Antique Secretary Desk & German Rocking Chair

Secretary After

Secretary Before

I had posted an ad for furniture restoration services and a man who lived near me called and asked if I was interested in restoring an antique secretary and a German rocking chair. He told me where he lived, so I said I could be over within a half hour. He had sold his house and was busy moving, so he didn't have time to work on these pieces. He'd already stripped off most of the paint from the secretary, but some paint remained as well as an very old layer of varnish. I gave him a price and told him I'd have them done in a couple of weeks. This is where experience is the best teacher. When I quoted him a price, I should have tripled it because the secretary alone took me about 3 weeks to strip and refinish. I had to remove the back and get inside all the slots, very difficult to do with such a dark piece of wood and such small spaces. But the final results
were fabulous! The secretary came to life once the dark, old finish was removed and a new golden oak stain was applied. It was a very tedious job but a great experience. I'm not sure I'd ever want to tackle another one thought! It was almost as difficult as my Bentwood rocking chair, only it had flat surfaces compared to the Bentwood's curves.

Secretary Interior before

Secretary Interior After

The left side shows the interior of the secretary before I stripped the remaining paint and stain from it. The right side shows the secretary after stripping, re-staining and polishing up the original hinges. This desk belonged to the owner's grandmother. Now that it's been completely refinished, it will last for another 100 years or longer...

Rocker Before

The left photo shows the rocking chair which also belonged to the same man who owned the secretary desk. It had been in his garage for many years and had been covered with grime, oil and spider webs. The right arm was broken as well as the curved finial details on the top of the arms. All in all, the chair was in good condition, just needed the back re-attached and the arm curls repaired and some of the joints re-glued. Jim helped me with this project as it was a two-person job. I held the chair in place while he carefully drilled out the old dowel holes so that we can glue the back into its original position. It took a little creative

Rocker After

engineering to screw the holes completely straight so that the back lines up, since the entire chair was curved. After we got it in place, I began the restoration process. First I bleached the back of the chair because it was very dark and dirty. After the bleach had lightened the wood, the beautiful carving of three men sitting at a table drinking beer had emerged. Once I was done bleaching, I thoroughly cleaned the chair and lightly sanded it. I applied one coat of golden oak stain and then finished it with tung oil, which brought out the wood's natural sheen. It was stunning when it was finished. After I had finished both of these projects (in less than three weeks) I called the owner, who came to pick them up. He was absolutely astounded at how beautiful his furniture had turned out! I was also proud of myself for envisioning the beauty I knew lie beneath the dirt, grime and cobwebs of the past and giving these old relics a new beginning. This was a lot of work, but it was well worth it!