Coastal White Cane Chair Revival [before & after]

white cane arm chair

In the great big world of furniture, one thing you really don’t come across much anymore is caneCane furniture was really popular years ago, but it seems like it’s slowly becoming a lost art….likely due to the skill and amount of time it takes to weave a single piece of cane furniture.  This is why I get so excited when I come across a beautiful piece of cane furniture in pristine condition, I can only begin to imagine the amount of time and effort put into these pieces.

On a recent antique expedition, I came this fabulous solid cane arm chair.  I had an instant vision to brighten it up and bring it back to life.  Here’s how the chair looked when I found it (my apologies for the quality of this photo, it was taken in the shop right before I rushed home with the chair!)

cane chair before1

When I got the chair home, the first thing I did was give a a nice coat of CeCe Caldwell’s Simply White paint chalk + clay paint.  This paint did a wonderful job adhering to the cane, which I was a bit worried about to start.  I ended up with two coats of paint on the chair, then I sealed it with a coat of spray lacquer.  I wanted the chair to have a solid, glossy finish.

Next, I decided the chair needed a cushion.  So I used a sheet of cushion foam and traced the shape of the seat, then cut it out.  To make the cushion, I traced the shape with fabric, then sewed it together similarly to how you would make a pillow (inside out, then attached piping to both sides).

I love my cane chair’s new coastal cottage vibe, it will be loved for many, many more years now =)

white cane arm chair

Isn’t she a beauty?

white cane arm chair yellow cushion2
I’m loving the gate patterned fabrics right now =)

white cane arm chair yellow cushion3

You can find this chair available for sale at Picklee on Spring!

2 responses to “Coastal White Cane Chair Revival [before & after]

  1. do you find that covering chalk paint with lacquor (sp?) or water-based poly gives a sturdy finish? What a beautiful chair, thanks! Sue

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