Monday, November 3, 2014

Rescuing A Caned Chair

If you are at all familiar with this blog you know that I love to rescue old furniture and give it new life. I am particularly fond of tables and chairs. Not long ago I ran across this old chair at Goodwill. I had to wait for an older gentleman who was using it to take a rest before I could inspect it and make my purchase. I decided that it was worth the $15 price tag. I love the faux bamboo.

cane chair

The photo below shows the hole in one side of the caning, the torn bottom covering, and loose metal straps across the bottom. I decided that all of those were simple repairs.

rescued cane chair before

The label revealed a quality brand.

cane chair label

The delivery label on the bottom was dated 1964.

old caning removed

The first thing I did was remove the old caning. It was difficult to remove but my persistence paid off.

roll of replacement cane

I purchased 3 feet of replacement caning at a cost of $5 per foot from the Furniture Doctor at Scott’s in Atlanta.The salesman was very helpful and gave me lots of tips.

new cane in place tightened

Again, this was much more difficult than I thought it would be but I was determined it was not going to get the best of me. I finally got the new cane in place.

new cane in place

The cane must be wet in order to bend for installation. As the newly installed caning dries, it tightens up considerably.

foam for pattern

I cut the cover off of the cushions and used them as a pattern to cut new foam since the existing cushions were as hard as rocks.

new foam in place

I then sewed covers for the new foam cushions. I used the solid blue fabric pictured in this post.

new home for an old chair

I took a piece of the old caning to my local Sherwin Williams store and had them match the stain for me. I think they did a great job.

new home for old chair with cane replaced

This project was much more of a challenge than I thought it would be. In fact, I have woven a cane seat before and while it required more time, it was easier than this. Maybe it’s because this cane was on the side rather than the seat.

new home for old chair 2

In the end, I am pleased with the outcome but would probably not attempt this again.

If you are interested you can see some of my other chair rescues by clicking on any of the photos below.

PicMonkey Collage red chairs 2

new red chair 2 - cropped

oak chair 15

cane back chairs 11

I don’t know about you, but I am feeling the holiday crunch now! I have so many things to do between now and Christmas but I am going to make a conscious effort to savor the seasons and I encourage you to do so too!

Have a great week!

a signature

I’m linking to Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch and to Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style. You MUST click over and see Susan’s creative use of ornaments that she purchased at Walmart!!

7 comments:

Pat said...

Pat,
Your determination paid off. . .this chair transformation is lovely, dear one!!! My Aunt took a course in chair canning and had told me you must work with wet reeds.
Bless your heart for making this chair a thing of beauty, once again!!!
Fondly,
Pat

Stacey said...

Seriously...you are good! That looks amazing. I would have assumed you were going to paint it but you got the stain to match perfectly. The chair is better than new now.

DD's Cottage said...

Wow-those chairs look so good now. I am impressed with the canning you did-I have not tried it yet and am a little scared by the thought!

Shirley@Housepitality Designs said...

You did a magnificent job on that gorgeous chair...it was worth saving!!!...and must say that I am in love with the last chair in the post..it is also a real beauty!

Decor To Adore said...

I once bought a beautiful old French settee from Ebay. The caning was destroyed which was why I got it for like $10. I tried my darndest to repair it but finally had to take it to a caning expert. It is one of my husband's favorite pieces of furniture in our home.
I tip my hat to you for being successful.
Have a beautiful week.

Vel Criste said...

Your just solo good Pat! I wish you lived next door to me and I can send you a pair that needs the same tweaking you did! Love it!

Jennifer @ Dimples and Tangles said...

Yes, that chair is a winner! My dad has replaced caning before but I've never tried... I'm scared! ;) Beautiful makeover, thanks for linking up with us at Best of the Nest!