jthoye, thanks, any ideas?

Trish, thank you, do you know what size round would fit a family of 5, in case we have a guest 6??

I think painting them would give them a huge face lift. Black or white would work (or both, love that pic above with the combo) and a agree a color could be neat too. I'd play it safe and go with black for fear of getting sick of, say, teal chairs in a year that might be in style now. The table does have great lines.

What needs replacing? Just the cane? If so, that shouldn't be too expensive. I'm a big fan of keeping furniture that you like and that is unique to you. You might contact a couple of furniture repair people to get an estimate of what it would cost to at least fix the two broken chairbacks and to reupholster the chairs. In fact, if you are at all handy, changing the upholstery on the seats is relatively straight-forward.

I see one on ebay
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Drexel-Bonavanture-Dining-Table-Set-with-6-Chairs-Beautiful-/150939672260?pt=Antiques_Furniture&hash=item2324b49ec4

or just chairs
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1965-DREXEL-6-French-In-The-Country-Manner-Carved-Dining-Chairs-Provincial-SHIPS-/251226294301?pt=Antiques_Furniture&hash=item3a7e41081d

Yvonne, yes just the cane, they have dime size tears, good idea, thank you!! ;)

Haha!! yes, that's the same exact set!! You found it too!!!

It's hard to break up a set and it's especially hard to say goodbye to good quality furniture, but you might consider different chairs. I agree with an earlier comment that the overall set looks too big for the space. If you like the lines and quality of table, you may find updated and smaller profile chairs accent rather than compete with the table. The product photos of dining room chairs at Houzz might be worth browsing. If you do go with different chairs, my guess is you would want a chair with some curves but not so high and more of an open back.

You may want to rethink the plant centerpiece and place mates, which doesn't seem to complement table.

Good luck!

Mike, thanks!! very great points and advice! Any ideas, pictures??

It is a small space, that is why I didn't use the leaf it came with, the one against the wall in one of the photos, which is now in my garage! LOL

Replace the cane seat backs. Reupholster the seats. Polish the table top. Howard brand beeswax is what all the antique stores in my city use. It is available at Home Depot.
Do not leave anything on the table in between meals. The wood table top is too beautiful.

Beautyresulted: Thanks for the nice compliment. I'll look tonight and try and post a range of options. What's your style preference?

I'll bet the other posters on your dilemma will have far better chair suggestions than I.

I would not paint them at this time. I would purchase 2 parson chairs, I would do skirted, but not skirted is OK. Slipcover them in a modern print fabric..maybe trellis. Replace seats on 2 chairs to be thicker padding and the same pattern. You have the best of both worlds.

Eztia, thanks on the advice on beeswax and on the compliment on my table.

Barbara, thank you! Could you possibly post a couple of pictures or the style name of a parsons chair you would recommend that would compliment this type of table??

Yes..one moment.

Something like this style..is you look, make sure the back is high. Also, keep it simple. http://www.carringtoncourtdirect.com/detail.cfm?ProductID=12

Barbara, thanks, very helpful!! The best of both worlds is true, I love that, love it!!

That's great..I think it will give you the look you will like. My very best to you.

Gorgeous lines. Beautiful wood. Painting it would be a shame, in my opinion. If you like it and like the wood, it is worth the investment to get the caned sections repaired, though it is likely to be rather costly if they have to replace large sections. I'd try sprucing up the finish before really changing it; it seems to be in pretty good shape.

You will be amazed at how much of a difference changing the seat covers makes. Choose an upholstery fabric you love (heavier weight - not something easily snagged or stained), treat it with Scotchguard to help prevent stains if it doesn't come that way. Something that coordinates with the furniture in the next room would be good since the dining room seems to be open.

I totally agree with eztia about keeping the table empty between meals. Nothing is as lovely as beautiful wood.

Paint 4 of your chairs crisp white. For the 2 that are broken, replace for the King and Queen places at the table with a black and white print chair. Paint the table black or a very, very dark espresso color. I would also make the walls all the green color and eliminate the peachy color on the left side of the image. http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Sole-Designs-Julia-Chaz-Dinning-Chairs-Set-of-2/7568849/product.html

And this fabric with the four painted white chairs would look fabulous!

twylahaj, thanks excellent advice about the heavier weight seat covers, thanks, and scotchguard absolutely, thanks, I have small children so I believe this will truly save me headaches!! Coordinating with the next room due to open floor plan, 100% agree, although I will soon be changing my sofas so... my sofas will have to coordinate around my dinning, soon. I genuinely appreciate your advice, thank you so much.

Lkristine, oh my goodness, you love bold colors and prints, yet appreciate traditional, quality, classic, and simple, just like myself, I browsed your ideabook, very tasteful, thank you!! Thanks for the all of your design advice and on the wall color, my renters painted it that peach color, not my taste either, again, thank you!

