Renewing deck chairs

 Welcome back to my blog in 2025! To celebrate the new year, instead of looking at new things, I wanted to share with you a refurbishment project that I have just completed. Forty years ago, my sister gave me two classic wooden deckchairs, with striking canvas seats in red, blue and yellow. These lasted for many years, but eventually, when the canvas had become rather worn and faded, I replaced it with plain white seats. In  a second refurbishment, they were transformed into beige stripes, but recently it was time to give them a new lease on life for relocation to my daughter's house. Stacked on my balcony for several years has been another chair frame passed on by a friend that I have never had time to refurbish, and in discussing my plans, another friend donated his old chair that he has not used in years.

So with four chairs to renew, the first step was to remove the old canvas. Two of the chairs have the canvas fixed to the frame with blue tacks, which have to be very carefully removed to avoid damaging the wood. The other two have a much simpler detail with a dowel that slips into a sleeve in the canvas top and bottom. 

Now it is time for the most critical part of the process, sanding down the wooden frames to remove old varnish and prepare the surfaces, making sure that all sides are completely sanded down, including the parts that are concealed when the frame is folded. 

Sanding of the frame complete on the last chair

As all four chairs are to live outdoors on an open balcony and deck, we decided to use an exterior grade sealer. Another alternative would be to paint the frame but we opted for the look of the natural timber to match in with the wooden floors and windows. For indoor use, you can use any timber sealer, varnish or paint, but it is best not to leave the frame without any finish, as the frames will tend to warp and splinter if untreated.

As with the sanding, it is important to be sure that all surfaces are properly covered, preferably with two coats to ensure durability. The sealing (or painting or varnish) needs to be done over several days to allow the finish to dry before doing the concealed parts. It is important to check that all surfaces are covered, with the frame both open and closed.

First coat of the sealant complete

One of the most critical surfaces is the feet, so to be sure that these are properly protected. I stacked the frames upside down and propped them against a wall to do the undersides. The sealing can be quite a messy job, so I made sure to cover all surfaces with newspaper and wore my oldest clothes. 

The frames stacked upside down to seal the feet

While the frames are drying, it is time to measure and cut the canvas. If you have removed old canvas, you can use this as a pattern, but if not, you will need to measure the frame. The finished width should be slightly narrower than the front (lower) rail and the finished length should be measured by lying the frame flat and measuring from the bottom fixing rail to the top rail - this gives the necessary slack in the canvas for the classic curve, and will allow you to fold up the chair when not in use. Be sure to add for the seam allowances on the sides and for the fixing top and bottom. 

For measuring and cutting, I use my old architectural drawing instruments, but you can use a large sheet of paper or cardboard to make sure the sides are square with the top and bottom. The easiest is to mark out the canvas with a soft pencil on the reverse side of the fabric.

Measuring and marking the canvas for cutting

We chose canvas that has been treated to make it water resistant, to extend the life of the fabric - conventional canvas is quite durable outdoors, but tends to fade and become discoloured over a fairly short time. 

My next task was to stitch the side seams, which I did on my trusty little Singer sewing machine, being careful to use good quality sewing thread for durability. The tacked chars just needed the top and bottom to be finished with a zigzag stitch to prevent fraying, but the dowelled ones needed a casing created by folding over the fabric and stitching two parallel seams.

The dowel-fixed chair complete

For the tacking, it is important to be careful not to hammer into old tack holes - quite a challenge with the chairs that are now on their fourth covers! It is also possible to use a staple-gun, but this generally needs two people, one to hold the fabric in position.

The tacked chair complete

One of the patterns of fabric has a strong directionality, so we had to buy enough to cut out the pieces lengthwise. This resulted in left-over fabric, so in the spirit of environmental sustainability, I used this to make a long cushion to allow the low wall to the deck to be used as a seat. I left pockets at each end for stones to weight it down.

The cushion made from the left-over fabric

With the smaller scraps of each fabric (the length of the canvas is about 1.2 to 1.3m depending on the fixing detail, and most canvas is 1.5m wide) I made two scatter cushions. This was a very rewarding project, taking four chairs that were no longer in use and giving them at least another ten years of life. They fit so well in their new home, where there is a botanical theme running through the whole house, and the chairs finish the tropical look with the palm trees and plantation shutters.

The finished chair with palm tree in the background