Andy's Holiday Project

The other day Andy became very enthusiastic about restoring our old outdoor cafe chairs. Purchased soon after we returned from the UK, these chairs had a woven plastic type cane seat that was very comfortable to relax in. Unfortunately by the 3rd summer of hot aussie sun, the cane began to crack and break and hence we no longer had outdoor chairs to sit in.

Rather than throw out the steel frames, we decided to restore them. Our first attempt was to get advice from furniture repair people who told us it was cheaper to buy new ones than to have these ones recovered. Undeterred the frames sat in the garage gathering dust for another year or so until last week.

After much thinking on the sofa watching cricket, Andy decided to used thin decking timber. This worked well for the seat but not for the back as the frame was curved.

The next solution was to make a waistcoat for the chair. This involved using eyelets and cord to provide the tension required for the fabric to fit the curving frame.

The finished product we think looks pretty good as well as being great to sit in! Andy's parents were so impressed with the restoration that they have commissioned Andy to restore their chairs too....