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About seven years ago, when I moved into a new apartment with a partner, I scavenged my grandmother’s basement for anything that might be of use. The big prize was a set of four cane Cesca dining chairs that she’d had since my mother was a child and that were suddenly extremely in style. Or at least it felt that way. Really, Cescas are pretty much always in style. In 1991, a MoMA curator deemed them “among the ten most important chairs of the 20th century,” and you’d be hard-pressed to find a chair that’s edged them out in the intervening years.
For inherently fragile chairs, these ones seemed to be in pretty solid condition, but it wasn’t long before the rattan in the seat of one chair — and then another and another — ripped, and a hole formed and then steadily grew. When the holes weren’t so bad, I covered the seats with cushions and warned guests to sit delicately. But as the holes expanded, sitting on the chairs, even with a cushion, became a bit too much like sitting on a toilet bowl, and I accepted that something must be done.
Fortunately, there are specialists in New York who will recane busted seats like mine. Unfortunately, the labor-intensive process is quite expensive. One shop quoted me $125 to fix a single seat — which, you know, feels like what you should pay for a brand-new chair, not an old one that’s being fixed. I shopped around but didn’t see any chairs at that price point that were as attractive as my Cescas. So I took another tack: Maybe, rather than have the seats recaned, I could replace the seats entirely. When I walked past aLebanese taco restaurantin Cobble Hill, I noticed Cescas with handsome brown and emerald-green cushioned seats. I searched online and found some similar options, as well as various other alternatives, and decided to put them all to the test. I was a bit worried that it would be hard to install replacements, but it turned out to be quite straightforward. (This videooffers a pretty good demonstration.)
My three favorites
The one that didn’t make the cut
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Yerliker Cane Chair Replacement, Ash Wood and Rattan
If you want convenience, with the vague look of a cane Cesca seat and some added protection, I suppose you could do worse than this one from Yerliker. The seat was delivered with typical Amazon speed, so it was the first option to arrive. However, it’s also the first one I’d send back. The ash-wood seat frame hadn’t been adequately sanded, leaving it rough in spots and splintery. The imitation rattan is plastic, and it is reinforced with an ugly white netting. And it’s not as though you’re getting what you paid for. At $70, this seat replacement was priced higher than some of the better options I tested.
Runners-up
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Cane Cescas are a staple of mid-century modern design because they are simple, modest, and elegant. But who says you can’t spice them up with a bright-orange vinyl seat? The color felt like a fitting tribute to New York’s champion basketball team. And while it wasn’tquitethe champion of my own search, it was among the most comfortable. It is firmer than it looks, but the slope from the high point in the middle of the seat avoids cutting circulation to the legs, as sometimes happens with more angular seats. And the lack of cording around the edges leaves no crevices for crumbs to build up.
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Perhaps a taller person than myself would enjoy this seat. But at two and a half inches, with little give in the cushion, it simply elevates the chair too high for the short kings among us. This was the option closest to the ones in my local Lebanese taco restaurant, and I expected it to be my favorite. But beyond how its size felt, I thought it looked too bulky, with the cushion overwhelming the cane back.
The winners
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Seats and Stools manufactures its upholstered options in Chicago. But its cane replacements and wood inserts are imported from a small, family-owned business in Italy that specializes in Marcel Breuer items. And the Italians seem to know what they’re doing; I was impressed with the quality and craftsmanship of the wood, the cane, and the overall construction of this seat. The rattan — which, unlike the Yerliker option, is authentic — is tight and feels sturdy. And at $65, I’d choose it over having my old seat recaned in a heartbeat.
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Bauhaus 2 Your House’s cane replacement seats are also manufactured in Italy. And aside from this one being black (nice!), it was hard to tell any ways it was different from the Seats and Stools option — from the texture of its materials to the quality of its construction. The Seats and Stools option is $5 cheaper, but when you factor in shipping, you’ll pay less for this one.
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I was a bit skeptical when Seats and Stools president Allen Hilder referred to the Breuer Wood Frame Insert as the company’s “Rolls-Royce” option. But of all the seats I sat on, it indeed offered the smoothest ride — solid with plenty of support but also just enough cushion. Your mileage may vary on the look — and in hindsight, I think a lighter, more natural color palette would’ve fit better with my own seat back. But this was far and away the easiest seat to park my butt on for long durations, and it feels like the one that will hold up best in the long run, too.
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