Converting an upholstered chair into a swivel glider

I get lots of "where did you get that" questions about the glider in Knox's nursery. It's a vintage piece that I found on eBay waaaaay before I was pregnant.

I fell in love with the high back and the Hollywood Regency-ish flair it had with the piping so I bought it and held onto it, hoping one day I'd get to put a sweet baby in it.

25 weeks old and all dressed up for Opening Day!!

I know it can be frustrating when you see something you love and HAVE TO have on a blog or magazine only to read that it's vintage. It seriously happens to me way more than I care to think about and is usually followed by
days
weeks of obsessive Googling, eBay & Craig's List searching.

Gliders are expensive yet a truly indispensable piece of furniture for a nursery. So if you have a family heirloom you'd love to use or you just want to save some money by using an upholstered chair you already have, consider converting it into a glider. With a few simple supplies, pretty much any upholstered chair can be converted into a glider/rocker.

Supplies:
-- 3/4" wood board (minimum thickness).
{Plywood is probably fine but for larger chairs/occupants you might consider using a harder wood like maple.}
--2 blocks of wood 3/4" or thicker by 1.75" or wider by 11" or 12" long
--a swivel/rock unit like this.
{Be sure that the diameter of your swivel/rock hardware is slightly less than the base of the chair you're starting with, otherwise the black legs will protrude out. This is especially important if your chair doesn't have a skirt.}

via Swivel-Chair-Parts.com

Sounds complicated but I swear it's not. Check out this link for a detailed explanation but I'll give it to you in a nutshell.

Turn your chair upside down and remove the black dust cover.

Once you have the dust cover off, you'll be able to see the "guts" of your chair - namely the spring system and the wood frame that surrounds it. Screw your 3/4" blocks to the front and back of your chair frame. This will provide the foundation for you to attach your plywood board to.


Screw your board onto the wood blocks.


Attach your swivel hardware. If you're still feeling squeamish about tackling something like this yourself, it's a very simple (and inexpensive) project for a professional upholsterer.



Enjoy!

{photo credit: Nancy Ray Photography}