Well, the time has come for certain. Six chairs around our dining table, that have been used, and used, and used up to the point where the cushion was flatter than a French crêpe. To tell the ugly truth, in the last couple months the two of us kept changing them around, trying to find one that was the least sat through... so we could eventually sit them through until it all felt like sitting on plywood.
Yes, this creeping suspicion materialized into the hard-bottom realization, when none of the six chairs provided any more comfort, whatsoever. It was my wife who insisted on dragging me downtown, to shop around for the best foam pieces and the most ideal textile to cover them with. The foam had to be firm enough so it would keep its form for a while, and the fabric had to be sturdy and good looking at the same time. Oh yes, and of course it couldn't be too pricey. So I bit the bullet and let her take the lead through the narrow alleyways overflowing with material shops, and literally swarming with people. Fortunately we managed to buy everything we needed (and more) before the general madness drove me crazy.
Once we got home, I took over the rudder, insisting on re-upholstering all six chairs that very afternoon. At first it seemed a bit nuts, making it seem like that trip downtown took a heavier toll on my mental state than expected. Fortunately, I found an ally who came to support my case. My friend Manu, who's staying with us at the moment, explained how in his family something similar had happened: They wanted to change the upholstery on some dining room chairs, but in the end fell into procrastination. Once they were used to sitting on the wooden boards, literally years would pass before they got around to completing them. And that's exactly what I was hoping to avoid.
So with the help of our friends, we managed to complete the task, and re-upholster all six chairs. Of course, work progresses at a great rate if you have eight hands being active. And of course there was going to be pizza afterwards...!
It only took three screws to remove the seat. Then came the most tedious part of taking off the staples.
Then, all we had to do was replace them with the new pieces. They were already cut to size, so we just had to pull them tight, and staple them down.
