Why Should I Restore The Furniture That I Have When I can Buy Brand New Furniture?

The main answer comes down to “return on your investment”.  The furniture that you have in your home or business should be thought of just in this way... An INVESTMENT.  Buying brand new furniture is like buying a car or any other brand new item for that matter.  Your purchase will depreciate significantly when you take delivery.  Older furniture that you purchased years ago or furniture that you have inherited or found in other ways has already depreciated in value at the time of purchase years ago & in most cases this furniture is appreciating in value…in other words, older furniture is going up in value…not down.  It just makes good economical sense to restore what you already have.




 

Does Older Furniture Offer Better Quality?

Yes!  Even the cheapest furniture made a generation or more ago is a hands down winner against what is mass produced today when in comes to quality.  In the past 30 years or so, the furniture manufacturing process has steadily gone down hill with the quality of their products.  Particleboard & thin veneers have replaced solid hard & soft woods.  Inferior hardwoods are being used and being marketed as being quality hardwoods (ie. cherry, oak, maple walnut etc.).  Some furniture isn’t even solid wood at all…but a plastic film shrink-wrapped on top of particle board that is made to look like real wood.  The construction of new manufactured furniture has gone from quality joinery (mortise & tenon, dovetails, rabbit, box and other glued joints) to assembly using nails, screws, staples & other mechanical devices to hold the piece together.  These pieces don’t last long…but that is the whole idea.  Throw the pieces out & buy more later.

 

Is All Old Furniture Worth Restoring?

Not all older furniture is worth the expense of restoring.  Many factors have to be considered before this decision is made.  Like I said…your furniture should be an investment & in order for your investment to pay off in the long run…you need a piece that is worth restoring.  
 

What Do I Look For In An Old Piece Of Furniture That Needs To Be Restored?

The overall construction of the piece would be the first thing to look at.  Look for dovetail or box joinery on drawers or other joints on dressers, wardrobes, buffets, china cabinets and so forth.  Look for mortise & tenon joints on chair legs which attach to the bottom of chair seats.  Through tenons are more desirable.  Look for mortise & tenon joinery on skirting that supports legs for tables & chairs.  In other words…look for quality glue joints that hold the piece together.  Quality joinery is critical when considering restoring a piece of furniture.

The next thing to look at is the wood that was used to construct the piece.  If the piece is constructed well, the odds are that the materials used are also high quality.  Solid figured woods are great…but quality veneers applied over hardwoods (not particleboard) are in most cases highly desirable.

If the piece is falling apart and it was constructed well using solid woods or veneers…the piece can be restored.  Even if parts are missing & it seems to be an unsightly mess…don’t discount the idea of having it restored.  Those parts can be put back together & new parts can be made to replace the missing ones. 

The last thing to look at is the finish itself.  In most cases, the finish is so deteriorated that you really can’t see the true wood grain that is underneath it.  After this old finish is cleaned or stripped, a topcoat finish or a new finish is applied to once again bring out the beauty of the wood grain. 
 

The Antiques Roadshow On PBS Says That Refinishing Actually Devalues Old Furniture…Is This True?

The Antiques Roadshow on PBS is a wonderful program to follow when it comes to antiques.  They have experts from all aspects of collectables giving their opinions on values including furniture.  Most of the furniture that is brought in to be appraised are pieces that are over 150 years old…hand made and they either have their original finish on them or they have been refinished or altered in some way sometime down the road.  If any given piece has their original finish…the piece is worth more than the same piece that has been refinished according to these experts…sometimes significantly more. What the Roadshow is NOT saying though is that this only applies to furniture that is considered to be “Museum Quality”.

This “blanket statement” by the Roadshow has caused a lot of confusion among consumers and people like us who refinish, restore and conserve older furniture.  I agree with the Roadshow experts that these Museum quality pieces should never be “refinished”…an original finish is much more desirable and it is worth a lot more.  These pieces need to be “conserved”…an art that should only be taken on by someone who knows how to deal with the conservation and preservation of original finishes…a service that we are qualified to offer here at Northern Lights Restorations & Woodcraft.  This statement does not apply to older furniture that is not museum quality that will only benefit from refinishing…increasing the value.  For example, a Golden Oak dining set made 100 years ago is sitting in your garage or attic and the finish has failed & it is falling apart.  What is the value?...probably next to nothing.  What is the value when it is repaired & refinished?...in the thousands of dollars.  Refinished furniture if done correctly increases the value of the piece. 
 

What Is My Furniture Worth After Restoration?

It really depends on the piece that has been restored.  Hand made pieces will command higher prices than mass produced manufactured pieces.  A piece being unique would also command a higher price.  But in the long run, all pieces that are restored correctly will appreciate in value.  Prices on all older restored furniture will differ from one part of the country to another.  Out here in the west…Eastlake, Victorian, Golden Oak & Depression era furniture are bringing in high prices at auction…and these prices are going up every year.  This furniture is popular with collectors because this furniture was available when the west first started being settled over 100 years ago.  Furniture that is more than 100 years old is rare here in the west & these pieces have literally “skyrocketed” in value. 



 

What Does Furniture Restoration Cost?

 It depends on the overall condition of the piece.  If it is a simple strip & refinish without any major repairs, the cost would be minimal.  If major repairs to the wood are involved, the price would go up. 

 An Authorized