Accent chairs really elevate a space.
I’ve had this French cane barrel chair since I was in high school. My dad and I found it on the side of the road in decent condition. The caning was broken in only one spot, and the paint was chipping off, but I held onto it. I knew one day I would get around to fixing it up. Ten years later, here we are…lol.
It took me a while to figure out what I wanted to do with this cane barrel chair. It has its own distinctive look so I needed to make sure I got the color and style just right. At one point it was a plant stand, then it was the place to pile random junk, but now it’s a beautiful decorative, but functional, chair that sits below my gallery wall.
The Chair
I had initially planned to strip all the paint off and stain the chair, but after weeks of working on the paint removal step, I realized it was a lost cause. All the carving on the chair made it hard to strip any paint and I don’t have sanding/refinishing tools to make the project successful – but I tried my hardest to make it work.
Then, I fell in love with this barrel chair from Pottery Barn. I loved the two-tone look with the white cushion. Unfortunately, my caning was coated in too much paint and no amount of stripping gel was able to remove it. I had no choice but to paint the entire chair with black satin paint. Wanting a bit more shine, I used some clear gloss paint to seal the paint to the barrel cane chair, and give it the sheen I was looking for.
The Cushion
The cushion was quite the sewing challenge for me but I am proud of how it came out. Despite being quite the sewing novice, I measured and stitched everything together with minimal mistakes. I used a foam cushion to create the seat shape and stuffed the remaining space in the cushion with polyfil. I always buy the big box but they have a smaller 20 oz. bag you can purchase. To keep the cushion secured to the chair, I also added a couple tie backs.
In The Home
This beautiful, refinished, French cane barrel chair looks stunning under my gallery wall. Honestly, it would look good in a bedroom or large walk-in closet too. I wish I had more pieces I could style it with, but right now it’s living that solo life. My Monstera Deliciosa doesn’t usually live next to it, but I am currently on the hunt for a Dracaena or some other tall plant to bring some height to this corner. I’d like to find a small side table to pair with it as well. My plant stand doesn’t really vibe with the chair IMO.
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What do you guys think of this chair refresh?
This post was originally published on April 29th 2021 and updated on April 28th 2022.
