What to Know Before Restoring Your Antique Furniture

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Antique furniture is one of the best options available if you want to carefully decorate a home. Antique furniture is normally higher quality from modern furniture options. Restoring antique home décor is a great way to create a unique style in your home, but takes work and planning.

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What may seem like a quick project can more often than not quickly turn into a long-term chore. Taking your antique restoration project to Linder’s can help save you time and money while bringing your antique furniture back to life. The professional restoration experts at Linder’s are perfectionists in their process, specializing in Old World techniques to maintain the original craftsmanship and style of any piece of antique furniture.

Transcript of What to Know Before Restoring Your Antique Furniture

Page 1: What to Know Before Restoring Your Antique Furniture

Antique furniture is one of the best options available if you want to carefully decorate a home. Antique furniture is normally higher quality from modern furniture options. Restoring antique home décor is a great way to create a unique style in your home, but takes work and planning.

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KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR

Whether you pluck your antique furniture from a roadside curb or are looking to give new life to your grandmother’s old furnishings that have been in storage, here are a few tips to keep in mind when looking to restore your antiques.

A major element of selecting the right antique furniture is knowing how much space you have to work with. If you discover a great piece of furniture, but it is too large for your room, you need to avoid it. Consider restoring the piece and selling it through an antiques store or antique fairs. The other concern is that the furniture can be too small for the space you need to decorate. Write down the dimensions of the space to help you understand where you are planning to add some vintage furniture. Furniture in a store can look larger or smaller than when it is brought to your home. Never buy furniture if you do not know the dimensions of the space you can work with.

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PLAN FOR TIME AND BUDGET

Before beginning any work on an antique restoration, consider having your piece professional appraised if you feel it may be worth any sort of value. Be sure to document any markings or tags found to help a professional better identify and evaluate your furniture. Additionally check the quality of the wood, craftsmanship or any carvings within the piece. Seeking a professional antique appraisal can help you determine the next steps for your antique home furnishings.

When looking at a possible antique restoration project, be sure to consider the amount of time and money it will take to restore your piece. It is easy for any small, side project to quickly become a time consuming, full restoration chore. Gently used furniture will make for the easiest antique restoration projects, as the condition of your antique will directly determine how long the restoration process will last. A gently used piece will go much more smoothly than a piece that is old, worn out and in need of much damage repair.

RESEARCH AND INSPECT

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KNOW WHAT YOU ARE WORKING WITH

Look for good wood beneath the layers of badly applied paint, varnish or lightly damaged wood with any piece of secondhand furniture. Material, craftsmanship and the general appearance of any piece of antique furniture is more important than its present state when considering restoration. The right bone structure of furniture will allow you to reupholster it correctly to give you durable furniture. Plastic furniture or other cheap materials are something that you need to watch out for as it has a high chance of cracking. Wood furniture is a great option that allows you to restore the exterior to have furniture that is sturdy and durable. Be certain that your piece has quality workmanship and materials before investing in any extensive restoration services.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RESTORING AND REFINISHING

Restoring and refinishing are terms that often are misused. Restoring refers to return a piece of antique furniture to its original condition and style. Refinishing is completely replacing the finishing of a piece with a newer finish. Anyone familiar with the popular show “Antiques Roadshow” can tell you that you may diminish the value of your antique during the refinishing process. Knowing the true value of your antique will help you be able to determine what will add or take away value from your antique. Rather than a complete refinishing of the wood, consider “deluxing” your piece. Using a gentler approach and maintaining its original finish with period specific stains may help you add new life to an older piece while remaining true to its original style.

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BENEFITS OF PROFESSIONAL RESTORATION

With small scale projects quickly turning into long-term chores, you may consider taking your antique restoration project to a professional restoration service, helping you save both time and money in the long run. Many professional restoration services offer a team of professionals that specialize in knowing both the history and craftsmanship of your antique home furnishings, ensuring that your antiques will turn into classical and stylish furnishings for any room in your home. While some minor restoration can be finished with the proper care and time, it is always wise to take your antique restorations to a professional to ensure quality. Whether you are looking to restore antique furniture for personal use throughout your home, or simply looking to add some value before selling an older piece of furniture, the specialized antique restoration staff at Linder’s can help you bring new life and value to an older piece of furniture. For all your design solutions, stop by the Linder’s showroom in Mckees Rocks, Pa today or call at 412.771.2345 to arrange a design consultation.

www.linderspgh.com