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.

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.

The label revealed a quality brand.

The delivery label on the bottom was dated 1964.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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!

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!!