Voltaire chair tutorials
Your first real armchair
A French icon you will keep forever: ten stages, in the right order.
Guide 3 · Voltaire · Your first armchair
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A Voltaire chair is a French armchair from the Louis-Philippe period, with a high back, a deep seat, padded armrests and an exposed wooden frame. Upholstered from top to bottom but always showing its wood, it is one of the most common chairs in French homes, and one of the best first projects for learning traditional upholstery.
This page gathers every tutorial to restore a Voltaire, from stripping the frame to the very last nail, in the right order. Curious about its history and its three back styles? Read the story of the Voltaire chair in the Journal.
| Style | Voltaire armchair, Louis-Philippe period (straight, violin or wing back) |
| Level | Beginner-friendly |
| Traditional padding | 20 h |
| Foam padding | 6 h |
| Covering & finishing | 8 h |
| Fabric | 1.8 m (plain fabric, 140 cm wide) |
| Braid or double welting | 8 m |
| Decorative nails | About 800, 11 mm (if finished with nails) |
Step 1
Prepare: strip and repair the frame
Skipping frame preparation is the number one mistake with vintage chairs. If the wood is damaged, wobbly or peeling, no fabric will save it. Strip the old upholstery, reinforce weak joints, fill cracks, and decide whether to paint or wax the show wood.
Step 2
Webbing and springs
The seat foundation, and the back webbing a tall Voltaire back needs to keep its shape.
Upholstery techniques tutorials for webbing
Step 3
Padding the seat
Foam traditional shape, modern method
The seat is wide and fairly flat on top, but it must look full and rounded at the front edge. Build that shape and get a smooth surface, with no lumps or ridges showing through the fabric.
Modern Foam Upholstery with a Traditional Shape: Voltaire Armchair SEAT Tutorial
Step 4
Padding the back
Foam
The inside back must look full and gently rounded, not flat like a cushion glued to a board. The upper corners are where most beginners lose the silhouette of the chair.
Modern Foam Upholstery : The back of a Voltaire Chair
Step 5
Padding the arms
Foam
Arms are often the part people dread most, but on a Voltaire they are quite forgiving once you understand the structure: the simplest and most reliable method, for a clean result with no puckers at the front post.
The easiest way to upholster arms with foam
Step 6 · Coming soon
Traditional padding
Traditional about 20 h
The traditional method for a period Voltaire, respecting its original construction, is in preparation. In the meantime, the foam method above recreates the soft, rounded profile of the chair.
Step 7
Covering the seat
Cut on grain, centre the pattern, and handle the slightly curved front corners without a visible pleat. Always cover in the same order on a Voltaire: seat, then inside and outside back, then arms last.
Covering the Seat of an Armchair (Voltaire)
Step 8
Covering the inside back
The piece everyone sees first. The fabric must follow the curve of the top rail smoothly, and the cuts around the arm uprights are always the trickiest part on a Voltaire.
How to cover the back of a Voltaire Chair
Step 9
Covering the outside back
The last piece of fabric to go on, and the one that gives the chair its finished look from behind: no visible staples, clean folded edges, and a bottom cloth underneath.
Step 10
Finishing: nails or braid
Braid 8 m · Nails about 800, 11 mm
Decorative nails placed one by one along every edge, or braid or double welting fitted neatly against the wood: this final step turns a recovered chair into one that looks properly done. See all the methods in Finishing.
The different ways to finish a seat (with visible wood)
Plan your fabric
How much fabric do you need for a Voltaire chair?
For a standard Voltaire in a plain or semi-plain fabric about 140 cm wide, plan 1.8 m for the seat, the inside and outside back and both arms. For the finish, 8 m of braid or double welting, or about 800 nails of 11 mm.
Large pattern repeat
Add about 50 cm, more to centre a large motif on the back.
Nails
They usually come in boxes of 1,000, which is perfect: you will always need a few spares when one goes crooked.
Buy the trim with the fabric
Nail heads or braid should either match the fabric exactly or contrast with it on purpose. There is no in-between that looks good.
A fabric made for seating
A minimum of 25,000 rubs on the Martindale test is a good benchmark for a chair used every day.
Need help choosing? See the upholstery fabric guide.
Is it a good first project?
Yes, and the best kind to learn on
The structure is logical, the work follows a clear order, and there are no tricky angles or mechanisms. More surface than a small chair, but each section is straightforward. The one thing it will not forgive: the exposed wood shows every cut and every finish.
Traditional or foam?
Both work on a Voltaire
Traditional padding respects the original construction of a period chair. Foam gives a clean, consistent shape without years of training, and can still recreate the soft, rounded profile that makes a Voltaire so elegant.
Premium Membership · Your Voltaire, together
Your first armchair? You won’t do it alone
With the Premium Membership, you send me a photo or a short video of your chair on WhatsApp at any stage, and I answer you personally, as if you were at my workbench.
- Check your frame before you build on it
- Get your back corners and arm cuts validated
- Advice on your own chair, not a generic answer
Voltaire chair: your questions
How long does it take to reupholster a Voltaire chair?
About 14 hours with foam, 28 hours the traditional way, covering and finishing included.
In which order do you cover a Voltaire chair?
Seat first, then the inside and outside back, and the arms last. Check and pin everything before stapling permanently. The outside back always goes on last among the back panels, as it hides the fixings of the inside back.
Braid or double welting on a Voltaire?
Both work. Braid is the classic period finish along the exposed wood; double welting, made from the upholstery fabric, gives a more tailored look. Count 8 m either way.
Which fabrics should I avoid on a Voltaire?
Chunky, heavily textured fabrics such as bouclé fight with the exposed wood and the period character of the chair. Velvet, jacquard or a well-chosen woven fabric suit it much better.
Keep exploring
After your Voltaire
The Journal
The story of the Voltaire chair
Its styles and fabric ideas.
Explore →
Next step
Cabriolet chairs
The other great classic of French antique markets.
Explore →
Technique
Covering techniques
Seats, backs, arms and corners.
Explore →
In person
Upholstery classes in France
Reupholster your Voltaire with me, on the shores of Lake Annecy.
Explore →
All the chairs and projects are in Guide 3: full upholstery projects.
The Hammer Club
Ready to restore your Voltaire?
Every technique on this page, explained step by step in photos, often with video, on real pieces from my atelier.
Follow along at your own pace, and come back whenever you need a refresher. 90+ tutorials, a clear learning path, and with Premium, my personal answers on WhatsApp.
Written by Céline Vanier, running her own upholstery atelier by Lake Annecy for more than 15 years.
