furniture advice

jennterrell

we have a set of 4 antique chairs with rush seats, like these (most similar to the NE Side Chair style). The rush material is still holding up well, but has lots of scratches in the finish, and the chair pads i've been using don't fit quite right anyway. I was thinking of attempting to recover the chair seats with more of an upholstery style with padding and material. Bad idea? Thoughts?  It is hard to find pads that fit right on them, and I don't like how they always slide around. These belonged to my grandparents, so I don't want to do irreparable damage.

susangilchrist

I think if it were me, and the chairs held a lot of sentimental value, I'd take them to a professional to see what they say.  I'd be too scared of screwing them up!

peachypear

I've done upholstery and wicker/rush work. It will not be possible to put a regular upholstered seat on the frame without potentially permanently altering the chair. The issue is that upholstery requires nails or stables, which are not used for rush. Since the frame is likely more dainty (and rounded), it may not be able to handle the staples. Any sort of fix using the current frame would be more like a substantial pad/cover, so you may as well just do that.

What kind of pads are you using? Do they tie only the back, or at the front corners as well? I'd consider getting custom pads, which will fit much better.

Do you not like the rush? If it's just that it's scratched, take it to someone to redo. That will preserve the chair the most.

ElloPoppet

i vote professional. if it was a pop out upholstered seat I'd say DIY but this isn't something I'd mess with if the chairs have sentimental value.

jennterrell

The main thing is that the rush isn't very comfy to sit on, so i like thick pads. I think i will try to custom make some pads, and maybe make them have flaps that wrap around and underneath and snap or velcro or something, so they stay in place. I've never found ones in stores with ties on 4 corners that fit right. The seat is sort of a polygon shape more than square- the seat is wider in front than back.