Home » How To Bring An Old Wicker Chair Back To Life – Easy Tutorial

How To Bring An Old Wicker Chair Back To Life – Easy Tutorial

 

I love wicker furniture, baskets and just about anything wicker.  I think it adds tons of character and texture to any setting.  I have a fabulous wicker chair that I love and have had for probably around 20 years.  It has been with me in the last two houses and has been in several rooms in this house. How to Bring An Old Wicker Chair Back To Life – Easy Tutorial

  Most recently it was on the patio.  Our patio is covered, so it was never in the rain or weather other than sun part of the time.

  I brought it back inside to use in the family room.  When I brought it back inside it was evident that it had faded from the sun over the last year and a half.  As you can see in the above picture, the wicker was closer in color to the wood.  Now it was really light compared to the wood.

 It looked really washed out and the wicked looked dull and dry in person.  I thought about how to bring it back to life a little and decided to try a little stain on the underside to see what would happen.  It looked so much better, so the process began.

Here you can see the difference between the back and the top.  The top has a really light coat of antique walnut stain on it.  This shows you how dry the back looks and you can also see how really faded it is.

All I did was put on rubber gloves so my hands wouldn’t get stained, then cut up an old tee shirt and gently dip it into the stain and then wipe gently across the wicker.

This picture shows how the bottom skirt is so faded and bleached.

 

I just lightly added stain to my cloth and continued to rub it across the entire chair, front, back and all sides.   I think it looks so much better.  It is definitely richer looking in person and not dry and dull.

It needs to dry for a day, so I haven’t put the cushions back, but here is what it will look like in the family room.

Here was the chair about 12 years ago when I made new cushions.  I shared my tutorial here.

Flash back in time – here it was 15 – 20 years ago in the family room two houses ago.

The stain is dry and everything put back in place.  I think this works, I like the stain.

I still really like this chair, so I am sure it will be found somewhere in every house I live in.

19 Comments

  1. Linda
    July 22, 2019 / 8:56 am

    The chair looks GREAT!
    One question though (’cause I might want to do the same): what about bleeding onto someone’s clothing?, or is that part of the type of stain you would get – never did this before so I’m somewhat cautious ;-)…….
    Thanks a bunch!
    Linda

    • marty39
      July 22, 2019 / 9:21 am

      The stain drys in a few hours to a couple of days depending on how much stain you added and your weather. Mine is totally dry and does not come off on the cushions or clothing, so just use regular stain and then give it plenty of time to soak in and dry.

  2. July 22, 2019 / 8:56 am

    Love it, glad you decided to keep it in a natural tone and not painted!

  3. July 22, 2019 / 9:46 am

    Marty the chair looks brand new. I love the color and I think it’s even better

    Enjoy

    Cindy

  4. July 22, 2019 / 6:59 pm

    Hi Marty! I’ve always loved wicker, too. I have lots of baskets, but got my first furniture pieces this year for our screened-in porch! They definitely could use some paint but a friend got them for me….from a dumpster where neighbors were THROWING THEM AWAY!! 2 chairs, 1 love seat and one coffee table!

  5. July 22, 2019 / 9:34 pm

    Oh Marty, that chair is beautiful. I love the restoration on her. She is a keeper for sure. Isn’t it fun to see the beauty come alive. Love it!

  6. July 23, 2019 / 10:30 am

    You are amazing! What a fun project! Your chairs turned out perfectly. 🙂

    Happy day rock star!

    KariAnne

  7. July 23, 2019 / 4:09 pm

    I am so happy you were able to restore this beautiful chair back to life. I too am a huge fan of wicker. Awesome work, Marty!

  8. July 24, 2019 / 6:37 pm

    It’s so nice when a quick fix yields a big impact! Wonderful job bringing that chair back to its former glory!

  9. July 31, 2019 / 7:40 am

    Wow, that chair has been with you a long time!! I’m featuring you this Friday– thanks for sharing at Best of the Weekend!

    Liberty @ B4andAfters.com

    • marty39
      July 31, 2019 / 7:53 am

      Oh my word, thank you so much. Such an honor. Marty

  10. January 20, 2020 / 1:44 am

    I?ve been surfing online more than 2 hours today, yet I never found any interesting article like yours. It?s pretty

  11. helen welsh
    March 4, 2021 / 11:57 am

    I love your chair.

    I have a wicker chair that my mum bought me 44 years ago. I am now 61 years. I have washed the chair and dust it, however I think the wicker is brittle in parts. Could I use an oil to put some life in and restore. If so what oil would I use.

  12. Teddee Grace
    July 30, 2021 / 7:35 am

    That’s a beautiful chair and I really like the fabric.

  13. Joan Moore
    July 30, 2021 / 8:59 am

    Beautiful chair, definitely a keeper!! Great idea to give it new life. I enjoy your blog so much. We could definitely be friends. 😍

  14. July 30, 2021 / 6:10 pm

    Looks great Marty. For those not keen on stain, I use a clear spray paint.
    If your wreaths look dried out, try the clear spray finish.

  15. July 31, 2021 / 7:19 pm

    This looks fabulous! I had no idea that you could stain wicker. Thank you for the tips!

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