Trash to treasure DIY upholstery project of two mid-century modern cane side chairs…
I found a pair of these gorgeous mid-century modern cane chairs a couple weeks ago, and snatched them up for $16 a piece. CAN YOU STAND IT?! These kind of chairs are sometimes hard to find.
Once in a while, you can snag them on Craigslist, maybe a local Facebook yard sale site, or possibly online at a site like Chairish.com that specializes in vintage furniture pieces.
My husband promptly told me “NO, I CAN’T STAND IT”…meaning the chairs. He did not like them AT ALL. Hmmm. I couldn’t understand the lack of utter enthusiasm and sheer joy here.
Sure, they were saggy and the cushion covers were disgusting and covered in dry rot….minor details. The chairs themselves were in outstanding shape.
And, they are exactly what I wanted for our basement, which is about to undergo a big renovation. If you thought my chairs were ugly, prepare yourself, because this DIY blog post is about to get much, much worse…
I could’ve just stuck those mid-century chairs down here in the 80’s-ugly basement and called it a day. Special. Anyways, more on this disaster later. But for now, let’s get back to the chairs. Here’s what you’ll need to do a similar DIY upholstery project at home.
trash to treasure DIY supplies:
- chair(s) – again, mine were from a flea market but check some of the other sources mentioned
- nylon strapping
- upholstery foam
- turkey carver (although in my house, it’s known as the upholstery knife)
- fabric (the type I purchased is no longer available)
- piping
These chairs really didn’t need much help. I simply replaced the seat strapping on each chair with the nylon. That took about 20 minutes/chair. Then, I cut the new foam cushions with my turkey carver, using the old foam as a template. That took about 10 minutes.
The only difficult part of this DIY project for me was sewing the box cushions. I had NEVER attempted this type of DIY sewing project before.
Luckily, I found a great tutorial by my friend Brittany, AKA Pretty Handy Girl. It talks you though all the steps to make a box cushion with piping.
Our basement is going to be filled with modern elements and a lot of straight lines, so I’m hoping these retro-vibe cane chairs will add an important element with the wood and help soften the space.
Time will tell. So this trash to treasure story now draws to a close. And we’re already on to the next…which will hopefully be the transformation of the basement where these two beauties will live. But for now, I’m gonna sit out here for a quick sec and enjoy these comfy chairs. One DIY project at a time, right?
Pssst…before you go, I sure would love to hang out with you again really soon! Click here or on the image below and get a FREE copy of “Builder-Grade To Beautiful: 10 Totally Transformative Home Decorating Solutions, All Under $100!” 
Carrie says
Heather- These chairs are amazing! What a lucky find! This was our most popular makeover this week at Friday’s Furniture Fix so we’d like to highlight them tonight! We hope you’ll stop by at 9PM EST to say hello! http://www.thirtyeighthstreet.com/2015/12/fridays-furniture-fix-link-party-no-20_17.html