Pages

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Adding Casters to Furniture


I inherited this antique chair from my mom.  I recovered it in white fabric years ago and put it in my bedroom (see below).  When I moved it to the Laundry room I decided to give it a small update and simply replaced the fabric on the back (fabric found here).  To cover the staples I added  a roll of nailhead trim.  Love it!  The only problem was... it sat too low.  I really liked the chair and wanted to keep it but didn't know how to solve the problem.  One day I had a light bulb moment - I could add casters to give it height!!!  



It worked like a charm and as a bonus it is now very easy to roll from my desk to my sewing machine.  I found the antique metal ball casters here.  I decided to go with the tallest ones I could find.
They were pretty easy to install, first you drill a hole in the bottom of the legs 
(the size of the hole depends on the size of the caster).

Then hammer in this piece (it comes included with the caster). 

Finally you insert the wheel, this may also take some pounding from a mallet-  and Voila!


It's wasn't cheap ($30 with shipping for 4 casters) but worth it to me since this is a family heirloom and I got it free.  
So- a solution for furniture that sits too low and you can't replace the legs.  
Plus it adds a fun decorative detail which I am a sucker for!



1 comment:

  1. Love your laundry room! I wish I had a room & not a laundry closet. Did you write a tutorial about the chair reupholstering? I have a project I need to do on a similar chair :-)

    ReplyDelete