Antique Dry Sink

Antique Dry Sink After

Antique Dry Sink Before

Last summer in 2012, we found this antique dry sink at a yard sale just down the street. My husband had seen it on his way back from the store and told me about it. Shortly after hearing about it, I went to the yard sale and brought it home.

It had belonged to the owner's grandmother and at some point, was converted from a dry sink. A high-quality Koehler sink had been installed which was in excellent condition. There were holes were the original faucet was, but it had been removed. I saw the potential and immediately envisioned a dark stain to replace the faded golden oak. We upgraded the tarnished brass handles with nickel hardware and bought a new nickel faucet.

The Ugly Rocking Chair

Rocking Chair Original Cushions

I came across this pitiful rocking chair at an estate sale. It was in the garage, which meant it didn't have much value to the owners, but to me it had presented a challenge, so I had to have it. No doubt about it. This chair was ugly! More than just ugly, it had

Rocking Chair With New Cushions

been filthy dirty, smelled musty and moldy and had been covered with spider eggs. I wouldn't even attempt to sit in it, because it was so nasty-looking. After closer inspection, I made an interesting discovery. This was no ordinary chair; it was a Windsor-style cricket rocking chair, likely an antique that had gotten re-covered with the yellow fabric sometime in the 1970's. Underneath the skirting were two springs on either side of the chair, so that while all the legs touched the ground, the chair had a gentle swivel and rocked easily back and forth. This added new value to my little gem. After I paid for my chair, a nice gentleman had offered to carry it to my van and after placing it inside, I closed the back and headed home for a closer inspection.

Bavarian Hand-Carved Table

Bavarian Before

This table came to me as a referral from a woman who'd

Bavarian After

purchased the "Petite China Cabinet" from me. She told her friend about my work and soon, her friend called me and asked me if I could refinish a table for her. She then brought over this very challenging project; a table that looks like something you'd see in Frankenmuth. To those of you who live in Michigan, you've probably been to, or at least heard of "Frankenmuth," known as "Little Bavaria." The two restaurants, "Zehnders" and "The Bavarian Inn" have famous chicken dinners that lure thousands of visitors daily, filling up on the excellent German cuisine and enjoying the ambiance of "Little Bavaria," shops and all. Anyway (sorry for getting off-track) this table reminded me of something you'd see at The Bavarian Inn because of its intricately hand-carved legs. It also had a removable glass top, which was interesting, since one of the items I'd sold to the other woman who also bought my china cabinet was my oval table which too had a removable glass top which had doubled as a serving tray. To see another table with a glass top was really amazing. While the glass on this table was in pretty good shape, the the frame was scratched up. In order to make this look pretty again, I had to completely hand-sand the frame and re-stain it, then spray it with semi-gloss polyurethane. The results were amazing! I can't believe it's the same scratched frame she brought over.

Top Before

The table was another story entirely. It was pretty scratched up,

Top After

top and legs, but again, I was up for the challenge and began the tedious task of hand-sanding, a time-consuming job to be sure, but the only way to get the results to make this piece glow again. Once I had completed sanding, I carefully applied a walnut stain to the legs and cherry stain to the top. This table had at least three different types of wood. The top veneer sported a burled maple, which was gorgeous in addition to smaller bits of birch.

The end result was a table that was void of scratches that will last a long time. What an outstanding piece this turned out to be! So you be the judge: Bavarian or not?

Telephone Table With Cherry Stain

Telephone Table Before

Telephone Table After

Looks can be deceiving and this one looked like it would be "a piece
of cake" to remove the old stain and simply re-stain. Yeah, right. It proved to be quite the challenge as that old stain simply REFUSED to come off. I have three power sanders and lots of sandpaper and I used all of them to remove the extremely stubborn old finish on this old cherry telephone table. This was a client of mine who also had me refinish her red magazine rack. I had no idea this piece would be as difficult as it was! I spent the better part of 1-1/2 days just removing the old finish, but I was determined to make

