Cane Back Chairs

We’ve been looking for ideas for dining room chairs for a new client who wants something different and fun. One idea is to find some vintage cane back chairs that can be sprayed and reupholstered–a really great way to get a unique, affordable look.

A coat of white paint is a classic choice

Or go super bold!

Here’s an option where they kept the original wood, but contemporized the look with a simple, graphic stripe fabric

So how easy is it to get this look? One of our favorite sites for inspiration is Houzz.com. It can actually be a little addictive…in fact, it’s one of the ways that I stay awake during those 2 a.m. feedings with the new baby is Houzz via the Pinterest app–not exactly conducive to a quick 15 minute feeding then directly back to bed! One thing that I recently discovered is that there are great DIY idea/tutorials on the site. Found this great tutorial on Houzz to make these chairs:

Ebay and Craigslist are the best sources for these cane chairs. My preference is something that has very simple lines and limited detail–especially if you’re going to use a bright paint. Also, make sure the cane is in great condition because it is expensive to fix it! I found these available on ebay last night–$949 for six chairs (two of which are arm chairs.) The lines on these chairs are nice and clean and they’re ripe for a a coat of paint (although from the pic above you can see they could look great au natural too!) and a fun new fabric seat.