Antique Solid Cedar Chest Refinished

Cedar Chest After

Cedar Chest Before

This is one of many cedar chests we have refinished, but it is the third one that was solid cedar; it had no veneer on the exterior. It was in pretty good condition with just a few minor scratches on the top left side in the back. Because it was solid cedar, those scratches were easily sanded away, bringing out the natural beauty and scent of the wood. 

My customer had used it as a coffee table with a glass top, so it will be protected and serve a dual purpose for many years. Cedar chests are one of my favorite furniture items because they are so versatile. In addition to storing linens, they make great toy boxes, a place to hide Christmas presents from snooping children and a great place to store seasonal clothing because of their natural moth repelling fragrant interiors. There’s nothing quite like the smell of a cedar chest. The cedar tree is one of many nature’s beautiful contributions to a family’s needs in the form of storage, seating and beauty. 

In addition to their versatile properties, cedar chests come in various shapes, sizes and styles. The waterfall cedar chest is very common with its curved front top and heavy lid. Many of these cedar chests were built in the 1940’s, used for linens and towels. Some cedar chests have legs with drawers, in addition to the lid-top storage interior. My personal cedar chest has a built-in shelf that is a perfect place to keep smaller items like my husband’s ties, socks and table runners. I love it for storing my quilts and extra sheets. If you don’t have a cedar chest, you may find one at an estate sale or at an antique store. If they need to be restored, you may get it for under $100.00. The best deal I got on my first cedar chest which was a 1945 waterfall style, was $5.00 at an estate sale. I doubt I’ll ever find one that cheap again!

You can see the other cedar chests we’ve refinished by clicking on these links:

https://finalefurniture.blogspot.com/2019/11/solid-cedar-chest.html
https://finalefurniture.blogspot.com/2016/08/1948-lane-cedar-chest_22.html
https://finalefurniture.blogspot.com/2015/04/elegant-cedar-chest-revival.html
https://finalefurniture.blogspot.com/2013/12/1945-lane-waterfall-cedar-chest.html
https://finalefurniture.blogspot.com/2012/06/my-waterfall-cedar-chest.html

Small Chair Gets Newly Caned Seat

Caned Chair After

 

Caned Chair Before

This was a nicely sized, small antique chair with a broken cane seat. This is a common problem with cane, it breaks easily when someone either puts a knee through it or tries to stand on it (not recommend). 

This chair was a standard strand weave cane, using a medium size cane. To determine what size cane a chair requires, you measure the distance between each hole as well as the size of the holes on the perimeter of the chair’s seat. If you’re unsure what size to get, it’s better to go a size smaller because ultimately it’s easier to work with.

I prefer this type of caning to the spline, or “press in” caning because although it is more time consuming, it is actually easier to do and much more accurate. I also prefer the look of strand caning to spline caning. The process for spline caning is completely different from strand caning, as the caning comes in a sheet anywhere between 16"-24” wide and sold by the foot, so if you are doing a chair that is 13” x 14” you need to get two lengths of caning in the closest size, but allowing an additional two inches on each side to allow enough cane to “press” into the groove on the top edge of the chair.

With the traditional weave as seen in this chair, you start by removing the old cane completely and make sure all the holes are cleaned out. Then you begin the weave by starting from the front center and coming up the back center, passing beneath through each hole, then back up again to the top, repeating this procedure until one side of the chair is completely filled in, then you repeat on the other side. The next step is the horizontal weaving, continuing until the entire chair is covered both vertically and horizontally. The third step is another row of vertical, this one going slightly to the left of the first row. This allows the additional weaving steps to be easier. 

The total process has six steps of weaving then the final step is the final edge which is secured with binding cane which is a bit wider than the cane used on the chair. You come up through each hole then down the same hole, over the binding then securing the it by pulling the working cane through snugly on the underside, then repeating this on each hole until you complete the entire chair.  You secure the corners with a 1” piece of round peg cane that keeps the corners from coming apart. On the underside of the chair will be the loose strands of cane which will be tied beneath the woven strands created through the caning process. This is the last and final step before the chair is complete and ready to use.

My first caning chair was quite the challenge, but after watching many videos and reading material, have since done many caned chairs. Each time it gets a little bit easier, because I understand the weaving process. I’m currently self-learning yet a new type of weave, a rush chair, which is a completely different process from caning, since the entire chair is woven from the corners to the center, ending with a very narrow space to fill in the last strand. Rush is either natural or manufactured, but the process is the same. I’m in the early stages of this, but this evening I finally figured out the direction and how to get it positioned correctly. When I’m done I will hopefully will have four nicely finished rush chairs and a new skill under my belt. I’ll be posing those too, so keep checking back!