Magazine Rack Painted Red

Magazine Rack Before Painting

Magazine Rack After Painting

This was indeed one of my best "before" and "after" projects,
ever! It was a very adorable magazine rack of unknown origin. My guess it was something from the 1950's, but I could be wrong. A lovely woman who lives in Grosse Pointe had asked me if I was able to paint this piece a nice red, similar to the red that hardly clung to the piece. It was hard to tell exactly what shade of red this used to be. The color had faded and you could only see a bit of it, so it was hard to determine what color red to choose, but I was up for the challenge and once on the search, I found the perfect color, "Colonial Red." It was a very close match to this little magazine rack/table and an ideal color.


After sanding the entire surface, it was ready for red. I gave it a light coat first, then waited until it dried, then gave it a second coat to completely cover the surface. Once dry, it was red and glossy and lovely. My customer was very happy with this table's new look as was I! I took a tired old magazine rack and restored it to its former glory with some elbow grease and two cans of paint!

When in doubt, go red!

Umbrella Stand Shines Again

Umbrella Stand Before

This is an unusual piece of furniture to be sure. We did work for a man who had bought two items of furniture from us and had already had us refinish a table for him. He had picked this up and wanted to see if we could do something to improve its looks. What is it? Well,

Umbrella Stand After

it's a very unusual Umbrella Stand, made out of about three different types of wood; maple, pine and mahogany. The front is a curved brass sheet which was badly marred and tarnished. The photo on the left shows the one spot Jim rubbed out the brass, revealing what promised to be a shiny metal buried underneath years of oxidation.

Antique Chair Refinished

Kalamazoo House

Chair Before

Jim and I love Kalamazoo! It is rich with history, art and music. Our second trip to Kalamazoo was this February, 2012. Like the first time we were there last February, we stayed at "The Kalamazoo House," a beautiful Bed & Breakfast in the heart of downtown, right next to the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts. The Kalamazoo House is a gorgeous three-story structure, Victorian Era Renovated building that was once a funeral home. The owners, Laurel and Terry Parrot, are extremely friendly and welcoming. You feel as though you're visiting friends while staying at the Kalamazoo House. I highly recommend this place if you love to be pampered. They serve amazing breakfasts, too!

So, while in Kalamazoo in February, Jim and I made the decision that we'd definitely want to come back sometime in the summer months to explore the surroundings. But one thing we did find was an amazing antique furniture salvage store that had a ton of lovely antique furniture and hardware, perfect for those who love restoration as much as we do. I spotted this lovely chair in that store. I felt instantly attracted to it, and simply had to have it.

Well, that weekend Jim and I drove his Grand Prix instead of the mini-van which is the vehicle we

Chair During

usually drive when we're traveling because we never know when we're going to come across something that wants to come home with us (such as this lovely chair!) I realized that I'd have to pass on it unless we could make it fit into the back seat of his car, so the owner was nice enough to let us remove the chair from her store to try it out and make sure it fit, which it did! I was so glad because I simply had to have this chair as I already had plans for it. Other than some minor surface woodworking and a new seat, this chair didn't need much in the way of restoration.

Once I brought the chair home, it sat throughout the summer as other projects seemed to take priority. Finally, I got to the chair last week and finished it yesterday. I had purchased this gorgeous fabric which was left over from my piano bench project and it was exactly enough to use on this chair. I removed the backing first, and to my surprise, there was yet another fabric underneath the floral design! It was labeled, "red mohair," and I suspect it was original to the chair. Knowing that style of fabric was frequently used in the late Victorian period, I now have a point of origin as to the age of this chair. I suspect it dates back to the late 1890's. This was exciting because it's sometimes difficult, if not impossible, to find out the exact age of a piece of furniture unless you have a marking of some kind. It requires a lot of research in styles to determine the age.

