one of the parts of your chair that you should pay attention to if you want to give it a new lease of life. If it's made of plastic, simply give it a good clean and try to cover up any chips or scratches. For metal, you will be able to polish your frame to a gleaming shine. However, most chairs have wooden frames or feet. As well as polishing them, you should get a wood filler and fill in any gaps, cracks, or chips. If you're giving your chair a whole new look with replacement chair covers, you could try staining the wood a different colour – Popular Woodworking explains how to make staining look neat and consistent.

Neaten Up The Upholstery

The second part of the chair that you need to pay attention to is the upholstery. If there are any small rips or tears, spend some time sewing them up with an appropriately-coloured thread. You should also clean the upholstery; this step will depend on what your upholstery is made of, so search online for tips about your specific material. For hard-wearing material, upholstery cleaner and warm water will work well. Finally, you might want to put patches over worn areas that are harder to see, like the back of an armchair, to keep the material strong. If you think that the upholstery is too stained, torn, or worn for you to save with your skills, you should consider replacement chair covers, as described below.

Consider Replacement Chair Covers

Replacement chair covers can give your chair a whole new look, but it's important to choose the right covers. Of course, you should start by measuring your chair and figuring out exactly how big your cover needs to be, and then looking for covers that size – or ones that you can easily cut down to size. You might look for a cover that looks as close to your existing upholstery as possible, to keep a consistent and familiar look, or you might want something different. Make sure that the colour and pattern suit the vibe of your room well. Apartment Therapy has some good general ideas on what colours look good, suggesting vibrant combinations like blue and orange. If you have multiple chairs to recover, decide if you want them to be all the same or contrasting.

By taking a little time to work on cleaning and fixing the frame, as well as fixing the upholstery or buying new replacement chair covers, you can make your chair look amazing and last for years to come.