Decorative Walnut Antique Cedar Chest

Walnut Cedar Chest Before

Having refinished several cedar chests, this was definitely the most decorative and detailed ones I'd ever seen. I had no clue as to its age, as it had no markings on it, but judging by the way it was made and the materials used, I estimated it to be well over one hundred years old. It had no shelf on the inside, as many cedar chests do, but it was roomy enough to store many blankets, quilts and sets of sheets.

In order to properly restore this cedar chest in the best way possible, I removed the back decorative scroll, which had veneer damage, as well as the side scroll features, which were solid walnut, no veneer. The bottom of the chest was missing a back leg post and the veneer was damaged or missing. I knew this would be a major

Walnut Cedar Chest After

project, but to do it justice, it needed to be done right.

After removing the scrollwork, I began the tedious task of stripping the old finish with my choice gel stripper. Stripping is extremely messy work and requires several applications of stripper and many passes with a putty knife. The method I use is slow and steady, but gives excellent results. After liberally applying the stripper, I leave it on a bit, then slowly pull the putty knife toward myself (as to avoid gouging the wood) bringing a thick, gooey layer of the old finish and the now brown stripping compound with it, then swipe the entire mess into a plastic margarine container. (Never underestimate the use of these handy containers!) 

For the hard to reach areas of the cedar chest I used a wide selection of wood carving tools which are quite handy to get into the nooks and crannies, such as the front panel and beaded detail. I scraped as much old finish off as I could with the tool of choice, then used a small brass brush to remove residue I was unable to scrape off. I then used a steel wool pad to remove the rest of the residue prior to sanding. For this cedar chest I chose not to use my orbital sander, instead opting for hand sanding because of the beading and panel detail on the front.

Antique Secretary

Secretary Before

Secretary After

A secretary desk such as this was quite popular in the
early 1900's, used for writing letters and keeping track of bills. Like many items of furniture of this era, it showed its age with missing sections of veneer here and there as well as the wood grain practically gone as aged finishes darken, hiding the lovely wood grain beneath. The lovely details on this secretary included a hand carved decorative rope on the front bottom, a curved drawer and fancy brass handles.

The interior had a built-in cubby section with its own little drawer, perfect for keeping postage stamps, pens and note pads. The back of the secretary was damaged, so we replaced it with a matching section of wood which matched the stain perfectly. This piece was a handful. Because of the detail, stripping was tediously time consuming, especially the rope scrollwork on the the drop down front and the edges of the shelf beneath it. It's hard to see this in the photo, but the shelf edges had three layers carved into it.

Secretary Open Before

Secretary Open After

Having a variety of woodcarving tools is a necessity to remove the old finish down to the bare wood. In order to do the job right, it was necessary to take it apart and strip the components separately. Not only does it look better, it's much easier than trying to get your hand inside those tiny compartments. It's also easier to polish the hardware, a little thing that has a large impact on the finished item. The difference is in the details.


This secretary was made of tiger oak, which has a lot of "movement" and visible grain. This wood looks gorgeous when refinished. One of the many joys of removing old varnish and stain is revealing the hidden wood grain just below the surface. Age darkens the original finishing, thus hiding the beauty of the wood. You never really know beautiful something is until you remove all those layers!

Antique Writing Desk

Writing Desk Before

Writing Desk Before

Long before e-mails, texts, instagram, Facebook and Twitter, people spent a lot of time composing handwritten letters as a way of corresponding with friends and family. There was a sense of satisfaction in holding that special pen and putting it to paper, allowing your thoughts to flow through your hands in a script scral that reflected your unique personality and penmanship. With the electronic, fast paced world we live in, writing letters by hand has all but become a lost art. It's definitely faster to write using a keyboard, but there's something special and magical about writing "old school," using a pen and a piece of lined paper we used in school. While writing that way now gives me writer's cramp (as does long periods of working on my Macintosh), I still enjoy the art of letter writing using fancy stationery and my favorite ink pen. It's a timeless craft that never goes out of style.

Writing Desk After

This antique writing desk was likely used for composing letters by hand and keeping track of bills and correspondence with its five generously sized cubby slots to easily organize one's life. Made of solid walnut, this writing desk had great bones, with surface scratches on the split top and really rusty screws that held the original hinges in place. I knew this would be a very challenging piece to refinish because of the many components and my favorite pet peeve, spindles.

