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How to upholster a door with leatherette with your own hands

This WordPress post explains the step-by-step process for upholstering a door with leatherette with your own hands. The process is broken down into easy-to-follow stages, such as selecting the material, measuring the door, cutting and stitching the leatherette, and finally fastening and assembling the product. This project has a number of advantages, including the provision of a more comfortable feel to the door handle, protection from wear and tear, as well as customized styling which makes the door look more attractive and modern. Upholstering a door with leatherette adds a unique and distinctive quality to any home, making it an attractive addition.

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Leatherette door upholstery is a currently rarely used method of decorating a door leaf. But in some cases, it justifies itself. Thanks to this method of finishing, several effects can be achieved at once: insulation, noise insulation and beautification of the old front door.

How to upholster a door with leatherette with your own hands

Depending on what material is used for upholstery, work can be performed both with removing the door from the hinges and laying it out on a horizontal surface, or without removing it from the box.

Door upholstery methods

There are three main ways to upholster doors with leatherette:

  1. Upholstery of interior doors using screw buttons.
  2. Classic upholstery with decorative nails.
  3. Tiled upholstery.

Door upholstery with decorative nails

Each of these methods has its own advantages and the choice depends solely on the skills and tastes of the owner of the door. In addition, some of these methods cannot be applied on a paneled door made of wooden blocks with fiberboard or plywood panels glued to them (hollow panels).

Leatherette front door

Materials for door upholstery with leatherette

Dermatin is an artificial material, which is a fabric base with a polymer coating applied to it, imitating the skin. Modern leatherette has good performance characteristics (elasticity, sufficient strength, moisture resistance). It is easy to care for leatherette, wash with detergents. The main advantage is the breathability of the leatherette.

Leatherette for door upholstery

As a filler (insulation and sound insulator), you can choose batting, foam rubber, polystyrene, technical cotton wool or synthetic winterizer.

Insulation for the door

The following are used as fasteners:

  • nails;
  • decorative metal string;
  • Staples;
  • screw buttons;
  • glue.

Door upholstery kit

Preparing the door for upholstery

If you plan to upholster an old door with leatherette, it must be repaired before starting work. First, all the fittings are removed: patch locks, door handle, peephole, apartment number, mailbox.

After that, the door is removed from the hinges and laid out on a flat horizontal surface. If there are deep defects on the door leaf, they are leveled with an epoxy putty or filled with expanded polystyrene patches. Through holes in the doors (from the door peephole or the lock mechanism), if they are not planned to be installed in place after the upholstery, are closed with plywood, or clogged with a wooden chop or filled with polyurethane foam. Check if the door hinges need to be replaced.

Upholstery with screw buttons

Most suitable for paneled interior doors. It is impossible to drive a nail or staple bracket into a thin fiberboard, they will not be fixed. Glue is used to attach the leatherette. It can be “liquid nails” assembly glue or similar construction glue for gluing building materials.

First, the door is marked by applying a coordinate grid on it, which will allow the bases of the screw buttons to be evenly glued to the canvas.

Fastening the screw buttons to the door

The bases of the buttons are glued to the marked places and left until the glue is completely dry (usually 24 hours). After that, a heater is laid out on the door leaf with pre-cut holes, which must correspond to the locations of the buttons. The insulation can be fixed to the canvas using the staples of the construction stapler.

Laying insulation on the door

After that, the leatherette is laid out. In places of contact with the pins of the screw buttons, it is cut or pierced with a sharp knife and the pins of the buttons are pulled out.

Excess leatherette and insulation are carefully trimmed around the perimeter of the door leaf with a sectional knife or scissors. Fix with staples of a construction stapler. Foam rubber can be fixed with glue.

Leatherette fixation with screw buttons

Decorative button heads are screwed onto the protruding threaded pins. The doors are glued or fixed around the perimeter with nails or self-tapping screws PVC profiles. Work completed.

“Classic” version of door upholstery

Only a wooden door made of solid wood can be upholstered with it. The method is convenient in that you can refine the door with leatherette without removing it from the hinges.

The handles, the door patch lock are removed from the door, the peephole is unscrewed. Insulation (batting, foam rubber) is fixed on the door leaf with a stapler. A leatherette is placed on top of it, which is stretched and secured with brackets along the upper edge of the door.

Leatherette door upholstery

After that, the actual upholstery of the door is made using decorative nails with wide heads. If a string is used to achieve an additional decorative effect, the heads of the nails are not completely achieved. A string is wrapped around them (1 revolution around the axis) and only after that the nail achieves completely.

