Early 1800’s Historical Filing Cabinet

Filing Cabinet Before

Filing Cabinet After

Working on antiques is one of the most rewarding aspects of our business. There’s a certain thrill to work on something that has been through a century or more and wonder what stories it could tell.

This filing cabinet was purchased in Virginia from an auction and paperwork stated it had once belonged to the son of Robert E. Lee. Since he has three sons and four daughters, we do not know which son it belonged to, of one of them had owned it. That’s so interesting! Knowing that a historical figure had once used this oak filing cabinet is a pretty cool piece of knowledge.

This cabinet was actually comprised of five modular sections, each setting on top of the other, fitting securely with specially fitted center boards that kept each section from moving while in use. The top section had many smaller drawers that were likely used for time cards which were likely stacked so they could be easily accessed.

The next three levels each had three drawers with uniquely positioned handles that were installed vertically, compared to modern file cabinets’ horizontally mounted handles. These handles were pitted steel and our customer had wanted to keep the entire unit as original as possible, so we left them un-polished, but cleaned them up.

For the wood, we used boiled linseed oil to rejuvenate and freshen it up. This also adds moisture that aging removes, preserving the wood for years to come. We adjusted and repaired a few broken areas, but all in all this cabinet system was in pretty great shape considering it was used in the early 1800’s. The bottom row had four smaller drawers with “scoop” handles, made of brass. Once everything was tightened, cleaned and put back together, the cabinet was still original but functional and sturdy. It will likely last another 175 years.

New Front Door

Door Before

Door After

A front door is most important feature of your home. It keeps out weather, makes a home secure, invites people inside and is a representation of the people living in the home. Therefore, a front door should be well maintained, weatherproof and attractive as well as functional. This front door had been exposed to the elements and over time it became weathered and worn. (We took the photo on our work table so we don’t have a “before” of the door in the home, but our customer sent us the “after picture.

The interior was in great shape, but the exterior needed the most attention. However, upon closer inspection, the interior had been affected by the exterior’s wear because the door had warped, therefore the trim surrounding each panel was lifting enough so that one could get a decent scratch at the least and broken or missing pieces which would be not easy to replace. Before we could start on the exterior, we needed to address the interior’s warping issue by carefully removing the “lifted” trim and sanding each piece down just enough so they could “curve" with the warped panel and would lie flat again. Then we could refinish the weathered front. This door was solid oak and weighed a ton. The door knocker was brass along, with the handle/lock, which carried a hefty price tag (quality costs money!) This door was begging to be made handsome once again. 

Because of the amount of trim and the narrow passages between the trim. stripping was intensely tedious and took a lot longer than expected (it always does!) Stripping took several days and sanding a few more. Since this was our customer’s front door (he literally didn’t have a front door for a week, other than the storm door), we needed to move as quickly as time would allow. We used a variety of hand tools in addition to the much-used orbital sander. Our favorite hand tools are a set of wood carving tools that allow us to get into the nooks and crannies and corners, so we can remove the residue that is left by stripping the old stain and varnish. Once that’s done, lots and lots of sanding prior to the fun part, staining. For this door we used golden oak stain which matched the existing interior color perfectly. To protect the exterior, we applied three coats of satin polyurethane. Once the finely crafted brass hardware was reinstalled, the door was complete, looking brand new again.

Rocking Chair Goes From Rubbish to Royalty

Rocker Before

Rocker After

Everyone’s heard the phrase, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. ”Indeed, this seems to be the case for many old pieces of furniture as well as a ton of other interesting finds at flea markets, garage sales and estate sales. The fun is the hunt, the pursuit of finding that special “gem” that everybody else overlooked or simply didn’t want.

Other times people find something in grandpa’s attic that they really don’t want to deal with, so they toss it out. Sometimes it goes to a land fill, other times it gets another chance and life when someone sees the beauty hidden beneath layers of grime, old fabric (or in this case, missing fabric in the back), and broken springs that once held up the seat.