Chair Finished

This chair had "good bones" and proved to be an outstanding piece of furniture after the restoration. I removed the backing, but was able to use the original upholstery tacks. And would you believe it? Many of those tacks were so bent I couldn't use them, but found the identical tacks at an estate sale for 50 cents! These extra tacks came in handy since I ended up bending many of them while recovering the chair's back. I then the seat with a new cushion and used new wood because the original wood was completely cracked and not safe to sit on. I custom-sewed the new seat cushion and professionally "tacked" it in place after using my serger on the edges of the fabric so it will never fray. It needed a "touch up" of dark walnut stain and a spray of semi-gloss polyurethane to bring it to life. This sturdy, old chair got a complete makeover.

Petite China Cabinet Makeover

China Cabinet Before

China Cabinet After

This beautiful little China cabinet was a petite, 54" tall. When we first found it at an antique shop in Lexington, something about its "quaintness" appealed to me. I was unsure what kind of wood lie beneath the many layers of stain that had been applied over the years. After many tedious hours of stripping, we revealed gleaming pine underneath all that stain and the wood grain was once again visible. This was a 2-month project in the making, between other projects and we wanted to do this piece justice. The original interior had ugly, hacked up wooden shelves, not original to the piece. Both Jim and I decided that glass shelves would make this special little beauty sparkle. Then Jim suggested we take it a step further and add some "bling" by installing a mirror onto the back. Since the back was recessed, this required Jim's special carpentry skills. He had to add a "filler" to the back of the cabinet, bringing it level with the shelves, so that the mirror fits in position, perfectly.

Cabinet in its new home!

On the day we installed the mirror, it was a nail-biting experience until it was firmly and safely in place. Once there, we knew she'd be just great. Indeed, this little gem turned out to be one the most gorgeous pieces we've done so far. Adding "bling" to any old piece of furniture can turn an ugly duckling into a sparkling, beautiful swan.

I ended up selling this cute little cabinet to another customer who had also purchased my oval table. She bought the table and I showed her this cabinet. A few days later she informed me that she just had to have it and came back yesterday to pick it up. It's now a part of her home, gracing her foyer. This is the part of the restoration process that most appeals to me; when the piece I've lovingly restored, finds a new home and has brought someone who cherishes it as much pleasure in owning as I had in restoring.

Good bye, my little treasure!

Oval Table With Glass Tray

Oval Table Before Restoration

Oval Table After Restoration

I found this gem at a local estate sale. It had a bit of water damage on the bottom of the legs, but otherwise in great condition. I thought there was something unusual about the table, and I was correct. I had noticed it had handles on the sides of the top. "Aha!" I thought. The top of the table

Display Cabinet

Display Cabinet

This display cabinet is my very first restoration project. I bought it at an estate sale nearby. While it's not an antique, it's a great reproduction and I particularly liked its cabriole legs and clean lines. It had a broken door, but otherwise, it was in great shape. I repaired the broken door (at the pivot point) and added a mirror to the interior back of the cabinet. Then I refinished the exterior with red mahogany stain and gave it two coats of semi-gloss polyurethane.

I ended up selling to a woman who had just moved into a house and needed a little cabinet or table for her living room. She was so happy to have found the perfect little cabinet and especially loved the mirror in the back! I also painted the tarnished gold knobs to a shiny silver, which I felt tied in nicely with the mirror. It also added a little "bling," giving this display cabinet a touch of elegance, while maintaining its functionality. Is it any wonder I get excited when I find these great little pieces of furniture??

1960's Desk Refinished

Desk with New Handles

I came across this desk last summer at a garage sale. It was solid maple, but in need of refinishing. After carefully stripping the old varnish and stain, the desk had started to take on a brand new appearance. In the interim, a friend had told me, "I'm looking for a desk." I told her, "Well, you're in luck, because I just bought one and am working on it now!" She couldn't believe it. I sent her the photos of the desk, and she said, "I love it. I want it." So, she selected the new handles for it and brought over the stain, which she chose as Early American. I completed this desk and had to modify the original holes to accommodate the new handles. I've discovered that furniture made in the 50's and 60's have a different standard for handle hardware and the ones sold in the stores don't match. Luckily it was less than an 1/8" inch off, so I was able to make her new handles work. She's using this desk for her son's computer and like many other pieces I've restored, it has a new chance at life. Unfortunately, I can't find the "before" photos of this desk, but you get the idea. It looks great!

