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Weekend Project: Barcelona Chair Repair

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First a note on Barcelona Chairs, they are extremely uncomfortable chairs/couches.  I would not recommend purchasing one.  My husband owned two when he was a bachelor, and during the first year we dated I remember trying to watch movies on these couches. The piped trim and buttons dig into you.  There are no arms on the couch and you quickly learn how often you lean against the arms of a couch. We still have the Barcelona loveseat and it is just for decoration. I put my purse on it sometimes. It occupies space that would otherwise be awkwardly bare. That is what these chairs/loveseats/couches are good for: just decoration.

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Before

So the other problem with the Barcelona style of furniture is that the leather straps that hold up the cushions break. All of the sudden strap after strap will break. Three straps broke on the loveseat and Charles suggested just getting rid of it.  That seemed wasteful to me. Plus I love a good challenge so I became determined to fix the loveseat that I never really liked much to begin with.

I am going to be totally honest with you. The steps involved in fixing Barcelona furniture are very easy, but the leather straps are a bit pricy. The leather straps are absolutely necessary. You can’t duct tape the broken straps together, it doesn’t work, my husband tried it.

Prep step 1: Buy the leather straps. They are available from Emfurn for $159. You can’t buy individual straps, they only sell enough for an entire chair. Don’t worry the other supplies are much cheaper.

The supplies.

The supplies.

 

You will need:
Leather Straps
A Leather Punch
Nuts and Bolts or Chicago Screws
A wrench
Scissors

Prep step 2: The rest of the supplies can be purchased at a hardware store. I went to Home Depot. You might be wondering what Chicago Screws are and that is a good question. The answer is two fold, 1 click the link above for a visual, and 2 they are screws that Home Depot doesn’t sell. This is why I opted for nuts and bolts instead. It isn’t as pretty of a solution, but seriously – who is looking under your couch?

Fold the leather strips over, and secure with a nut and a bolt.

Fold the leather strips over, and secure with a nut and a bolt.

 

Now it is time to get to work!

Step 1:
Cut the broken straps off the chair.

Step 2:
Place the new leather strap on the frame and mark where the holes need to be punched. Then punch the holes.

Step 3:

Use a nut and a bolt to secure the new strap on the chair.

Step 4:

Repeat until all the broken straps are replaced. Save all extra materials because the old straps will keep breaking.

Repaired Chair.

Repaired Chair.

As a side note, the larger Barcelona couch was replaced during the de-bachelorization of the condo which happened when I moved in. I wish I had before and after photos to share with you, but the place looks much better now. My husband might not agree, but whatever. The Barcelona couch was replaced with a sectional that we both Love. We bought it online, sight unseen, which sounds crazy but it totally worked out. We have had it for about 2 1/2 years and it is holding up well. It is from Stendmar, their website looks sketchy but trust me on this one, its legit and comfy.

Jane Driscoll

Monday 6th of January 2020

Thank you for the comprehensive instructions. I replaced the straps on two chairs yesterday and it went fine. I used a drill instead of a leather punch because it was easier for me. Ace had the Chicago screws.

David Hodges

Monday 8th of September 2014

Hi, I bought from Emfurn but the straps are breaking now and their price is far from $99. I think the other link to Barcelona Chair Factory in your blog is a quite good recommendation, I spent there $99 for 17pcs straps with free nails and free shipping to my work place in Ontario and $299 for the chair cushions set with free shipping, and they also send me very specific installation manual and vedio: http://www.barcelonachairfactory.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=2_24

Thank you very much for the nice blog.

Danny

Monday 15th of December 2014

"David", it's clear you work for barcelonachairfactory. I myself made a huge mistake buying from barcelona chairs from you clowns. I wish I had read your reviews before purchasing: http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Barcelona_Chair_Factory

thekittchen

Tuesday 22nd of April 2014

This post as been updated with links to a less expensive source for chair straps!

george gutarra

Thursday 14th of November 2013

The quotation I got from the Barcelona Chair factory was $175.00 do you know why? and do you know anybody locally (USA)

thekittchen

Friday 15th of November 2013

I don't know why your quote was higher. They are the only company that I know of that sells the straps. Sorry I can't be more of a help.

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