Cane Chair Restoration

  C a n e    C h a i r    R e s t o r a t i o n  

My projects teach me something - read my "Teach Me A Lesson" at bottom of page

Whilst driving, I instinctively always visually sweep the streets for goodies that might want to come my way, so, one day, whilst driving my teenage son somewhere I spied this chair, it was sitting along with other roadside rubbish at a house 4 houses down from our own and as I adore cane furniture and anything lattice I did a quick, calculated and efficient retrieval of said piece, my son was, of course, embarrassed beyond description but no one was going to stop me.  I couldn't afford being spotted by friends or neighbours so inspecting the chair prior to picking it up was not an option, luckily, it's bones were in great shape.

The seat is made up of a piece of plywood specifically cut to the shape of the chair, recuting it myself was impossible and the hardware only cuts straight lines, my other option was hubby who's a cabinetmaker but I know I can't hold my breath waiting for him to do anything for me, so salvaging the plywood was the only way.  I hand sanded the plywood to smooth it and then disinfected it well and left to dry.  The cushion insert is thinner towards the edges and raises gradually towards the middle, recuting a brand new one costed $50, so, to save money, I soaked it in bleach with hot water twice, then washed and left it to dry, took days to dry but there was no musty smell left or anything.  As the chair looked like it had seen some wet days, I disinfected it and hosed it and left it to dry.  Once dry, I sprayed it with an oil based undercoat costing $4 a can and then went over it with an oil based grey paint which I purchased on clearance for $2.  I recovered the seat with a new fabric costing me about $4 and reattached the seating.  The chair restoration was such a simple job and so effective.

 Teach me a Lesson....My cane chair restoration taught me that when I can't replace something that's beyond my capabilities, or if it's ineffective costwise, that a little imagination and elbow grease can  achieve a fantastic end result and who's to now?  Lesson Learn!!!

 So, what do you think?  Do you like it as much as I do?     :^) Lara