Drop Leaf Table Painted

Drop Leaf Table Before

Drop Leaf Table After

Every so often we get a unique job such as this drop leaf table. It was small, pretty and in need of a new look. The request was to paint the legs a soft white and paint the top black. This was a dramatic change for the white, yet worn table.

The unique feature of this table was that the center spindles opened up to support the leaves when the table was opened. This made the table easy to store as it was only ten inches wide when the leaves were down. Then when needed, easily opened to accommodate a few chairs and have tea time in ten minutes. I realized after I had begun working on this little gem that one of the bottom sections of a spindle was broken, held together with tape and painted over.

In order to repair the break and do it right, I removed the top from the legs along with all the hinges. This way I was able to reach the hard to get to places to properly prep the table for painting. It required a bit of stripping, a lot of sanding and three coats of spray paint on the legs and three coats of brush on paint for the top. I also cleaned the hinges and screws on my polishing wheel. I believe if you are going to take a piece of furniture apart, cleaning the hardware is part of the restoration process. It looks so much better than using the rusty hinges (or other hardware) and makes it easier to install.

TIP: A trick I’ve learned is after removing the rust from the screws, I scrape each screw along the edge of a bar of soap. This little extra step makes the screws easier to re-install as the soap acts as a lubricant without damaging the wood or the metal. To do a restoration right, it’s well worth the many steps involved since the results will be obvious and appreciated.

Drop Leaf Table Finished and Open

Antique Corner Chair

Corner Chair Before

This adorable corner chair caught me completely off guard as I wasn't searching for a chair when I came across it at a barn sale here in Marine City. The chair is likely over 100 years old, built at the turn of the last century and I simply had to have it. I could see the

Corner Chair After

potential since the chair had a sturdy frame and other than the missing center detail scrollwork, nothing was broken.

The chair had the original seat and the cushion was in amazingly great condition, so I negotiated a price of $18.00 for this little beauty and took it home with a thunder storm and my two grandchildren running ahead of me toward the car. After carefully placing it in the back seat, I headed home with my new treasure.

My original idea of painting the chair gave way to a total strip and restoration as I couldn't imagine covering up that beautiful mahogany and hand carved details on the chair's legs. Stripping took three days, because details such as this chair had took time to get it right. I pulled out all my stripping tools including my wood carving tools to remove the old stain which tends to get trapped in the nooks and crannies of the hand carved areas. It took a lot of scraping and stripper to completely remove the old finish, but once it was down to the bare wood, it was worth all the time it took. I was so happy I made the decision to strip instead of paint!

I marveled at the elegant condition of this fine little gem of a chair. The wood had a luscious sheen and smooth velvety feel. I knew it would take the mahogany stain well, which of course, it did. I chose a soft cloth and carefully applied the stain, then removed the extra stain with an old t-shirt. Old shirts make for great staining because they leave no lint. I try to avoid cloth with the possibility of leftover material on the wood surface.

Corner Chair in Sunroom

Once the chair was completely refinished, I applied two coats of polyurethane. While waiting for the polyurethane to dry, I removed the old seat cushion and replaced it with a piece of fabric I had my eye on. My plan to use this chair in the sunroom dictated that I use fabric to match the "Tame Teal" paint in the sunroom. The fabric was absolutely perfect and matched like a charm. I now have an adorable little chair to rest my feet on when I'm enjoying a good book in my lovely sunroom.

Petite Old Dresser Painted Black

Petite Dresser Before

Petite Dresser After

This little dresser was in really rough shape when we found it at an estate sale on Ursuline Street in St. Clair Shores two weekends ago, and we almost overlooked it. After we gave it a second glance, we knew we found a treasure. Seldom deterred by "ugly," Jim saw the potential in this unique petite piece and knew he could transform its outdated, rough look and give it a new and unique personality.
The dresser sports fluted sides, a rounded backdrop and the front two legs rest on rounded pegs for support. This little piece shows true craftsmanship of days gone by. Its five drawers were in excellent condition, but the exterior was in need of new paint. Given the luck we've had with black paint for the other dressers we've recently restored, we decided to use black paint again. We purchased new drawer pulls that we felt best suited the dresser's unique style and just as we thought, the dresser assumed a whole new identity, not at all resembling the sad little dresser we originally bought at the estate sale. It's now a respectable piece of furniture that anyone would be proud to own. With a little elbow grease, time and patience (of course vision), this old beauty has a modern, timeless look.

Here's another dresser that needed paint and TLC: http://finalefurniture.blogspot.com/2013/08/old-dresser-new-life.html