Old Chair Repurposed

Garden Chair Before

Garden Chair After

My husband, Jim and I love to shop in Antique and Resale stores. Sometimes I stumble on something that inspires me to think outside the box, or as in this case, outside the garden! I saw this forlorn, ancient barn-wood style chair sitting in front of an antique store in Lexington and just had to have it. I wasn't sure what I'd do with it when I bought it, but the chair seemed to call out to me, "take me home, please!" It was raining and the chair was wet.

Antique Knitting Cabinet Redo

Knitting Cabinet Before

This was an unexpected estate sale find. I had seen a knitting

Knitting Cabinet After

cabinet such as this at an antique store in Kalamazoo when we went to the Art Fair the first weekend in June. It had sold for $180.00 as it was about 100 years old. This one had come from someone who had lived in St. Clair and was moving all the furniture out. I couldn't resist since it looked like it just needed a little bit of love. The only broken piece was the left handle on the top drawer, an easy fix. The cabinet was in excellent condition otherwise with its fluted and turned legs. Other than a bit of debris in the deep ends, it was fairly clean too. After I fixed the broken knob, I gave the entire cabinet a thorough sanding, and re-stained it with dark walnut, which brought out its natural walnut finish.

Art Deco Olive Wood Dresser

Dresser before

Dresser after restoration

When Jim and I came across this unique dresser we couldn't pass it up! Its character was a one-of-a-kind find and we both loved the excellent quality and details of this piece. The handles were all present (something rare in old dressers) and they had a unique art-deco style that appealed to us. Upon further examination, we discovered the dresser had two very long cracks on each side, one side being worse than the other. After we got it home we looked closer and discovered that this dresser had no veneer! Whatever that wood was, it has had been the construction of the dresser and was
about 7/8" thick. We had never seen anything like it. We knew we had a gem.

Once we began working on it, it was apparent that someone had already tried to remedy the worst crack, which was on the left side of the dresser, by nailing a long board on either side of it. This was probably done long before they had the pipe clamps used by carpenters nowadays. We knew that that board had to be removed so we could properly fix the dresser using glue and clamps, so Jim carefully removed that strip of wood and with glue and clamps, pulled the two sections together as far as they would go. After it had dried, he replace the inside strip with another one, using screws to fasten it. That crack wasn't going anywhere. He followed the same process on the right side of the dresser, but luckily that crack wasn't as visible as the other one and hadn't run the entire height of the dresser, so it was easier to repair and almost invisible when completed. Jim also replace the very thin trim molding at the top of the dresser and cleaned all the handles until they sparkled. We discovered them to be made out of brass, not uncommon for a dresser of this era as brass is easier to work with when creating a fine detailed stamped design such as this.

Handle after restoration

Handle before restoration

After the repairs were made it was my turn. I sanded the entire dresser and drawers as smooth as I could get it and then applied a red mahogany stain, bringing out the natural beauty of the wood. The next day I applied the first coat of semi-gloss polyurethane and the dresser started to shine. It was a gorgeous piece, to be sure. After I had finished the second coat and let it dry, Jim installed the now-clean handles. We couldn't believe the completed product! We were fortunate to have stumbled upon this one of a kind piece of furniture and are happy that a and his fiance had bought it for their new home!

