Antique Oak Buffet Refinished

Buffet Before

Buffet After

A lovely antique buffet made of tiger oak was an absolute joy to refinish and restore. Our customer wanted this old beauty to be lighter so to match her dining table and chairs, also tiger oak. This piece, refinished with lighter stain, really brought out the lovely pattern in the woodgrain, enhancing its natural beauty.

This buffet was comprised of two main components; the bottom with drawers and doors and the top which was a beveled mirror framed by curved oak pieces that matched the overall design of the buffet. Lots of craftsmanship went into the construction of this fine piece, therefore it deserved the best refinishing treatment possible. Each piece was carefully stripped, sanded and stained, then preserved with two coats of satin polyurethane. As always, we take the time to polish all the hardware so it too sparkles and shines, as does the newly refinished buffet. The hardware was all in tact and original, made of solid brass, the “jewelry” or “bling” of the furniture.

That beautiful beveled mirror really added so much elegance to this buffet. The interior was reinforced with a few nails (to secure the bottom panel) and the shelf was reinstalled upon delivery. This was one of our favorite pieces as it shows just how rewarding the restoration process can be.

Ship’s Wheel Stripped

Ship's Wheel Before

Ship's Wheel After Stripping

Every once in a while we get an unusual job, not your everyday furniture. This teak ship’s wheel was such a job. He had also brought two other small things, a cup holder and a t.v. remote (or cell phone) holder. The customer had wanted this ship’s wheel to match his boat, so he wanted it stripped only. He would take care of the staining.

I started with the wheel lying flat on the table, then decided it would be easier to work on in an upright position, so I had Jim cut a small hole in my work table and I used this to position the ship’s wheel in it and spun it as needed to get into all the small areas on the spindles. It turned out to be a great idea as it helped me access areas that would otherwise have been very difficult to reach otherwise. This ship’s wheel took a full three days of detailed, time-consuming hand-stripping and sanding to remove the worn, peeling polyurethane.

The wheel had no stain on it, just polyurethane, but had begun to wear off and in some areas had suffered water damage. While sanding, I focused on those areas, but after it was to be stained, it would cover those areas completely. When I had completed the sanding, I took an old toothbrush and used brass cleaner to remove the oxidation from the center, which was made of solid brass. It look great when all that oxidation was removed and with a bit of elbow grease and brass polish, it shined up and looked brand new. This final touch made the ship’s wheel look great.

Ship's Wheel hole in Table

Spline Caning Chairs

Spline Caning Before

This dining chair was one of two which needed new caning installed in

Spline Caning After

the back only. The old caning had been broken (not uncommon for dining chairs) and needed replacement. This chair required the spline caning, which of the caning styles is the easier one compared to strand caning, which is much more time consuming.

While easier than strand caning, this particular chair was a bit harder due to the extreme curve of the top. This required paying attention to keeping the caning straight while installing because it becomes quite noticeable if caning is crooked. Therefore, keeping it straight and taut throughout installation is essential for a properly caned chair. Although the customer didn’t request the seat to be replaced, the new caning back  freshens up the chair and looks much better than the old, broken caning.

Queen Anne Table Chalk Painted

Queen Anne Table Before

This was a lovely Queen Anne table in need of a new look and it was decided that paint would achieve this nicely.

Queen Anne Table After

Chalk paint is great to work with. The first coat shows the brush strokes, but this goes away after you paint the second coat giving you great coverage. It also dries very quickly, in 20 minutes so you can easily finish a project from start to finish the same day. Chalk paint has unique qualities and those qualities allow you to experiment with finishes, such as waxing. Prior to this project I had not heard of chalk paint waxing, but I was willing to give it a try.