Family Heirloom Buffet Restoration

Buffet Before

Buffet After

This lovely old buffet was handed down to a man who wanted to preserve its history and keep its place in the family. It had been crying out to be refinished, as it had seen a lot of use over the years, showing wear. The top was splotchy, scratched and had remnants of water stains. The sides had water stains as well. The entire piece needed some major TLC and detailing, so we got straight to work.

Each restoration project has similarities but differences too. This one needed to be taken apart first; remove the cabinet doors, take off the hinges, remove the handles and sand all the pieces individually then tackle the body. The top back piece was not in place and had to be reconnected to the buffet. The sides were the only part of this piece that had veneer, which had split on the bottom. Once everything had been stripped and sanded, each piece got stained.

Antique Wash Stand Refinish

Wash Stand Before

Long before indoor plumbing was introduced into society, people used a large basin and a wash stand such as this early American style to clean up after a busy day of working in the fields or at a factory.

Wash Stand After

With the ultra-modern technology available to us in this twenty-first century, it's hard to imagine life without a steam shower or a soaker tub, but people made use of what they had. This wash stand restoration was a pleasure because it was made of solid oak and pretty much exactly the same as it was well over a hundred years ago. It had seen some wear, to be sure.

If this wash stand could speak, it would have plenty of stories to share. I wonder how many people used this old beauty to clean up over the years? Did it belong to a man who had seen his