Before and After

This is the before and after of my roll top desk.  My dad obtained it during the 1930’s and used it daily till the 70’s.  The dark color is the result of oxidation and atmosphere soil.  When I relocated to Michigan Blvd in 1988, Dad gave it to me.  I refinished it then and have…

With a baby on the way, our customer brought in this child’s rocker to see if it could be restored. It was in pieces, the caned seat shot and one leg held together with string. Before any repairs are made, pieces are stripped of old finish. Once the finish was off, the base was knocked…

Sometimes people wonder if damaged pieces are salvageable. This corner desk was one such piece. It suffered from water damage – loose veneer, warped wood, missing trip pieces, drawer fronts off their drawers, damaged finish. After stripping the remaining finish, restoration began. We replaced any frame wood too damaged for repair, reglued and stabilized the…

An old headboard and foot board came to us with severe veneer damage and loose or missing trim. The photo clearly shows the damaged veneer that needed to be replaced. The damage is cut out with straight lines and the new veneer cut exactly to fit. The loose trim is then reapplied.The veneer then needs…

Surprise! A family heirloom, this tea cart was graciously lent to a friend for an extended length of time. They accepted his offer to refinish the cart never expecting it to be returned with a white crackle finish. We were asked to return the cart to the original finish and color, sans the crackle! A…

This side by side was rescued from a barn and then spent many years in the family garage. When we were called for restoration it was in sad shape: loose and missing veneer, missing hardware, binding drawers and doors, missing shelves, warped and loose backs, loose joints and a damaged mirror. After stripping the old…

White paint looks so fresh and clean until it gets old, then it tends to yellow and chip! A service we offer, which doesn’t get much attention, is refinishing woodwork. This pile of 6 doors, nearly 100 feet of baseboard and over 100 feet of new quarter-round trim was brought in after the owner tried…

You’d be surprised how many times we regretfully hear, “I didn’t know it could have been repaired!” A split seat threatened to reduce a set of eight chairs to a set of seven. When the seat was turned over, a previous “repair” was visible. To properly repair the seat splits, dowels need to be inserted…

Our customer wanted to display the family heirloom as part of her room décor and provide a fun chair for her grandkids when they visit. As you can see in the before picture, it had been well used. We removed the old fabric and padding and tightened the frame. The wood rockers were refinished to…

Dated fabric was just one problem for this classically styled sitting chair. At some point in its history, a resourceful do-it-yourselfer reupholstered the chair. We had never seen fabric used quite like this for spring webbing before, but had to admire its patchwork quilt look! After removing all the old fabric and padding, the frame…