Any time an antique piece of furniture is painted there are many naysayers who are horrified. I believe this chair is from the turn of the century. It does have screws in the braces underneath but I do not think they are original to the chair. Everywhere else the chair has pegs holding it together. This originally had a caned seat and back. This is where we get into whether to try to restore a piece or would it be acceptable to change it. This is the condition of the caning and finish.
Hours and hours of stripping and sanding revealed a still uneven tone to the wood and very deep grain. I would have preferred to restore this piece but it was just not possible to do so and also have a chair that most people would want in their home. I have seen some people with strong negative reactions to antiques. They had a relative that had a houseful, and many times the furniture was dark, dirty, and untouched for fear that it would damage the value. I found refinishing addressed with reactions from some of the experts from Antique Roadshow
http://www.refinishwizard.com/refinishing_antiques.html
To be honest it does not cover painting the piece. Most of us, though, will never encounter a craftsman made piece that is several hundred years old. The question is whether to let a very nice piece of furniture continue to rot away in a barn, or whether to turn it into something someone would want. This chair was painted with Rustoleum Chalked Paint in Linen. I replaced the cane with upholstery webbing, and foam. I wanted this to be a statement type piece. I used handwoven linen European grain sack fabric, 60 to 100 years old upholster it with. I made double welted piping to trim the seat but used a different type of trim for the seat back, because the double welt was too bulky. I feel like this lovely old Barley Twist chair has a crisp, clean, pretty new look.
Shared at:
http://theessenceofhome.blogspot.com/2017/03/share-your-style-party-110.html#more
http://adirondackgirlatheart.com/2017/03/vintage-charm-75.html
http://www.funkyjunkinteriors.net/2017/03/diy-salvaged-junk-projects-371.html
