Checkerboard Antique Card Table

 

Card Table Before

Card Table After

Every once in a while we get a totally unique piece of furniture that is one in a million. One of the many aspects of furniture restoration is the wide variety of items that come our way. It’s always a surprise! At times the surprise comes when we see it. Other times the surprise comes after we remove the years and years of grime to reveal the beauty beneath it. This antique card table with a checkerboard center was such a piece.

It’s hard to know origins of furniture, such as how old an item is, where it was made, what kind of wood is was made from. We have seen mostly oak, walnut, cherry and even some more exotic woods such as bloodwood and olive wood. At times we’ve seen wood we can’t easily identify. With this unique table we quickly realized it was made of many types of wood combined to create a work of art which ended with a center design in a checkerboard or chess table.

However, it was completely covered with years of grime, dirt and who knows what else. Hidden away in a garage for over thirty years, this table was likely overlooked and became part of the back storage of the space it occupied until my customer yanked it out with the intention of getting it refinished. It looked like a major undertaking since there were many pieces of wood missing that would have to be replaced as well as all that grim removed with stripper and carefully sanded so that none of the wood would be destroyed in the process. And yes, each piece of wood you see has been individually placed into the table! This alone makes it a highly unique work of art. 

Once stripped, the gorgeous wood beneath was exposed. It was comprised of maple, bird’s eye maple, walnut and mahogany. Since many of the original tiny pieces were missing, it was necessary to cut and carefully place each missing piece in its place so that it blended in with the table and look as if they were always there. As you can imagine, this was a very time-consuming process. After all those missing pieces were installed and glued, it was then stained and protected with four coats of strong polyurethane so it will hold up for another one hundred years at least. A timeless beauty can say, “Checkmate.”

Card Table Before

Card Table After

Rocking Chair Goes From Rubbish to Royalty

Rocker Before

Rocker After

Everyone’s heard the phrase, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. ”Indeed, this seems to be the case for many old pieces of furniture as well as a ton of other interesting finds at flea markets, garage sales and estate sales. The fun is the hunt, the pursuit of finding that special “gem” that everybody else overlooked or simply didn’t want.

Other times people find something in grandpa’s attic that they really don’t want to deal with, so they toss it out. Sometimes it goes to a land fill, other times it gets another chance and life when someone sees the beauty hidden beneath layers of grime, old fabric (or in this case, missing fabric in the back), and broken springs that once held up the seat.

Rocker Back Before

Rocker Back After

This very old rocking chair was one of the lucky ones which got rescued and brought to us. It was indeed quite the challenge because it didn’t have anything but a big hole in the back rest where the fabric once was, with little to go by on how it was constructed. But first things first. Strip, sand and stain before anything else. But in addition to the standard stripping and staining, this chair needed new rocker rungs, because the original ones were broken and barely held together with rusty screws. There was no saving them.

It’s hard to know how old this rocking chair was, but when hay or horsehair is used, it’s a sign to be pretty old. My guess would be this chair dates to the mid to late 1800’s based on its overall construction. Rusty tacks held in what we believe to be leather, which was wrapped around the top of the chair and held in place at the top, bottom and sides with those tacks. The seat looked like it had been reupholstered back in the 1920’s and not updated since then. It was really, really old and pretty hideous. The bones of the chair was good, solid oak and quite heavy. It had springs that had long ago sprung loose of their rope that held them beneath the seat cushion which was also almost gone. Needless to say, we had our work cut out for us.

Side View Before

Side View After

Jim did a fine job stripping the chair, then making the new rocker rungs before it could be stained and finished with polyurethane. Making the rungs was extremely difficult because he had to make a template to trace the old ones onto then cut the new ones with a special router bit that was much deeper than the standard size to accommodate the thicker oak he was using. After lots of sweat and a few choice words, we got it done! Finally he could attach them to the bottom of the chair and finish the process of staining and protecting with poly. Once it was all done and dry enough, then it was my turn.

