Antique Desk Refinish

Desk After

Desk Before

A beautiful antique walnut desk used by our customer's grandfather for his practice as a physician. It had been kept near a window and had a little sun damage, but other than that it was in great shape. 

The top was a bit worn as it had been used for many years. But overall, this desk/table served a great purpose for the owner's business use. In front is a drawer which is difficult to see in the photographs, but it was a nice feature of this lovely piece of furniture. 

Jim stripped it down to bare wood and sanded it carefully, maintaining the original details at the bottom edge. It had a sturdy base with two sidebar supports which made this desk a very stable piece of furniture. He chose dark walnut stain and satin polyurethane for protection. This makes a great family heirloom and can be used for many more years to come, serving the future generations well.

Amish Oak Table and Chairs Painted and Stained

Dining Table Before
(without leaves)

 

Dining Table and Chairs
Painted w/Stained Top

This lovely oak table came with two leaves and six chairs. Our customer had wanted a different, updated look so we suggested painting combined with keeping the table top woodgrain, but staining it little darker. 

They had originally envisioned an antique white, but after reviewing their décor choices, settled on latté, which is exactly as it sounds, a coffee color with a generous amount of cream added for that perfect flavor, or in this case, color combination. 

Prepping furniture for paint, especially chairs, takes patience and time. Mainly because it is all done by hand. You can’t use a power sander for chairs (except minimally) and spend hours scuffing up all the surface area to prepare it for first primer then two coats of paint. You also can’t skimp on the prep work as it directly effects the outcome of the project. 

We stripped and stained the table top, which had minor scratches, a rich, dark walnut to bring out the beautiful wood tones. The table’s pedestal base was painted to match the chairs, all done in latté. While some people simply do not like to paint furniture, there are times when painting is a nice choice. But by no means are you limited to using only paint. The combination of using paint and stain marries two distinct styles into a well-blended upgrade to outdated furniture without sacrificing the original integrity. 

The chairs, having many spindles, take a great deal of time to prep for painting. Chairs, period, are one the most time-consuming of all furniture projects, because there's so much surface area on a chair. Plus, the more detail (hence, spindles), the longer it takes to prep them. It’s also why chairs can be costly to refinish (or paint). All those surfaces need the same amount of attention and prep time. Ultimately, you have many colors in both stain and paint to choose from for your perfect furniture project.