Many people just adore old and worn pieces of furniture that might have been in the family for several decades or more. This furniture, at some point or another, might need to have some kind of remedial work done on it. For an old chair cane is probably the usual style of seating and sometimes it will need a touch up to make it servicable. It may need a complete overhaul to get it back to what it was and this is where the art of chair caning comes in.

Everyone must have an old piece of furniture which seem to be very popular these days. Very often the seat and other areas of the piece will feature split wood or rush material that used to be popular in days gone by. For a beneficial outcome it may serve to replace all of the seat or back absolutely to give it the even color that most people would prefer. By just replacing a piece or two, the old parts will be dull while the new piece would be too bright.

There are different designs that some people would prefer when replacing these seats or backs in the furniture. How it is to be accomplished depends entirely on the style and period of the piece in question. For those with a row of holes around the seat, hand finishing is the proper method to use. Some seats have a channel cut around the edge which facilitates a different method of fitting a new seat. What holds it in place is a ‘spline’ that is hammered down into the groove when the pre-made seat is put in situ.

Those pieces with the row of holes around the seat mean that the artisan must work by hand threading. Each strand of split wood or rush material has to be woven through the holes and across the seat individually which needs a fair amount of work. Artisans who can carry out this work are also in short supply, hence the necessity of charging much more for the service.

Of course, it goes without saying that since this kind of re-caning is a dying art, so the cost of getting it done is often high-priced. However, once done, the finished piece looks wonderful and will last a long time.

Stopping damaging treatment of the piece once it is finished is of the utmost importance. Nothing wet should touch it, and this includes swim suits, wet cleaning cloths or anything like that. Similarly, anything sharp should be kept away from the seating to prevent any snagging. It is also good to note that even though these parts of the seats are made from wood or reeds, they somehow repel paints or varnish because of their shininess. If the owner would like them to be aged to match existing pieces then sprays with color added are a good idea, but this finish is likely to chipping and peeling which will spoil the whole look eventually.

Whatever style of finish is chosen, these seats or sofas bring a touch of nostalgia and rememberance to any home.

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