Myself I would do a burgundy leather. Would last forever and spills wipe right off. Chairs seats don't take much leather, so it possible to buy a single hide depending on how many seats you have to cover.

Duane Collie

I love the colors of the Damask, and the pattern of the brown. I would choose a similar color scheme to the former with he pattern style of the latter. I could not do leather on those beautiful chairs, it would seem incongruous.

Hi Beverly! I will be rebuilding the seat interiors. The webbing has stretched and that's why they are sinking. I will likely add horsehair, muslin and then cotton batting before upholstering. I like the idea of the raffia cloth. I suppose I might do that if I was putting them in a coastal home. These chairs are destined for a formal dining room in Maine.

I would do a tone on tone damask.

The green velvet Beverly posted looks so beautiful with the mahogany. I don't think either of your choices really set off the gorgeous wood - most especially the dark one on the right.

Would you consider other colors?

I'm not a pro, but I also like the green velvet that Beverly posted. I'm partial to green, and it would pair beautifully with that mahogany.

Just a thought, though: As you're still looking for your new home, you might want to consider waiting until you've found it before you decide, as you never know whether you'll find one with a paint or wallpaper color with which you'll want to coordinate.

Olychick, yes would consider

other colors. Elaine, I would rather love my chairs and change paint and/or wallpaper. It's not likely I will find a dining room that I wouldn't want to change anyway :-)

I do quite like the green velvet . . .

Raffia chairs in what some might consider a traditional dining room.

Take a look at these pictures. This is what NOT to do when reupholstering furniture. Someone tried to alleviate the sag by working under the seat. They added new webbing (unstretched) to the interior of the frame using staples! What a disaster! I will have to remove every single staple.

On the plus side, the original straw padding and cotton batting remain. I will reuse the straw and add fresh cotton batting and muslin before upholstering. First I will have to stretch burlap webbing to the frame and top with burlap fabric.