One fortunate soul

Paul — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 21:07:51 +0000

I have been blessed by fortune. I enjoy my work, restoring antique furniture, and am delighted when I can bring my client’s loved ones back from the ‘dead’, or in their particular case from the scrap heap. Pieces that would succumb to time and be lost, pieces that often were part of their childhood, can be made solid and durable again and be a source of pride. And I get to be part of that process.

At present I am restoring a house full of furniture for a couple who are rebuilding their home. The woman was from a very large Shaughnessy family and their home was filled with beautiful furniture. They had inherited a number of pieces and the couple were aware of the delight of being surrounded by some history so had purchased beautiful antiques themselves. One of the pieces was a Victorian Honduras Mahogany dining table. This I restored and refinished for them.

I was quite surprised when they asked if I could add another leaf to the table because the previous week I had been given a piece of Honduras Mahogany by a friend. He said that he had been given the board years ago and had never found a use for it. I went over to the board with my tape measure to see if fortune was actually smiling or just smirking at my hubris and found it to be a half inch longer than needed. By the time I had squared the ends and fitted the new leaf all the was left over was sawdust. This relatively rare wood had been around for over a decade with no purpose. I got to be the instrument to give it a function.

Restoring a Walnut Desk

Paul — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 20:44:20 +0000

The end result!

This week I finished converting what my client, Grahame, called a possible work bench into a renewed family treasure. This project was a delight to take on. I had done one other repair for Grahame and found him great to work with. When he brought in this old walnut desk it had been in the family attic for 35 years, probably there because the veneer was so badly chipped. It was no less loved, just not presentable any longer. You can see for yourself the state it was in!

I had to patch in veneer repairs on the leg and top but for the curved drawer fronts, I replaced the old, peeling veneer with a burled walnut. The piece was then stripped, the dog-chewed corner filled with a coloured epoxy putty and then relacquered. Grahame picked up the finished product at the end of the week and his obvious pleasure at the sight was a heart-warming bonus for all the hard work. The most wonderful part of my work is seeing how delighted my clients are to have an elderly, albeit wooden, member of their family restored to its former glory.

Pathway Antiques » Antique Restoration

One fortunate soul

Restoring a Walnut Desk