Door upholstery with decorative carnations

Pattern options for door trim Pattern options for upholstery

Surplus insulation and leatherette is trimmed along the perimeter of the door.

A border is formed on the door frame, which allows you to close the gaps and contributes to better sound insulation. For this, a strip of leatherette 100 mm wide is fixed from one edge with brackets on the door frame. A tourniquet rolled up of insulation is laid along the strip and fixed at several points with a stapler. After that, starting from the top, the unfixed edge of the leatherette is tucked in such a way that the bundle of insulation is inside the leatherette. The free edge is tucked in and fixed with staples or upholstery nails with a small head.

Edging on the doorway

If the front door opens outward, then the edging is formed on the door itself. To do this, before laying and fixing the insulation, the leatherette strip, from which the edging will be formed, is fixed along the perimeter of the door leaf, and the edging roller is formed after the door is upholstered..

Door edging

Edging on the door leaf

Tiled way of door upholstery

This is the most rarely used, but the most decorative way to upholster the door with leatherette. The preliminary preparation of the door is carried out in the same way as in the first two cases..

The door must be removed from its hinges and laid out on a horizontal surface. You can use the glue method using screw buttons if the door is paneled or metal, or upholstery nails with wide heads if the door is made of solid wood.

Door markings for tiled cladding Door markings for the tiled method

The difference between this upholstery method lies in the use of rhombuses of the same size pre-cut from leatherette instead of a single piece.

For ease of installation, one sharp corner is cut off from rhombuses cut from leatherette. The upholstery starts at the bottom of the door. The first row of rhombuses is fixed along the edge of the door with a stapler. Then, sequentially, diamond by diamond, they are laid out on the surface of the insulation. The lower corner is fixed with a bracket. The edges of the rhombus are folded over and the side corners are fixed with a screw button or a nail, then the edges are folded again and the upper corner is fixed with a screw button (nail).

Securing the leatherette rhombuses Securing the leatherette rhombuses

Formation of edging for doors that open into the room is performed on the door frame, for those that open outward – on the door leaf, as in the case of upholstery in the “classic” way.

Leatherette upholstery of entrance or interior doors is one of the design options for the interior of a residential or office space in a retro style. It can be easily done by hand, especially if ready-made sets of upholstery material (leatherette glued to a foam base) are used for upholstery, which greatly facilitates the work process.

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Comments: 3
  1. Avalon

    Can someone please provide a step-by-step guide on how to upholster a door with leatherette material? I would like to try it myself but I am unsure of where to start. Any tips or advice would be appreciated!

    Reply
  2. Riley Turner

    Can someone please provide step-by-step instructions on how to upholster a door with leatherette? I’d love to learn how to do it myself and give my door a stylish upgrade. Any tips, techniques, and materials needed would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance for your help!

    Reply
    1. Mason Turner

      To upholster a door with leatherette, follow these step-by-step instructions:

      1. Start by measuring the dimensions of your door’s panels and cut pieces of leatherette accordingly, leaving a few inches of overlap on all sides.

      2. Clean the door surface and remove any hardware or obstacles that might hinder the upholstery process.

      3. Apply a thin layer of adhesive to the back of the leatherette cutout and the corresponding door panel. Allow the adhesive to become tacky, following the instructions provided with the adhesive.

      4. Carefully align the leatherette with the panel and press it firmly, starting from the center and working your way towards the edges to avoid wrinkles or air bubbles. Smooth out any imperfections as you go.

      5. Repeat this process for each panel, making sure to stretch the leatherette slightly to ensure a tight fit. Trim any excess material with a utility knife or scissors.

      6. For corners or curved areas, make small cuts in the leatherette to help it conform to the door’s shape. Apply adhesive in small sections, working with one area at a time.

      7. Once all panels are upholstered, allow the adhesive to fully dry as per the manufacturer’s instructions.

      8. For a finished look, add decorative trim like nailheads or upholstery tacks around the edges of the panels (optional).

      Some tips to keep in mind:
      – Seek assistance if needed, as working with large panels can be challenging alone.
      – Practice on a smaller piece of scrap leatherette before starting on the door.
      – Be patient and take your time to avoid mistakes.

      Materials needed:
      – Leatherette (ensure there’s enough to cover the door panels)
      – Adhesive suitable for upholstery projects
      – Measuring tape and marking tools
      – Utility knife or scissors
      – Decorative trim (optional)

      By following these steps and using the right materials, you can transform your door into a stylish piece that adds a touch of elegance to your space. Enjoy the project and the upgraded door!

      Reply
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