Here is a patio cooler that we made. It is made from 100 year old barn siding. The inside is a galvanized steel box which has been surrounded by 2" Styrofoam. We incorporated the horse shoe on the front and the bit handle because the customer is a horse enthusiast. The top sports a rubber covered piece of 2" Styrofoam so that when closed completes the insulation of the galvanized steel box keeping contents cold. This custom made cooler features vintage hardware and visible cut nails to keep with the totally rustic theme. Photos were taken before finishing with a water seal so the cooler shown is lighter than the actual finished product which is slightly darker and slightly more red. We enjoyed this endeavor. Thanks Robin!
Shown here are a pair of Duncan Phyfe style end tables before and after our "face lift" refinishing. We redid the tops and just "spruced up" the bases in order to "take the ugly out" yet still retain some of the patina, or what we refer to as "life marks".
Shown below is a set of doors, casings, and trim from an old farm house. There was a light yellowish colored paint over the original dark polyurethane finish. After strip and sanded we stained with Ipswich Pine and top coat with satin polyurethane.
Shown here is a 40+ year old rocking chair manufactured by Virginia House. It is pine and as you can see it was originally black. It has seen a lot of love over the years. Lots of fun to remove the old finish! The gold trimming left a faint light shadow which we thought was pretty, so did our customer. It was a great subtle accent that hinted of it's past so we decided to leave it there. We went with a blended Ipswich pine stain and a satin lacquer clear coat. What a difference. The beauty of the wood really shines through - love knots!
Shown below is a magnificent oak dresser. No manufacturer information was found. It is completely solid oak through and through down to the drawer bottoms and glue blocks. Truly a work of art. The top was badly water damaged with a complete rectangle of deep dark blemishes part of which can still be seen. There are times when the history and the character of the piece are as important to see as the removal of the ugliness. Great care was taken to keep the balance right on this one. We stained with a blended golden oak and a satin lacquer clear coat. What an excellent upgrade back to original.
Picture below is an antique office chair. I suspect that it was originally a rocker or a side chair that had the swivel base added but I'm not 100% certain of that. This is an absolutely gorgeous piece. It has beautiful detailing in the top rail, and what wonderful wild grain. Just love oak. It has been well used over it's long life and was kept in service with the help of some added splices and several extra nails. This has now become part of it's story so we let it be told by not hiding all of those great "life marks". Truly a lovely piece...very unique.
Click Photos Below To Enlarge.
Below is, as I said in the blog, one of the best reasons to NOT paint furniture. The grain is so wild and beautiful. Isn't it interesting how wood can be so busy and yet not offensive. Ah nature, how glorious you are! We used a straight golden oak stain and several coats of clear gloss lacquer. The chair now speaks boldly for itself. What a pleasure to give it a voice again.
Click on image to enlarge.