Have a Seat

A while back I went thrifting with my friend Kati (she knows all the best places and where to score all of the Buckhead Betty's castoffs).  Kati was looking for some decanters to display on her new dining set, I wasn't really looking for anything in particular but I had been thinking a lot about hand caned chairs lately.  I just love the look and detail of it.  Well low & behold, what is the very first thing we spot when we walk in?

Ta dah!

A super cute (but in need of some lovin') cane back chair!  And it folds for easy storage!  And how much did I pay for my new seat?  Under $3.  I think it was $2.95.  So I scooped it up right away and carried it all around the store with me while we searched for other awesome deals.  Of course being careful not to knock over any ceramic rabbits or frogs or clowns...

I did a little online search and found a similar, if not the same, chair online at Plow & Hearth for $209.95 for a pair.  Now it's not like I just uncovered a Picasso sketch in my attic, like those lucky bastards on Antiques Roadshow, but I think a $100 chair for three bucks is a pretty good find.  Now I just need to figure out what to do with it.  It obviously needs some reupholstering.  Since I live right near the Design District on the Westside of Atlanta, I've got plenty of great fabric stores to choose from.  They can be a little pricey but since I need so little, I'm hoping to score a deal on some scraps.  Planning to keep this chair in the living room so it will need to look nice in my (soon-to-be) gray room.  Which brings me to the next question.  Should I paint it?  I'm not one to freak out over painting wood, I'm actually all for it.  But if I do, what color?  Would it look nice in glossy white with a bold colored seat?  And how hard it is to paint the cane part?  Suggestions?  Advice?

Oh and today was Birthday Week - day 3 and it was a good one!  

As I mentioned, I live near the Westside and within the last year we got a new addition. Anthropologie!  And today's present was a gift card to my absolute favorite store!  Now I just need to decide on clothes or home goods, clothes or home goods... that's gonna be a tough call.