The seat came first. I measured and cut the 2” thick high density foam and made it fit the new seat which was made of durable wood instead of springs. Once the foam was in place, I added two layers of quilt batting to the top of the foam for extra softness. A very dark gray vinyl was chosen for the seat cover, so I made a template then cut the vinyl to fit snugly into the chair’s arm rest in the front and uppers in the back. Going around the wood in the corners is the toughest part because you want to eliminate the bulk without cutting away too much fabric, therefore a template is essential to get it right. Once I had it taut, I started with each side, adding a tack to hold it in place then worked my ay around the entire seat, cutting carefully and trimming the extra so it would fit well. I added tacks along the entire bottom edge on all four sides. It looked great! Then came the real tough part....the back.

First I had to attach 4” jute chair webbing horizontally and vertically on the opening of the back, to securely hold the foam and fabric in place. Once this was done, I placed a 54” x 22” continuous piece of 1/2” foam and wrapped it around the top of the chair, attaching it to the front and back bottom edges with temporary tacks. I had two layers on the front and an additional thicker foam on the back to fill in the large gap created by the open area of the chair. Once I was satisfied with the placement of the foam, I kept the edges from moving around by using my trusty glue gun. Then I prepared the fabric. I needed a 21.5" x 50” section of fabric. After I cut the size, allowing for folded edges and a generous seam allowance on the bottom, I attached the fabric to the front and back bottom edges first, then added temporary tacks about 6” apart along the sides to keep the fabric taut. Next and final step, carefully nailing in the decorative nickel tacks, I started on the backside, then carefully worked my way up and over to the front side, finished with the bottom front. Adding fabric to a chair that you have no reference as to how it was done prior is quite challenging, but can be achieved by applying techniques you acquire along the way. This chair made a complete 180 from how it started, from rubbish to royalty, fit for a king. Now it can live another 150 years.

Below are the photos that my customer had sent to me asking if this chair can be refinished. I knew it would be a real challenge, but a challenge both of us were up to.

Original Photo from Customer

Original Photo from Customer

Back top original photo

Old Mahogany Desk

Old Mahogany Desk Before

Old Mahogany Desk After

Antiques are simply the best furniture to refinish and restore
because they are well made, have plenty of character and solid wood. This old mahogany desk is a great example of those characteristics as it was in supreme condition with everything still intact, no broken pieces. This is uncommon for such an old piece of furniture, estimated to be built around the early 1900’s based on the design and materials used. As with many antiques, this one had also seen some wear and a refreshing would bring back its original beauty.

The amount of detail on this desk was incredible. It had a wooden beaded border which surrounded the bottom edge, and again on the top portion of the legs. The drawer, which had no handles, did not stand out. In fact, unless you realized it was a drawer, it was easy to overlook. The fluted legs, carved rosettes and rippled crosspieces show elements of the time and craftsmanship that went into the process of building this old desk. Made of mahogany, it was also a sturdy and somewhat heavy piece of furniture.

The same elements that make an item of furniture beautiful such as all those details, also make it quite challenging to refinish and restore. We utilize many hand tools to remove the old finishes that accumulate between the details of each finely carved piece of wood that creates the unique design of an item of furniture, differentiating it from mass-produced pieces. This desk took several days to strip, sand and remove the residue of old finishes.

Staining was also a tedious process because there were many nooks and crannies that needed careful application of stain, as not to be missed. I chose chestnut gel stain which worked well on the vertical surfaces. Gel stain is great because it doesn’t drip onto everything beneath it and you have more control to where the stain ends up. I chose to spray two coats of semi-gloss polyurethane instead of brushing because of the many vertical surfaces. Spraying mush be carefully applied to avoid runs and drips, but is ultimately much faster than using a brush. The end result was a beautifully refinished antique, which once again glowed with its inherent character.

