When faced with the daunting task of refurbishing your antique furniture, it can be hard to know where to start. Even if you have a lot of experience with woodwork and carpentry projects, working on old pieces can be tricky because they often require special care.
This is why it’s essential to take your time when refurbishing antiques so that you don’t damage any original features or waste money on unnecessary repairs.
In this blog post, I’ll show you how to refurbish antique furniture correctly – by learning from my mistakes! Here are some critical tips you may want to follow:
1. Get to Know its History
Knowing the history of a piece of furniture is crucial before you start working on it. This will help you determine what kind of refinishing is necessary and give you an idea of what it might look like when finished.
Some pieces have specific stories attached to them, while others may have been used in homes across the country or worldwide. Knowing where they came from allows you to change their appearance without changing their story.
2. Decide on a Style
When refurbishing antique furniture, it’s essential to consider the style of the piece. Think about whether you want a formal look or a more casual one. Do you want to keep the original style or change it?
Some pieces are best left in their original state. Others could benefit from a coat of paint or some new fabric. Be sure not to choose colors that wouldn’t work well with your home décor.
3. Be Safe (Watch Out for Lead)
You might be interested to know that you first have to clean it before you can even think about painting your old furniture. And as much as we’d like to live in a world where cleaning means opening up a window and hosing down our possessions with some soap suds, the truth is that most furniture needs more than just a scrub down.
However, there is another potential problem when dealing with antiques: lead paint contamination. Lead toxicity occurs when small particles of lead get into your bloodstream through inhalation or ingestion. Lead poisoning can also cause problems for unborn babies, so pregnant women should take extra care when handling any refurbish antique furniture projects.
4. Inspect for Damage
Next, inspect the piece for damage. Check for cracks, chips, or breaks in the furniture and drawers. It would help if you also looked over the hinges, handles, and other moving parts to ensure they are intact. Finally, inspect the wood for warping (a sign of dry rot) as well as cracks or other signs of damage caused by water damage.
5. Choose Your Tools Appropriately
Older furniture tends to be made from higher-quality materials. That means you need tools that match the ingredients of the antiques. This might require you to visit a local hardware store to have everything laid out and ready to go when you start.
6. Find the Right Supplies
Get creative with your design choices. One of the best things about refurbishing antique furniture is that there’s no one right way to do it—you can be as creative as you want! Try adding personal touches like paint color or patterns on cushions if there’s room for more decoration in this section of your home. Perhaps even use different materials for each piece, so each piece has its own character.
7. Take Your Time & Maintain the History
Taking on a project like refurbishing an antique piece is no easy feat, so staying patient and keeping your head up is important. The restoration process can be long and tedious, but if you maintain a level head throughout it all, you will be successful in restoring your antique furniture pieces back to their former glory.
If any parts of the process seem overwhelming or intimidating, don’t hesitate to seek help from knowledgeable friends or family members who may have more experience in this area than you.
Conclusion
You can also save yourself some money by refinishing the piece yourself. Or you are welcome to browse my shop of vintage and antique pieces. I love to transform donated items to refurbish antique furniture, so new life and character are developed that tell a unique story. I hope you feel this same sense of joy when you purchase one of my pieces or decide to refurbish your own!