Check out another great old dresser: http://finalefurniture.blogspot.com/2014/12/charlevoix-cherry-antique-dresser.html

Tulip Chair Meets Vanity Desk

Tulip Chair Before

I bought this chair for only $5.00 at a garage sale. I was undecided

Tulip Chair After

what to do with it, so I didn't touch it until a friend had approached me to restore an old vanity desk that had belonged to her grandmother. I told her "I have the perfect chair for that desk, too!" She said, "Great, I'll take it!" I had finished the desk and asked her what she'd like done with the chair. She wasn't sure, so I suggested painting it black. She loved the idea because she has a Marilyn Monroe (black and white) bedroom and since we couldn't match the wood to her vanity desk anyway, why not paint it black. It worked! The black really was the perfect choice with the fabric that she'd provided which matched

A Piano Bench Gets a New Look

Piano bench after

Piano Bench Before

I acquired this piano bench at an estate sale last summer for $7.00. It had a broken leg that had been haphazardly repaired with a large screw and nut, which looked horrible. There was no way I could repair that leg and stain it, so I opted for paint instead. I had used a dowel to repair the broken leg, then after the careful, artistic technique of using wood filler, I sanded the previously broken leg smooth and prepared the chair for painting. It took a couple of coats, but the results were great. Even I couldn't find the once broken leg! I found a very

Antique Secretary Desk & German Rocking Chair

Secretary After

Secretary Before

I had posted an ad for furniture restoration services and a man who lived near me called and asked if I was interested in restoring an antique secretary and a German rocking chair. He told me where he lived, so I said I could be over within a half hour. He had sold his house and was busy moving, so he didn't have time to work on these pieces. He'd already stripped off most of the paint from the secretary, but some paint remained as well as an very old layer of varnish. I gave him a price and told him I'd have them done in a couple of weeks. This is where experience is the best teacher. When I quoted him a price, I should have tripled it because the secretary alone took me about 3 weeks to strip and refinish. I had to remove the back and get inside all the slots, very difficult to do with such a dark piece of wood and such small spaces. But the final results

My Waterfall Cedar Chest

Cedar Chest Before Restoration

Cedar Chest After Restoration

A few summers ago I went to an estate sale right around the block from my house. I wasn't looking for anything in particular, so you can imagine my surprise when I found this gem in the basement, covered with Christmas items! I quicklyran upstairs and asked the woman how much she wanted for the cedar chest. My heart was racing as numbers ran through my head. Surely, she'd ask at least $75.00 for it as it was well worth it. Other than surface scratches, it was in mint condition. The shelf on the interior was broken and its bottom was missing, but I examined it closely and found no broken veneer or other broken wood on the exterior. The interior looked as new as the day it was made and smelled strongly of cedar. I was so engulfed in my thoughts, I thought I misinterpreted what the woman had said about where it came from. I was already envisioning this beautiful 1940's chest restored to mint condition.

I asked her again how much she wanted for it and she tilted her head and said, "I don't know, how about $5.00?" I said, "Sold!" So I paid her for the chest and told her I'd be back in an hour with my husband and son to pick it up. Then I headed home in anticipation after I had message my two guys to make sure they don't stop anywhere on their way home from work because I needed them to pick up an item I'd purchased. Andy came over around 5:00, shortly after Jim got home from work and we all headed over to the estate sale on "Love" street, appropriately named for my lovely cedar chest. They loaded it up in the van and poor Andy had to squeeze between the chest and the seats since we had to put my "stow and go" seats down, but for the short trip home, it wasn't a biggie.

The cedar chest went right into the spare bedroom, but I got to work on the broken shelf right away. I repaired the broken side and replaced the bottom, then put it aside until I could get to the chest. With all the other project I was working on, I didn't get to the chest last year. I did some research on Lane cedar chests and discovered that each one has a serial number on the bottom. If you reverse that serial number, you have the date the chest was made. Mine was made on September 6, 1944.

Finally, this May, I stripped it down and refinished it completely. I lined the shelf with green felt and put it back inside and loaded it up with linens. I am now proudly displaying my $5.00 cedar chest in my spare bedroom. It was a once in a lifetime find and I'll treasure it for a long time!

