Oak Dresser Hidden by Green Paint

 

Dresser After Stripping

Dresser Before Stripping

This little dresser is similar to a few others we’ve done that had the same overall look and design. However, this one was painted green. In our experience, sometimes when a piece of furniture is painted, there’s a good reason for it. Upon stripping this little dresser, we discovered that one of the drawers had a “patch,” which meant that someone had added a different type of wood that didn’t match the original oak that was used when it was built.

Luckily we were able to apply the stain so that it covered the entire piece in a way that looked as it would have looked originally. Likely, it had never been stained, just painted after it was built. It was old though.

When painting furniture, it usually doesn’t matter if wood styles are mixed because the paint covers it all evenly. But when a person wants something stripped and stained, refinished per se, if the wood is patched with non-original wood, this results in a variance of stain colors since different types of wood accept stain differently. 

A good example would be if you apply a dark stain to a light wood such as pine, it would certainly darken the original raw wood but wouldn’t be as dark as if you used the same stain on walnut, which is a darker wood to begin with. It’s always easier to go darker upon refinishing/restoring but much harder to go lighter. Not to say that it isn’t possible to do this as it all depends on the type of wood that was stained originally. Sometimes you simply don’t know what the raw wood will look like until it is stripped as years and years tend to oxidize the wood, making it darker than the original stain. Most of the time the wood, when stripped and completely sanded, is much lighter than the old finish. This allows for plenty of stain choices as it is fun to experiment with how the various stains draw out the wood’s original beauty. This is one of the most rewarding aspects of refinishing...seeing the final results when applying the stain. Ah, it’s pretty once again!

Antique Table

Table Before

Table After

This antique table belonged to a cousin's husband who obtained it
from his grandmother. He estimated it was about 100 years old. It showed its age as it was in rough shape, but with a little sanding and love, the table would be good as new. The table was made of walnut and once sanded, the wood underneath the rough finish came through. It was indeed a beautiful piece!

The legs took time because of their shape and detail, so I spent a great deal of time working on them, making sure I had removed all the old finish so that it could accept the new stain easily. This table required careful sanding because of the fluted legs, a great deal of detail. After it was sanded and stripped, I chose a walnut stain with two coats of semi-gloss polyurethane finish. Once it was done, it looked as it had 100 years ago, better than new. Needless to say, our cousin was thrilled with the table and planned on using it for years to come.

Edwardian Kidney-Shaped Desk

Edwardian Desk and Chair Before

Edwardian Desk and Chair After

I came across this amazing Edwardian Kidney-shaped desk and matching chair at an estate sale and knew I had to have it. Luckily, all the drawer pulls were in tact, but the top left one was missing a screw. Easy enough to find a screw and put the pull back in. The chair was in great shape, but the fabric was quite worn and dirty. Not a problem, as I could easily replace the fabric.

Drawer Pull Before Polishing

Drawer Pull After Polishing

My first project was the chair. I found a perfect gold fabric that pulls out the painted gold "arrow" design on the chair. I removed the seat and touched up the minor scratches on the chair itself, then replaced the fabric. It turned out to be a great choice as it looked great! Next was the desk itself. I replaced the missing screw and used tung oil to polish the wood until it gleamed. (Unfortunately, I took the photo of the cleaned desk and spent hours removing the background, before I polished the handles, therefore I added the photos [above] of the drawers separately showing the newly polished handles.) 

Once I pushed the newly upholstered chair underneath the desk, I knew I had indeed made the grand finale, hence the name of my business. I loved this beautiful desk and chair and together, they make a great team. The desk and chair are currently available for $675.00. Please contact me at 586.873.1405 if you're interested in purchasing them.

Chair and Desk After

Desk After

Tulip Chair Meets Vanity Desk

Tulip Chair Before

I bought this chair for only $5.00 at a garage sale. I was undecided

Tulip Chair After

what to do with it, so I didn't touch it until a friend had approached me to restore an old vanity desk that had belonged to her grandmother. I told her "I have the perfect chair for that desk, too!" She said, "Great, I'll take it!" I had finished the desk and asked her what she'd like done with the chair. She wasn't sure, so I suggested painting it black. She loved the idea because she has a Marilyn Monroe (black and white) bedroom and since we couldn't match the wood to her vanity desk anyway, why not paint it black. It worked! The black really was the perfect choice with the fabric that she'd provided which matched