Side Table

Side Table Before

Side Table After

I saw this little table at a resale shop for $6.86. I had been looking for a table such as this to keep my quilting supplies organized because it has a bottom shelf, so when I stumbled upon it, I bought it. The table was originally used with a built-in lamp, which I removed as I hadn't planned on using it that way. The lamp was ugly and in the way.

Never underestimate a smaller project! Just because this table was small, didn't mean it wasn't difficult to refinish. The spindles, I knew, would make it difficult because the area between them was hard to get to, so I ended up removing them and sanding that entire strip, much easier. The spindles were also spinning around, since they had not been secured to the table. That was my first priority, to make sure they stayed put, so after I had spent many days and hours stripping, sanding and refinishing the table, I used my pin nailer to secure the spindles so they no longer rotated. The hole left from where the lamp base once was secured had to be filled in, so I ended up cutting a small piece of wood to best match the opening, then glued it in place.

Ugh, this was a tedious, frustrating job, as most of them for myself turn out to be, but nevertheless, I'm happily using the table to keep my quilting supplies neatly tucked away underneath, on the shelf instead of dangling all over my floor!

1960's Bedroom Set

Night Stand Before

Night Stand After

This was a large furniture job for a client in Grosse Pointe. This bedroom set included a nightstand (pictured left and right), a tall dresser, a low dresser, a mirror (not pictured) and a headboard. This was a popular 1960's, Early American style set. I actually had a nightstand very similar to this one as a child. It was popular back then.

My client wanted to keep the same finish and use the same handles. I started with the low dresser, then the tall dresser, nightstand and headboard and finished with the mirror. I spent two or three days removing the tarnish from the handles, then polishing them until they looked new once again. I love the shiny new brass finish revealed after all that detail work.

There are always surprises when you remove the factory finish from furniture and this set was no exception. The wood was pine, but because various sections of board were used, there was a great deal of color variation. Personally, I love this look as you can really see the wood grain, which tends to be hidden with a factory treatment. This is the beauty of hand-finished products; seeing the gorgeous wood beneath.

Low Dresser Before

Low Dresser After

Headboard Before

Headboard After

Tall Dresser Before

Tall Dresser After