How to get an Estimate/Get on the Waitlist during normal times (due to the storm we are not adding new people to a waitlist until summer 2025.

  1. Send photos of your chair to SilverRiverChairs@gmail.com and give us a week to get back to you. Please attach the picture vs putting it in the body of the email. Take photos of problem areas and the overall chair. Or text photos to 828-707-4553. Include your name in the text!
  2. We will let you know an estimated cost and estimated time on the waitlist.
  3. We will call you about a month ahead of your chair’s turn in the shop to accommodate potential travel schedules. CONTACT US IF YOU CHOOSE NOT TO STAY ON THE WAITLIST.
  4. Make an appointment to drop off your chair.

Other things to note:

  • Plan ahead: Because our main goal is education and there are only two of us, we have a backlog of 6 months – 1 year depending on the style of weaving.
  • Clean up your chair: We will charge $50 to dust it (we share space with an upholsterer and don’t have a “dirty area” to do this work. You can do it at home. We will charge a $500 fee for mold, outdoor furniture, or excessive dust.
  • Find Another Weaver: Check the resources page to find someone who may be able to get to your chair quicker and for less.
  • Pick-Up & Delivery: available with a $100 minimum fee within Asheville, plus the standard mileage rate per mile outside of Asheville.
  • Leave the old seat in so that we can see the pattern/style, etc.
  • We don’t do color work: Staining is a different skill set. Cane is particularly difficult to stain.  See our Resources page for a list of preferred refinishers.
  • Payment policy:  Cash & check discount of 3% is included in our prices. We take all credit cards, PayPal & Venmo. Payment is due within two weeks of completing your restoration. If you are out of town, please send a check payable to Silver River Chairs to 5 River Arts Place. Asheville, NC 28801, or we can email you an invoice and you can enter your credit card information securely online. Payment plans are negotiable.  After 5 attempts to contact you for payment with no return call, you have forfeited your deposit and the chair will be donated.
  • Look into taking a class with us and restoring it yourself. Or DIY with help from our Youtube videos on Rush, Splint, Shaker tape, Pressed Cane, Laced Cane, & Riempies. We encourage everyone to restore their own chair. It’s very gratifying.

MORE INVOLVED REPAIRS INCLUDE:

  • Rush chairs: with slots, that have a removable frame, rounded sides, Windsors & Hitchcocks or other chairs with wooden edges that have to be removed/reattached, benches.
  • Machine woven cane with shared seams, large sofas and chairs, cane that is particularly difficult to remove.
  • Hand-woven cane chairs with fine/fine cane or over 100 hundred holes, that recessed holes underneath, double panels/blind cane/medallion chairs are priced according to each chair’s particularities.
  • Splint weaves around oddly shaped frames, like rounded Old Hickory Furniture or smaller binder cane splint weaves with small patterns.
  • More complicated Danish or Mid-Century Modern chairs. Keep in mind a seat and a back needing repair is double the work.

STRUCTURAL WORK & REFINISHING

may be necessary and sometimes it is hidden beneath the seat. Re-glue of joints is ~$50. Nourishing the wood is ~$50. If you want to do the work, it should be done before restoring the seat, but PLEASE BRING IN THE CHAIR OR TAKE A PHOTO (both top and bottom of seat) BEFORE YOU REMOVE THE SEAT…you can also save the old seat so we can make sure we replicate your seat as best as possible. See our Resources page for preferred woodworkers.

Thanks for your consideration and understanding of our small business – especially while we are recovering from a traumatic natural disaster. We will take good care of your chair.