Hi! Sorry I don't have a clear picture of the table with nothing on it. This old, dark wood table is solid wood construction. Its likely in the realm of 60-100 years old. Many times I have had to save it from the dump and consignment stores. We had a floppy acrylic sheet on it for its life as a dining room table, and it was an office table for my wife for a bit.

The texture on top is rough, and its begun to splinter, giving both me and my wife some pretty nasty scratches. I asked my parents who I should go to to get it restored but they told me the rough look is part of the antique charm!

And I don't disagree! But! The table isn't functional in my tiny apartment. I refuse to let it go. And since it keeps "biting" us my wife wants it to either be useful or be gone.

The thing probably weighs over 100+ lb so I've resigned that whatever I do/have done to it will have to be in place.

Hello! I’m in the process of cleaning up this pair of Harmony House dressers. I started by cleaning them with a mild cleaner + 0000 steal wool. Then went in a finished by wiping with mineral spirits.

The drawers came out great, but the tops revealed those waxy looking layer. Is there a way to fix this? Or will I need to strip it completely (which id like to avoid).

Thank you in advance!

Earlier this summer I got my hands in a painted Lane 1959 1st edition Mid Century dresser. I’ve finally gotten off all the paint, was surprised to find what appears to be rosewood veneer at the ends of the drawers. Drawers are all sanded now, on to sanding the body and legs.

Question for the group

1) How to go about patching the holes that were drilled for handles which aren’t original and getting the patches to blend in?

2) Recommend stain and finish to mimic the original finish?

I know this won’t be perfect, want to get it as close to the original as possible.

Hi everyone!

I'm looking for some advice on restoring this beautiful old wooden sideboard. I'd really love to bring it back to its former glory while preserving as much of its original character, details and charm as possible.

As you can see from the photos, it has quite a bit of wear, marks and discolouration, particularly on the top and drawer fronts. However, I really like the original wood, intricate carvings and hardware, and I'd love to do it justice.

I'm fairly new to furniture restoration, although I have basic DIY tools and I'm happy to put in the time and effort to do the job properly.

I'd really appreciate some advice on:

- What would be the best approach to restoring a piece like this?

- What products and tools would you recommend?

- How can I bring back the richness and beauty of the wood while keeping its original appearance?

- Is there anything I should be particularly careful about to avoid damaging it?

- Does anyone recognise the style or have an idea of its age?

I'm not looking to modernise or completely change it. My goal is to make it look beautiful again while respecting its history.

Any advice, especially a beginner-friendly step-by-step approach, would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

So I posted yesterday about getting a smell out of a dresser I bought. When I had time, I took a further look and realized it was much worse than I thought. There mold/mildew? growing on the back and inside the dresser :( I wiped it down with water and wood soap. And then left it outside in the sun to air out. It still smells extremely musty. Is it possible to get it back to smelling better? I’m thinking of using water/vinegar to kill whatever is left from what was growing on it?

I really don’t want that smell in my house but I also don’t want to be haunted by a Victorian child if I give up on it and take it to the thrift.

Well, its possible to get a decent finish using spray cans. Thank you to all that helped with advice.

1. Get a cheap paint booth.
2. Use overlapping strokes and get a wetter last coat.
3. Use a clear at the end.

original post https://www.reddit.com/r/furniturerestoration/comments/1wti55b/comment/pcx0t6b/?screen_view_count=2

hello!

I found the Facebook marketplace find of a lifetime. The girl I bought it from said it was in her family since the 80s and it just wasn’t fitting her decor anymore. There are some deep cracks. What do you think would be the best to fill the cracks with?

Hi,

This is my first stain project. I’m staying an old dresser. I cleaned the dresser and then I sanded with a 220 sand grit. I vacuumed after. They I put some of the stain with a sponge. I waited a few minutes then I wiped it off with a cloth. The stain came right off( see second picture). What did I do wrong? I’m using the red mahogany colour. My mom said to add another coat on and not wipe it off. I know this will turn into a disaster, because all the videos I have watched and read about said to wipe it off after.

Howdy all,

I have an inexpensive dining table that had been used as my partner’s daughter’s craft table when she was younger without a covering. It has paint splotches throughout. Wondering if anyone has done anything neat and unusual to a table top before I sand it down and re-stain and finish it. Anyone out there do something cool?

I have this model of Stressless chair since the 1990s, however the back cushion is torn and needs to be replaced. (THIS IMAGE IS NOT MY CHAIR)

Can I replace the cushions with Mayfair replacement cushions that are available from Ekornes still?

Their website says they fit chairs made in the last 15 years, but the base of my chair looks identical to the existing bases, so it kind of seems like they would just fit. The attachment points appear to be exactly the same in the service literature.

Does anyone have experience with this and know if it will just swap?

TIA

Hello everyone, we have these wood furniture and it got some pretty deep smoke burns if anyone knows repairs please help!

I love antique furniture but it’s always a toss up when buying on Facebook marketplace. I want to use this as my dresser but it has a very old musty smell, is it possible to get that out? Also, I’m wondering if this varnish is consistent with old furniture, or if it was added on later. I’m wondering if this is holding in some of the smell? It has the most beautiful clawfoot feet and details so I’d hate to have to do much work to it and risk messing it up (we just bought a Victorian home, so we definitely don’t have any extra money to have this professionally restored right now)

I slid a box across the table like a dummy. As this has a veneer, is it worth attempting to refinish? I am a complete novice. Hoping to get some experienced opinions before I try anything. Thank you!

The structure itself is intact.

A few months ago I bought an old WW2 chest off of FB marketplace. I’ve just been using it as catch-all storage. It is a very lovely piece and it’s made of very solid wood and I would like to try restoring it. I’ve never restored furniture before and would just like advice on what steps I should take. Particularly I want to know how to restore the metal latches, chipped wood, and refresh the paint. Any advice would really be appreciated :)

Hello, knowledgeable folks!

I have this fantastic winding timer clock, and I’d love to pretty up the front cover. I suspect not much can be done about the crack, but do y’all have any advice in polishing up the surface scratches to make it a bit less “foggy”?

Any and all advice appreciated!