The drawer was removable, which was great because it's much

Writing Desk After

easier to strip and sand a section of an item if it can be removed. Upon further inspection, I discovered that the cubby insert section was also removable, held in place by side boards that slid out, allowing the entire cutty section to be removed. This was a great bonus since it was quite difficult to reach in there to strip the old stain, mostly because I couldn't really see what I was doing. By removing it, I was able to strip it and see all the way to the back so it was done right. Once the removable components were stripped, I began the long, tedious task of stripping the spindles. They are the most difficult and time consuming part of any stripping project because there is simply no fast way to do it.

Artistic End Table

End Table Before

Leather on an end table such as this was commonly used for furniture as a decorative effect for the top. It worked nicely when new, but over the years these tables' leather got pretty beat up. Scratches, gouges, tears and discoloration became more common than shiny new leather and it no longer looked pretty, just old and worn out.

End Table After

While I wasn't quite sure what I would do to replace the leather which was peeling up on one side, it needed to be completely removed, which had proven to be quite a task, as the non-lifted portion adhered quite well. I had to use a small heat gun to soften the adhesive enough to carefully slip my putty knife under the leather and slowly peel it off the wood. It took about 30 minutes, but I was successfully able to lift the last corner of the leather and tear it off. Goodbye old leather, hello new design.

I used a chisel to scrape remaining paper left by the leather section, then sanded the surface smooth. While I was unsure exactly what I would do to replace the leather, I knew that when the time came, I'd have exactly the right treatment, so I got to work on the rest of it. I stripped, sanded and stained the end table using cherry stain, which brought out the gorgeous tones in the cherry wood the table was made from. Making a decision on stain can be tricky, since you don't really know how it will look until you apply it. A darker stain would have hidden much of the wood grain, so cherry was the perfect choice for this end table.


Once stained, I put this table aside while working on other furniture items for this project, (while my I left my subconscious work on the creative side of how to make the top stand out). Eventually I had formulated an idea which involved my trusty carpenter, my husband Jim. I had asked him to make custom veneer sections out of oak and mahogany, so he sliced up sixteen 1-1/2" sections of veneer, more than enough to experiment with a workable design for the tabletop.

End Table After

Using the freshly cut veneer sections, I laid out the pieces and worked up a design, much like one would put together a puzzle, only you create the design as you go. It took a while as I played around with the length of each piece, layout and design, but eventually I had created a random pattern I was satisfied with, then applied adhesive to the table and each veneer section, then let everything dry for fifteen minutes before I carefully positioned each section into place. There's no forgiveness when you work with adhesive cement on both sides of the wood. Once they're down, they're down, so it's a good idea to "dry fit" them before you apply the adhesive.

After sanding the tabletop to get all the veneer sections level, I applied golden pecan stain. Because of the two distinct woods, each wood had taken on a different tone, which created an interesting, artistic and contemporary tabletop. Once the stain was dry, I applied two coats of polyurethane to the lower areas and legs of the table and three coats to the top for added protection. It looked fabulous! This was definitely one of my favorite projects as I was able to blend the craft of refinishing, with the art of creating a custom made veneer design that gave this old beauty a modern, updated look.

This table was one of four pieces of furniture we did at the same time. Click on the links below to see the others:

http://finalefurniture.blogspot.com/2017/04/antique-secretary.html
http://finalefurniture.blogspot.com/2017/04/antique-writing-desk.html
http://finalefurniture.blogspot.com/2017/04/antique-piano-bench.html

Antique Piano Bench

Bench Before

Made of gorgeous walnut, this antique piano bench had seen many years of use and had the scratches to show for it. The wood was in pretty good shape, considering how old this bench was. The seat itself had been covered with fabric at least 2 times, each time adding a layer to the old instead of tearing off the fabric beneath.

The top fabric layer had a 1980's look, when mauves and pale

Bench After

blue and peach were frequently used together. The fabric beneath that had been a stained off white with bluish flowers, probably dating back to 1966. Yet beneath that layer of fabric was the "original," yellow, which was so deteriorated it crumbled as it was stuck to the rotted foam cushion it was stuck to.

Once I had removed the fabric, I realized that even though this bench seat cushion had been recovered three times, the very original seat had actually been caning, the splines still in place but the caning completely removed. The tell tale signs of caning were the holes that permanently left shadows on top of the wood. This was exciting because I instantly knew how I wanted this bench to look...back to the original caning, but first I had to tedious task of stripping the old finish from this lovely old piece to bring back the glorious wood hidden beneath a century of old stain, scratches and grime.