Antique Mahogany Parlor Chair

Parlor Chair Before

Parlor Chair After

This was a small, mahogany parlor chair in need of some TLC. It had a few broken sections which Jim was able to repair and then touch it up since the finish was in good condition. Touching up a piece of furniture is a less expensive alternative to a total stripping and refinishing, which involves completely removing the old stain down to bare wood and applying new stain and polyurethane.

This chair had nice carvings on the backrest with Queen Anne style legs. The seat was in pretty bad condition, so the springs had to be removed and retied on a new webbing bottom. 

My customer had selected fabric from one of my previous jobs, a lovely gold diamond design on burgundy material, which was perfect for this style of chair. What was once a nice cushion was completely gone, so after the springs were retied, I secured them with burlap which keeps the springs securely in place and allows for a nice construction of the other materials that followed. 

After the burlap was on, I added three layers of raw cotton to make the seat nice and fluffy, followed by three layers of dacron, which is a soft batting that adds comfort and bounce to the seat. The final step was attaching the gorgeous material and finish it off with a double welt cord that follows the bottom edge of the seat.

Small enough to stash in a corner and perfect for additional seating, this parlor chair is a perfect addition to any dining room, adding beauty as well as function. 

Antique Desk Cabinet

Cabinet Before

This lovely old cabinet came to us in less than perfect condition. It had seen a lot of use over the years, judging by the scratches and wear, however, we were able to detect the high quality of the wood (tiger oak) and the overall structure of the piece and knew we would be able to breathe new life

into it making it shine again. 

Cabinet After

We determined that this cabinet once had a large door, likely glass, which had opened on left side where the shelves were located, but the owner no longer had the door and didn't mind not having one. The cabinet had only three of the four original wheels. Luckily we had the same style of wheels leftover from a previous job, so we were able to add the fourth wheel, making this piece much easier to move around. (It's a good idea to save hardware!)

Display Cabinet

Display Cabinet

This display cabinet is my very first restoration project. I bought it at an estate sale nearby. While it's not an antique, it's a great reproduction and I particularly liked its cabriole legs and clean lines. It had a broken door, but otherwise, it was in great shape. I repaired the broken door (at the pivot point) and added a mirror to the interior back of the cabinet. Then I refinished the exterior with red mahogany stain and gave it two coats of semi-gloss polyurethane.

I ended up selling to a woman who had just moved into a house and needed a little cabinet or table for her living room. She was so happy to have found the perfect little cabinet and especially loved the mirror in the back! I also painted the tarnished gold knobs to a shiny silver, which I felt tied in nicely with the mirror. It also added a little "bling," giving this display cabinet a touch of elegance, while maintaining its functionality. Is it any wonder I get excited when I find these great little pieces of furniture??