Antique Eastlake Cabinet Upgrade

Cabinet Before

Cabinet After

Once used as a tall dresser, this antique cabinet was in pretty rough condition prior to restoration. Actually, upon receiving it and getting started on the refinishing process, it sort of, well, fell apart. The piece had seen plenty of use over its sixty-plus years and many of the joints had come unglued, so it made sense to simple separate those loose joints and disassemble it to properly strip, sand and stain it the right way. 

The interior of this cabinet had three adjustable shelves, which had a unique adjustability system. The wood in the rear and front of the cabinet had slots which held small sections of wood that each shelf rested on and were easily removed so that they were easily adjustable to whatever height you needed. 

The bottom drawer was an unremarkable feature of the cabinet, the lovely brass drawer pulls blended into the background. It was also in need of a new bottom since the original one had been damaged and was no longer usable. Once the new bottom was built and installed, it was once again strong and usable. 

The hardware was polished, which included the drawer pulls and hinges. The bottom drawer, once almost invisible, was a focal point, the brass pulls looked like new. The keyhole slots were original, but two out the three were broken and had to be replaced with newly constructed, custom made key slots which looked almost identical to the original. When a piece of an old item of furniture is missing, it’s almost impossible to find that exact piece so a bit of ingenuity and design comes in handy to create a replica. 

The right side of the cabinet did not have glass, but plexiglass that was held closed with a piece of cardboard. Of course this wouldn’t do, so we replaced the plexiglass with glass and added a magnet at the top of the right (opening) door so that it would stay closed. A new stain and three coats of polyurethane to protect the surfaces and this old beauty got a major upgrade. Amazing how beautiful wood that hides beneath years of usage becomes when it is revealed with refinishing. This was indeed a lovely piece of furniture that we enjoyed working on.

Telephone Table With Cherry Stain

Telephone Table Before

Telephone Table After

Looks can be deceiving and this one looked like it would be "a piece
of cake" to remove the old stain and simply re-stain. Yeah, right. It proved to be quite the challenge as that old stain simply REFUSED to come off. I have three power sanders and lots of sandpaper and I used all of them to remove the extremely stubborn old finish on this old cherry telephone table. This was a client of mine who also had me refinish her red magazine rack. I had no idea this piece would be as difficult as it was! I spent the better part of 1-1/2 days just removing the old finish, but I was determined to make

Petite China Cabinet Makeover

China Cabinet Before

China Cabinet After

This beautiful little China cabinet was a petite, 54" tall. When we first found it at an antique shop in Lexington, something about its "quaintness" appealed to me. I was unsure what kind of wood lie beneath the many layers of stain that had been applied over the years. After many tedious hours of stripping, we revealed gleaming pine underneath all that stain and the wood grain was once again visible. This was a 2-month project in the making, between other projects and we wanted to do this piece justice. The original interior had ugly, hacked up wooden shelves, not original to the piece. Both Jim and I decided that glass shelves would make this special little beauty sparkle. Then Jim suggested we take it a step further and add some "bling" by installing a mirror onto the back. Since the back was recessed, this required Jim's special carpentry skills. He had to add a "filler" to the back of the cabinet, bringing it level with the shelves, so that the mirror fits in position, perfectly.

Cabinet in its new home!

On the day we installed the mirror, it was a nail-biting experience until it was firmly and safely in place. Once there, we knew she'd be just great. Indeed, this little gem turned out to be one the most gorgeous pieces we've done so far. Adding "bling" to any old piece of furniture can turn an ugly duckling into a sparkling, beautiful swan.

I ended up selling this cute little cabinet to another customer who had also purchased my oval table. She bought the table and I showed her this cabinet. A few days later she informed me that she just had to have it and came back yesterday to pick it up. It's now a part of her home, gracing her foyer. This is the part of the restoration process that most appeals to me; when the piece I've lovingly restored, finds a new home and has brought someone who cherishes it as much pleasure in owning as I had in restoring.

Good bye, my little treasure!