Shabby & Sweet Cane Back Chairs: A Before & After

Monday, April 22, 2013

I picked up these gorgeous cane back chairs this past week after finding them buried in craigslist. There was no mention of the word cane in any part of the ad which is probably why they hadn't been picked up already. They were listed for $150 along with a little side table but seller said he'd do the set of chairs for $70! Steal! I loved that they still had the original blue tufted upholstery that was in really nice condition. All they needed was a little paint to give them new life.


I'm a little impatient when it comes to prepping for a project and I couldn't figure out how I was going to remove the upholstered seats easily. Part of the upholstery wrapped around the side of the chairs (you can see that in one of the after images). So what is a girl to do?! Make plastic bag slipcovers of course! All I did was tear open some plastic shopping bags and tape them over the upholstery using painters tape...and scotch tape when I ran out, lol! Both worked perfectly and came off easily without damaging the finished paint.


I had no idea how time consuming it would be to paint caning!! It took For-E-Ver! I finally resorted to using a tiny little art brush instead of my regular painting brush. It was slow going but the tiny art brush got into the cracks and crevices so much more efficiently than a regular painting brush. It was also much easier to paint around the taped edges of the upholstery because I had much more control than I did with my bulkier brush. So there's my tip...paint cane back chairs with an artist brush!


I used Annie Sloan Old White for this project because I wanted that shabby chic cottage look for these chairs. The Old White paired perfectly with the pale blue upholstery to achieve this look :) Here they are all done! What a change huh?! You'll have to excuse the indentions in the carpet. These are replacing a large oversized chair that was in this spot. We are hoping to replace the carpet with hardwoods but haven't tackled that project just yet ;)


I found my Nest pillow here.



Here is the space they now occupy in the living room. There used to be a big, bulky, oversized chair here in an awful slipcover. I've been wanting to switch it out for forever. I think these sweet chairs are much better suited in this space :)


 A close-up of the distressing. I did 3-4 coats on these chairs and finished with Annie Sloan's clear wax.



A view from above. I just love these tufted seats!



This quilt was actually a cutter quilt that I got free. It was a queen sized quilt but had rips, tears, and large holes all over it which left it un-useable. An etsy seller gave it to me as a surprise when I bought another quilt in her shop. She said she thought I could use it to create other projects. I made this little throw blanket buy cutting out a large portion that was still intact and then sewing some soft flannel to the back. It's now the perfect lap quilt and looks great draped over these chairs :) I still have sections left that would make great pillow covers!


So what do you think? I hope this will send you on a hunt for your own cane back chairs! They really are pretty and especially nice for adding seating to small spaces. The guy who sold them to me said his wife HATED these chairs and had been wanting to get rid of them for years. I wonder if she'd hate them now ;) Have a fabulous Monday!


Linking up:

Furniture Feature Fridays


Liz Marie Blog

9 comments:

  1. They are gorgeous. So delicate and feminine! Such a transformation from the before :)
    - Lora

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    1. Hi Lora,
      Thanks for coming by and for the sweet words about these chairs! They were definitely a fun project :) Have a great monday!

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  2. They are so beautiful now. That velvet is to die for!

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    1. Thank you so much! Yes, I'm loving the blue velvet too :)

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  3. They look beautiful! I have a chair similar to these that has to be painted and re-upholstered! I love that blue these came with! Great job! Pinning! Hope you have a great weekend! Jenna @ Rain on a Tin Roof

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    1. Thanks Jenna! I hope you get the chance to do your chair too! Thanks for stopping in!

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  4. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Omgosh! You left such a kind comment and I somehow deleted it on my phone!! Thanks so much for stopping in and I'm so glad you liked how the chairs came out! Please stop in again soon :) I won't delete your comment lol!

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  5. Love this! I'm hosting a new linky party at http://hickorytrailblog.blogspot.com/2013/05/efforts-and-assets-linky-party-1.html

    I would love to have you!
    Angela

    ReplyDelete

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