I am a sucker for something that needs a little bit of love. I see potential to a fault. Meaning- I look at something that someone fell out of love with or forgot about and no longer needs and see allll the things that it could become. Our house is a great example of that. Though, the house definitely needed a lot more than a little bit of love.
But old furniture and pieces with history always talk to me too. And when I find something with carvings, fluted legs, beautiful old patina – I love them. And if it something that has those things but needs a little love in the patina department- well I fall for those too. Today on the blog I am sharing 5 of my favorite antique restoration projects. Did I choose any of yours too?
Antique Cupboard & Sideboard
Beyond lovely- this piece was talking loud enough to me when I found it that my husband and sons drove over an hour away to pick it and a couple of other pieces up. You can read all about the Before (the photo below) see the After and those not so lovely little beetles that had taken up residence in it. Read more about the cupboard HERE
and you can also read more about the matching sideboard that came with it HERE
Antique Mirror
This one goes right along with that cupboard and sideboard- they were both from the same storage unit. And the same amazing price. FREE but with a side of a lot of elbow grease and see all those holes? We also had to do a bit of soaking the pieces to get rid of unwanted residents in the wood. See the Before and After and Read more about it HERE
Antique Oak Table
Another day, another treasure. I definitely shop on craigslist and marketplace probably a *wee bit too much- but when you find a treasure it is worth it. This table was a cutie from the get go- all.those.details. I decided since the price was so good- it was worth tackling stripping the finish and seeing what it looked like. You can read more about it HERE
Antique Trough Sinks
I haven’t technically restored it- just cleaned it up, put it all back together and left all the lovely bits of years as it was found. You can see more of this one in the bathroom HERE.
Avion
Okay, not necessarily furniture or a restoration that is complete yet- but it is an antique and a restoration project so it fits. We are making slow progress on restoring it- but I should have another update in the next couple of weeks. You can see more about it HERE.
Happy Monday all.
Diana says
I have always loved that mirror and the table is perfect. You do such a good job when you save these pieces. Thanks for sharing the techniques.
Linda Hovgaard says
I love all your restored pieces. when I was on vacation in long beach california i found a beautiful old hutch with beveled mirror fronts in a thrift store for a steal of a price. i found a shipper and had it shipped home. i did not know about the beetles that bore into wood. when we were unloading the piece my husband noticed the wood dust and knew instantly that the piece was infested with those beetles. we did not take the piece into the house and even removed it from the garage. we contacted an exterminator and he advised that there was no proper treatment facility in oregon to do the extermination and advised against putting it in our house. I had heard stories of people having to have their houses tented for extermination. I was devastated! Fortunately the thrift store refunded my payment for the piece but i was out the shipping, which wasn’t cheap. sadly my husband removed the front beveled mirrors and burned the piece. later when i read your stories about the gorgeous pieces you refurbished and that you were able to treat them for the beetles I was happy that you were successful in doing so. what treasures you have restored! i would love to know more about how you treated your pieces and if you would do so again. thanks for the wonderful posts courtney!