I found 4 Thonet Marcel Breuer cesca chairs at the local thrift shop for $36. They need a little TLC though. The backs are fine, but the seats need recovering. I can do the reupholstering, but 1. I need to find the proper naugahyde (same color) which I feel may be impossible, and 2. there is a plastic "tray" they use to staple the upholstery to. I like the chairs, and I would like to fix them, but money is tight so I don't want to spend a fortune ordering new seats and backs when they wouldn't even be original anyway. Does anyone know where to order the plastic "Upholstery trays?" Sorry for the bad picture, but I don't want to completely disassemble the chairs yet until I have an idea of what to do with them.
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To cane them, it looks like I would have to use a dremmel tool and make a cut into the wood frame. I am not entirely against doing this, but it seems as if cane Cescas are the most common. I am sure that is because they are a bit more attractive, but I hate to see all designs get converted to the more desirable option. I think the upholstery is nice in its own right. These appear to be "newer" cescas, especially since there is a plastic insert, so I guess what I am really asking, is how were the older upholstered cescas made? Did they use a plastic insert or did they have some other method for upholstering the chairs? I know I can come up with something to save the chairs, but I am trying to come up with something that retains as much design integrity and value as possible. I know these aren't "original" Marcel Breuer's but Thonet is a pretty reputable company and the chairs were made in my hometown... which I find to be pretty awesome as well. My great grandfather used to work in that factory (Statesville, NC).
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