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.

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.

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.

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.

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.