I love the printed chairs, fabulous!!

If you like the style, size, shape etc. and the structure is still sturdy, it's definitely cheaper to get the repairs down than to try to replace.

soberg, thank you!! I think I will start there, 100% agreed!! Beeswax table, repair cane and redo seat covers for the moment, it's a start! ;)

Thanks to all of you dine and design lovers for your creative, fabulous, smart, fun, and thoughtful design advice!! xox

I will post pictures once finished with the tlc!

I would do something like this to freshen it up. I'd leave the table alone.

Darzy, thank you, very creative!

If you love the table keep it. Re the chairs I have seen fabric on the back of chairs with one pattern on the back and another on the other side with the seat matching. Or add two new chairs with fabric on seat and other seats the matching fabric. .

Or you add a cushion to the area of the seat your back sets on with the seat matching and the caning is still on the back of the seat.

I have the same table which I ate at every night as a child! I painted it antique white and distressed it slightly for a cottagy look. I am pretty happy with it. I think you should keep the chairs for now but do what you can to make them more your style. Chairs are easily replaced but costly if you need 6 or 8. Good luck!

It seems like you will focus on repairing the cane and re-upholstering the chairs for now. If you do look for new chairs, I'll propose a range of ideas. The overall goal is to reduce the prominence of the chairs. The first several are very modern. I like the clear plastic because they have some curves but allow the eye to go to your table. The fourth allows you to select a fabric.

Here are two examples of slip-covered parsons chairs.

Here is an example of a thin, elegant, and colorful chair.

And here is an example of narrow low-profile chair in leather. The higher back makes it a bit more formal to complement your table but the thin frames keeps it contemporary and visually light.

Lastly, here's a chair where the curve comes in the flow of the seat to the backrest.

Mike, thanks!! You delivered!! I really like the clear and the cream or white parson chair as well! These might work if and when I decide to change it up. Love the red chair and the narrow leather chair in dark brown or white, however, I don't believe they will match the table quite as well, maybe for a more modern design? Truly, thank you!!

I'm more tolerant of the sharp contrast between old and new, which is why I offered the first set. But I realize they are not everyone.

The great thing about the parsons option is you can choose the slipcover fabric and have them custom made to whatever basic chair you purchase. Don't just get an off-the-shelf slipcover. And there are lots of people on Houzz with excellent taste in fabric.

Post pictures with whatever you choose and have fun!

Repair the caning, spray paint the chairs in a black/brown slightly metallic paint, then reupholster chairs in a funky fabric... http://houzz.com/photos/565242
Leave the table alone except for a good oil or wax. Decorate the table with modern vases x5 in varying sizes in all the same color that coordinates with the seat covers. Done.

hockey456, OMG!! love it! Thanks!

Love the, "done"... Too funny and original, LOL, seriously love the banquette bench!!

I've seen some lovely furniture like that recently done in a soft grey tone. Very elegant and goes with many color choices for walls, fabric, etc.

Glad you liked it :-)
My neighbor tried the metallic spray paint on some chairs she found at an antique store. The result was beautiful. A little funky, but not over the top. Of course the metallic was subtle... Best comparison might "oil rubbed bronze". Have you decided what you will do?

WOW - you have received tons of ideas. I couldn't help but add another thought for you because I recently updated a dining room table/chair set that I found at an antique store very similar to yours. I needed chairs for my new trellis table, and my girlfriend needed a table so we split it up. My chairs were the same coloring as yours even down to the upholstered seat cushions - very 60's (see before photo below). I chalk painted the wood in a cashmere taupe and added a small amount of distressing by adding 2 coats of liming wax followed by a charcoal wax. I then reupholstered the seats in a beautiful new natural linen. I LOVE how they turned out. My girlfriend's house is more rustic and she chalk painted her table in black and distressed the edges slightly to bring out the original wood color. Depending on what your style is - more French or more rustic - you could consider something similar. Here are the before and after photos of the chairs. I found 6 chairs, but wanted 8 for my table. So, I purchased 2 parsons chairs and made these slipcovers for them to create the 8 total chairs I wanted. You could also consider the slipcover idea on the 2 chairs you have with the cane tears.

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2013 post

Winesnobs, That is amazing. Beautiful....inspires me with my dining room....I have an English set with Queen Anne chairs and I think I want to leave table dark as the top is in perfect condition, but the chairs are a little rough.....what products and colors did you use? The taupe might be the perfect color.....and I understand Chalk Paint is the best to work with; great results for diy.

Did not mean to hijack your post.....but I would paint chairs to lighten up the look in your room. Great ideas.

Susan, I used Poet's Waterglass Paint in Cashmere, with both a liming white wax and a charcoal wax over that. There are so many options out there, I would just find one in a French Linen color of light taupe that you like.