At Idaho Contractor, we do a lot of furniture refinishing – not just the repair and touch-up but creating a whole new look or style. Here are a few recent examples:
First sample is a small end table. I am sorry, we did not take a before picture of this piece of furniture.
The table and drawer were stained a light red cherry. They were made from cherry wood and the look was good. However, the drawer broke and we made a replacement drawer from pine – what we had on hand; and we didn’t want to put a lot of money into it.
So, the decision to paint was made for us. To the far right is a photo of the end table and drawer with primer. The closer photo is with the paint and distressing completed. We finished the project with three coats clear acrylic top coat. It looks good, functions well and is ready for a new home.
Here is another project with no before picture (sorry). The dining table and the chairs came from two different sets. The dining table is a mahogany and the chairs are a light hardwood.
The table had six legs with ugly fretwork/bracing between. We removed two of the legs, the bracing and the table extensions. We sealed the top of the table – because it is going to extend no more; and we didn’t want food getting stuck in the cracks. It is painted a tan with a hint of green and glazed and distressed with dark stain.
The photo shows two chairs but there are six in the set. The chairs were painted a light coffee color and re-upholstered. When we took the chairs apart, several of the seat bases had been eaten up by bug colonies. Fun! Everything received three coats clear acrylic finish.
Here was a very fun project: This was from the sixties – maybe the fifties! This unit housed two bookshelves with a planter on top. Some of you will remember those.
The far right picture is the before photo. The near right photo is the early phase of the remodel and shows the drawer opening cut into the face of the planter section and heavy feet installed under the base. The drawer and the doors were built from AC fir plywood and the drawer has a full extension slide (100 lbs rating). You can put a lot in this drawer and this cabinet will make a good accessory unit in the kitchen.
To finish the project we found some industrial looking smooth door handles and a vintage style drawer pull. We installed a new top, covering the planter opening and trimmed the sides with a thin cove moulding. We painted the body of the furniture a dark grey and the doors and drawer face a mustard color. The top finish is three coats of clear acrylic. This was fun and the cabinet is sure to be very handy.
This is an armoire I built thirty years ago. It was eight feet, six inches tall. It had a sunflower for the front carving and the whole cabinet was stained light blue – a wash – inside and out. We decided to lower it by cutting half the base and lowering the front carving. Now, it will fit under a standard seven foot, eleven inch ceiling; including the arc needed to tilt it into place. The far right photo is the original look and the near right photo is the new style after the renovation.
We left most the interior in the original wash and added a few clear finished pine shelves for more utility. The inside of the doors, are now a dark grey color. The body color is beige, almost a yellow. The crown and dentil mouldings on top are a deep blue color with a distressing of gold. The base is dark grey – like the inside of the doors.
There are carvings on every side of this cabinet and the raised panel construction is all the way around as well. This armoire could sit in the middle of the room; there is no side you would want to hide against a wall. When I originally built this, its purpose was a room divider between the living and dining rooms, which had a short half-wall.
Look inside this cabinet – the storage is huge – it will hold half our worldly possessions! We have had this armoire in our home for thirty years or more. Lord willing, we will keep it another thirty years.
Let me know if we can refinish some furniture for you – or create something new.