Antique Table and Chairs Whitewashed and Painted

Antique Table Before

Antique Table After

This antique table had been in the customer’s family for generations, however, she wanted an updated look for her lake house and decided that lighter and brighter would accomplish that. I recommended painting the chairs and legs and then using a “whitewash” technique for the table top. This was not an entirely new experience for me, as I had done something similar with a teak table and chairs set. However, this one was slightly and required a few additional steps. The table top was stripped and the legs got a better-than-average sanding, Next step was two coats of primer on the legs, then two coats of Sherwin-Williams "Pure White" paint. This table had a unique feature; the leaf extensions pulled out from each side then lifted up to the same level as the rest of the table. Because of this feature, the underside of these extensions had to be painted white to match the legs, since you could see them when the extensions were being used.

Antique Oak Folding Table

Folding Table Top Before

Table After

Every so often we will get an absolutely divine piece of furniture such as this antique folding table made of solid oak. As a furniture refinisher, I prefer working with solid wood over veneer because you can't beat the outcome of a great piece of wood that most antique furniture is made from. To be a true antique, an item of furniture should be at least 100 years old, otherwise they are considered vintage.

Drop-Leaf Table

Drop Leaf Table After

Drop Leaf Table Before

I acquired this very old drop leaf table at a yard sale and when I asked the owner how much she wanted for it, I could hardly believe my luck! I was able to buy this table for only $2.00! I saw its potential and knew I could not only make it usable again, but could make it look better than new. I quickly paid her and loaded it into the back of my van before the woman changed her mind.

As you can see in the "before" photo, one of the ends was lower than the rest of the table, making it unstable and wobbly. That didn't bother me because I knew it was fixable. My husband, on the other hand, just

My Favorite Dresser

Dresser Before

Dresser After

This is probably my favorite dresser so far that I've done. It was a sad, old dresser which I found in the basement of an estate sale in Eastpointe. It was buried under old LPs, grade school photos, contact paper and various cans of bug spray. I spotted this piece and knew I had to have it. It had great potential but boy, was it a mess!

After the young man helped me load the dresser into the van, I got it home and assessed it. The drawers were filled with memories of a man who'd gone to a school in Detroit; report cards, school photos, a pink pearl eraser, pencils, torn photographs of kids in baseball uniforms and old utility bills from 1970. This wasn't just a dresser. It had been a part of someone's life. This dresser was just crying out, make me beautiful!

Dresser Top Before

Dresser Top After

I wanted to paint the dresser (as opposed to staining it) because the wood, while sturdy and in good shape, was a bit rough. There was

Tiny Antique Chair

Antique Chair Before

Antique Chair After

A nice woman had contacted about a small chair she had wanted refinished. The chair had been caned at one time, but had since been reupholstered, a seat had replaced the caning. The replaced seat cushion had been done a very long time ago. She said the chair was very old, but didn't know how old. I told her I guessed it was from the 19th Century because of its structure and the way it was put together.

She simply wanted the seat cushion fabric replaced and the wood refreshed. I removed the old seat and replaced the fabric with a lovely paisley tapestry fabric I had left over from a previous job. It was the perfect color and texture for this chair. I completely sanded and stripped the wood and made minor repairs to the bottom rails (they were a bit wobbly) and then stained the chair with red mahogany. Once complete, this little chair became a real beauty.

My customer was thrilled! She also purchased another chair from me and I supplied her with additional fabric so that the two chairs, while different in design, had the same seat so they could be used as a pair. This was a fun project as I'm always pleased to make my customers smile.


Antique Chair Seat Before

Antique Chair Seat After

Nightstand Gets Painted Eggshell

Nightstand After

Nightstand Before

This little nightstand was a job for a customer who wanted it to match her dressers, however, the end result didn't match so I suggested painting it. As a traditionalist, I normally lean toward refinishing wood, as opposed to painting it, but sometimes painting is a great solution. This was a great example of paint vs. stain, as the wood didn't accept the stain very well, thus making the wood a great deal darker and no longer matching the dressers. This is caused by absorption, which determines the wood's ability to take on the proper color. When I suggested painting the piece, my customer agreed and purchased an eggshell white that matched her bed. The bottom line was a great little table that received a coat of paint and a brand new look! Be open to your finishes, because you never know how great something will look until you try it!

Here's another nightstand we've painted: http://finalefurniture.blogspot.com/2013/11/nightstand-gets-facelift.html

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