Rocker Back Before

Rocker Back After

This very old rocking chair was one of the lucky ones which got rescued and brought to us. It was indeed quite the challenge because it didn’t have anything but a big hole in the back rest where the fabric once was, with little to go by on how it was constructed. But first things first. Strip, sand and stain before anything else. But in addition to the standard stripping and staining, this chair needed new rocker rungs, because the original ones were broken and barely held together with rusty screws. There was no saving them.

It’s hard to know how old this rocking chair was, but when hay or horsehair is used, it’s a sign to be pretty old. My guess would be this chair dates to the mid to late 1800’s based on its overall construction. Rusty tacks held in what we believe to be leather, which was wrapped around the top of the chair and held in place at the top, bottom and sides with those tacks. The seat looked like it had been reupholstered back in the 1920’s and not updated since then. It was really, really old and pretty hideous. The bones of the chair was good, solid oak and quite heavy. It had springs that had long ago sprung loose of their rope that held them beneath the seat cushion which was also almost gone. Needless to say, we had our work cut out for us.

Side View Before

Side View After

Jim did a fine job stripping the chair, then making the new rocker rungs before it could be stained and finished with polyurethane. Making the rungs was extremely difficult because he had to make a template to trace the old ones onto then cut the new ones with a special router bit that was much deeper than the standard size to accommodate the thicker oak he was using. After lots of sweat and a few choice words, we got it done! Finally he could attach them to the bottom of the chair and finish the process of staining and protecting with poly. Once it was all done and dry enough, then it was my turn.

The seat came first. I measured and cut the 2” thick high density foam and made it fit the new seat which was made of durable wood instead of springs. Once the foam was in place, I added two layers of quilt batting to the top of the foam for extra softness. A very dark gray vinyl was chosen for the seat cover, so I made a template then cut the vinyl to fit snugly into the chair’s arm rest in the front and uppers in the back. Going around the wood in the corners is the toughest part because you want to eliminate the bulk without cutting away too much fabric, therefore a template is essential to get it right. Once I had it taut, I started with each side, adding a tack to hold it in place then worked my ay around the entire seat, cutting carefully and trimming the extra so it would fit well. I added tacks along the entire bottom edge on all four sides. It looked great! Then came the real tough part....the back.

First I had to attach 4” jute chair webbing horizontally and vertically on the opening of the back, to securely hold the foam and fabric in place. Once this was done, I placed a 54” x 22” continuous piece of 1/2” foam and wrapped it around the top of the chair, attaching it to the front and back bottom edges with temporary tacks. I had two layers on the front and an additional thicker foam on the back to fill in the large gap created by the open area of the chair. Once I was satisfied with the placement of the foam, I kept the edges from moving around by using my trusty glue gun. Then I prepared the fabric. I needed a 21.5" x 50” section of fabric. After I cut the size, allowing for folded edges and a generous seam allowance on the bottom, I attached the fabric to the front and back bottom edges first, then added temporary tacks about 6” apart along the sides to keep the fabric taut. Next and final step, carefully nailing in the decorative nickel tacks, I started on the backside, then carefully worked my way up and over to the front side, finished with the bottom front. Adding fabric to a chair that you have no reference as to how it was done prior is quite challenging, but can be achieved by applying techniques you acquire along the way. This chair made a complete 180 from how it started, from rubbish to royalty, fit for a king. Now it can live another 150 years.

Below are the photos that my customer had sent to me asking if this chair can be refinished. I knew it would be a real challenge, but a challenge both of us were up to.

Original Photo from Customer

Original Photo from Customer

Back top original photo

Mid-Century Modern Coffee Table

Coffee Table Before

It was not uncommon for a coffee table such as this to be used in households across the country during the 1950’s-1960’s. They usually had a top and a lower shelf where people would store their T.V. guides (which have become obsolete) as well as books, magazines and other keep close items. This maple table was likely used in a living room to serve multiple functions.

Coffee Table After

But like many items of furniture that are used on a daily basis, this table had also experienced wear and staining over the years and needed some TLC to bring it back to its original glory.

The first step in most restoration and refinishing projects such as this is a thorough stripping with liquid stripper and lots of elbow grease to remove the debris from the stripper and the old finishes that come off in a goopy and sticky mess. (It’s handy to keep plenty of empty margarine and cream cheese containers handy for this purpose).