Interior prior to fixing shelf

Interior with shelf installed

Antique Window Bench

Window Bench Before

We love to go to Petoskey every year. Last year we spent a week

Window Bench After

there and discovered a very cool resale shop called "Gold Mine." It was indeed a gold mine as I found this lovely antique window bench for only $5.00! It had a very ugly seat and had definitely seen better days, but something about this bench called out to me and I had to have it. I knew it would require a great deal of work, but I was anxious to strip it to expose the wood I knew was a gorgeous mahogany buried underneath years of oxidation and abuse. There was also white paint streaming down one side of a bench leg which I knew would come off with the stripper. The seat fabric was not only ugly, it was not even a centered design. I envisioned something much more suitable for this special chair and knew that I'd find it when the time came to put the seat

together, but first I had a lot of work to do.

Bottom of Window Bench

Original straw cushion

When we came home from our vacation, Jim and I were curious what our unique window seat consisted of. After tearing away the seat cover, we discovered that it had been filled with straw! That alone showed us how old it was. This bench could very well be over 100 years old. The bottom of the bench was held together with one broken board and another cushion that was falling down. It was indeed in deplorable condition. It was also wobbly, and some of the joints were quite loose, so we pulled the entire bench apart and marked the sides so we knew how to put it together again when the time came. I had begun the lengthy process of stripping, but other things took precedence, so I had to put my bench project on hold. Summer turned to fall, which turned to winter which turned into a brand new year, 2012, and I didn't work on the bench until a few weeks ago when I had caught up on my other projects. I picked up where I had left off last year and finished stripping the old stain and varnish off the sections whih we had taken apart, Jim helped me put the pieces together.

The bench was originally constructed only of nails and dowels, another sign of its age. Once together and securely glued in place, I applied mahogany stain, which brought out the wood's natural beauty. I then applied three consecutive coats of semi-gloss polyurethane to protect the wood and bring out the chair's luster. Once the body of the chair was complete, it was time to make a new seat. Jim cut a piece of plywood that measured 15 x 17 and I stained it to match the bench. I bought a 1" high density foam cushion and covered the plywood with it and a layer of quilt batting.

So, about a week ago, I finished the project I had started last summer. My window bench was finally complete after almost a year! The end result speaks for itself. It's absolutely gorgeous! My favorite bench got a good home. A nice man who lives in Rochester bought it and it is now proudly displayed by his front door.

The Bentwood Rocker

Bentwood Before

I acquired this Bentwood Rocker at a resale shop in July, 2011. Something about the chair had called out to me, so I asked the owner if she'd sell it. She told me she was using the chair as a "prop," but would sell it to me. With her help, I put the rocker in the back of my van.

Once I got it home, I carefully put the rocking chair on my deck and examined it. Upon closer inspection, I saw that it needed some minor repairs, but otherwise, was in great shape. The left armrest was not attached because of a missing screw and the bottom front rail was also not attached. The lower part of the chair on the left side was damaged and needed to be filled, therefore the chair couldn't be stained, but had to be painted instead.

The first order of this long restoration process, would be to make the

Bentwood After

necessary repairs. I removed the old screws and replaced them, which made the chair very strong. I removed both arms so that the stripping process would be easier, then filled in the cracked bottom of the chair's arm. Once it was sanded, the crack disappeared. A few other places needed filling, then I began to sand the entire chair until it was smooth enough to paint. When the repairs were made, I began the painstakingly, tedious process of stripping the old paint by hand. And I did it all with torn ligaments in my right wrist that had occurred earlier that year in February. The pain in my wrist was so bad at times that I had to stop sanding much earlier in the evening than I wanted to.

I had purchased the chair in July, and after three months of daily stripping and sanding, in September, the chair was finally ready to be painted. I carefully masked off the wood so that I could paint the caning a golden wheat color to mimic the original color. The caning was in great shape and took the paint well. Once the caning was painted, I masked it off with newspaper to protect it from the dark brown paint we'd use on the rest of the chair. My husband, Jim, painted the chair's body because he had much more experience with spray painting than I did. He used his spray painter and air compressor with a custom-mixed dark brown paint that we'd chosen just for this chair.

After the chair was completely painted, I removed the masking and newspaper to reveal the caning underneath. After three months of daily hard work, the once neglected, old Bentwood rocking chair was again restored to its original beauty.