Oak Rocking Chair Refinished

Rocking Chair Before

This solid oak rocking chair had seen some wear and needed minor repairs, but

Rocking Chair After

otherwise in great condition. The arms had the most wear, which is not uncommon as they get plenty of use and the oils from our hands tend to wear down the wood finishes on furniture, especially chairs.

The chair was heavy as it was solid wood. Once the refinishing was complete, the woodgrain became much more visible on the chair. Usually, aged furniture hides the lovely woodgrain beneath the years of grim and wear, so a good strip and a new stain application with the polyurethane to protect it, this is a great way to restore the original finish and bring it back to life.

Approximately thirty years old, this rocking chair was still very durable and had plenty of usage left and since it was refinished with patience and dedication, it will last a long time.

Worn, Sturdy Chair Gets Facelift

Chair After

Chair Before

This worn chair was in rough shape when it came to me. Although it was quite sturdy, the exterior was in need of a major facelift. The chair had taken a beating by an overzealous dog which had chewed up the left seat section, showing exposed springs. 

The chair had once been a light tan material but had darkened with use and age as the fabric was quite worn out. This was an extremely heavy chair with a strong frame and lots of springs which gave it plenty of bounce. Springs feel good in a chair only when they are not poking through it!

The first step involved in this massive project was removing the old material and documenting (literally) each step as I carefully pulled staples and nails out of each section of the chair. This type of chair has several areas and each one has a specific methodology to put together as well as take apart. Taking it apart is exactly the opposite of building it, which means that I had to remove the center, left and right outer sections first, before tackling the interior seating area. This process is vital to assembling all these components when reupholstering the chair, since I used the original fabric to make templates for the new fabric, which was a blue seat with plaid top and backing, making this a unique, two-tone chair. 

Century Old Maple Courtroom Chairs Makeover

Maple Chair Before

Maple Chair After

This is one of two courtroom style chairs that were once owned by a
friend’s grandfather and used in his print shop. We estimate the chairs to be approximately one-hundred years old (possibly older).

He had been wanting to get these chairs refinished for years, but finally got around to it approaching last Christmas as a gift for his wife (it belonged to her grandfather) to surprise her. Evidently he had them hung in his garage for over fifteen years after they had relocated to their current farm house on nine acres of land.

These chairs were very sturdy, made of solid maple which was hard to see beneath so many years of oxidation and grime. It never ceases to amaze me how gorgeous wood is hidden under all that worn finish and dirt. I was pleasantly surprised that once the chairs had been completely stripped and sanded to discover the wood was actually light and could be stained a lighter stain per his request. I have been using “gunstock” stain on a few projects lately and found it is one of my new favorite stain color choices. It is a mid-tone color with warm, rich tones, much like cinnamon and brown sugar (makes me think of cookies). It works well with any type of wood, depending on how light you prefer it to be. I used it on a very long handrail in my own home and it matches the existing railing and woodwork perfectly. If I ever get around to refinishing the stairs and railing, that will be my color choice for stain.

While the chairs were is great shape with a very solid structure, the only thing I had to repair was one of the chairs’ back section (behind the slats) had been popping out of their spots which required the wood to be removed, reshaped and glued before pushing back into place. Once the glue was dry, I gently sanded the area and filled in the small spaces with matching filler. After it was stained and polyurethane was applied, you couldn’t even see where the damage had been. I did it and it took close inspection to see where those spots were broken through. The end result was two lovely refinished chairs in a lighter tone that displayed the beautiful wood grain.