Stripping and sanding is always long and tedious, but necessary process to remove all the previous layers of grime. Once this had been achieved, we give it a good sanding so it will accept the new stain. This table had a lovely brass decorative accent border on the top. We chose to remove this so it didn’t get damaged during the refinishing process, then cleaned it up later prior to re-applying it. This is the jewelry of the furniture as it sets off the finished piece and makes it look great. We opted for golden pecan stain with a satin polyurethane to protect its finish. Most table tops receive three coats of poly for extra durability. This table had delicate legs which was a sign of great craftsmanship and the fine art of mid-century modern furniture.

Bedroom Set Stripped and Whitewashed

Vanity Before

Vanity After

This is one of three bedroom pieces that came to us with an old yellowish paint that was at one time supposed to be much lighter. It had oxidized over the years and obtained some wear, so a refresh was in order.

My customer had wanted a whitewashed finish, so a full strip, sanding and application of white stain, which creates a whitewashed finish that she had wanted. The hardest part is always removing the old finish before anything else and with the amount of detail in this set including ball and claw feet, the stripping and sanding process took a great deal of time. This had to be done to all three pieces, removing the original hardware which luckily, was all in tact and accessible.

Dresser Before

Sometimes hardware pieces get missing so must be replaced. But

Dresser After

mostly, people prefer to use the original hardware in their restoration process.

When changing the entire appearance of an item such as going from stain stripping to painting for a more modern appearance, they will sometimes elect to replace the old hardware with newer, more modern hardware. It’s all personal preference, but it always looks great when it’s done.

Night Stand Before

Night Stand After

High Chair Before

High Chair After

This is our first high chair restoration. We estimate this height chair was at least 110 years old, based on the owner’s great-grandmother who had used it as a baby. It really look old (and rather creepy) with its dark greenish glaze that sort of, but not completely, covered up the wood. It was indeed a labor of love with all the spindles that neither Jim or I like working on as they are extremely difficult and time-consumimg.

The high chair had a center leather strap that acted as a safety measure to keep the baby from slipping out from under the chair. We were able to keep the original strap and incorporate it into the renovation of this oldie. Not 100% sure of the wood though. It didn’t have a lot of knots or movement so it may have been maple, but it was a hard wood to be sure.

The stripping process took an enormous amount of time to get between all those spindles! Jim took the tray off completely and had to replace a missing rung in the back of the chair. Luckily he could pull the back legs apart far enough to install the new rung into the hole and drill out the broken rung remains on the other side to make the new one fit properly. Once stripped and stained, he chose gunstock stain (our new favorite!) for the entire chair. The edging of the tray needed to be repaired since it had been broken right in the middle with a noticeable split. He added a piece and made it work. Once it was all put together with its new and repaired components, it looked beautiful. Who knew this old creepy chair would turn out so good?? (We did!) Lol.

Check out the oak high chair we also refinished by clicking on this link:

https://finalefurniture.blogspot.com/2020/10/antique-oak-high-chair.html

Eastlake Lamp Table

Eastlake Table Before

Eastlake Table After

Eastlake furniture is easy to identify by its unique carvings on the legs of tables and other parts of larger furniture.

This Eastlake table is likely early 1900’s and has seen its share of wear over the years. The legs were in pretty good condition, but the top had rings and dark water stains in addition to the usual scratches. At least it hadn’t been painted, since we’ve done a few Eastlake items that had paint and all that detail was hidden beneath the layers of paint. It’s always a joy to see the wood in all its glory on a lovely item of furniture such as this.

Luckily the stains and scratches weren’t too deep and could be sanded out. The top needed the most attention, so once the sanding was done, a new coat of stain brought the century old table back to life. Protected with three coats of polyurethane, the table top was once again renewed and will be well preserved for many years to come. This table was a perfect size to use as an accessory table between two loungers or as a corner table in a living room. Restoration of this table was a true pleasure as the original beauty of the wood was the crowning glory of the renovation.