Before & After
Recently we helped to transform this dated Whitby kitchen from the 1980's bleached oak to a much more modern cherry kitchen. We worked very hard on this kitchen and to be honest this was the first time we had taken on an entire kitchen with these bleached oak cabinets. With this project we worked together with the homeowner. We refinished all the kitchen cabinet doors and drawers and he...
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Here is a picture of a large oak hutch. It is a great piece of furniture and can be used to display and store many items. It went from being a boring golden oak to a wonderful dark espresso colour.
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A long time ago we created the 1/2 and 1/2 dresser. It was a great tool to show people the value of 2nd hand furniture. It is a maple dresser made in the 1950's, the finish was gone and I have seen lots of these dressers over the years. The thing is, this dresser is simple, has large drawers and it is made of maple. It will last for the next 200 years. We used this dresser at "The Cottage...
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This bar was once a golden oak colour. We took that "dated" light oak bar and turned it into a very modern piece.
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Recently we painted this old cupboard for a lady in Bowmanville. Sometimes we restore things that have a lot of sentimental value for our customers. This cupboard belonged to the lady's grandparents and she remembers it as a child. Then it belonged to her parents and she can still remember what was in each drawer and cupboard. The cupboard almost went into the fire but was saved and the top...
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Recently we refinished this mahogany desk. I do believe we succeeded in making this new finish look "old" again. This desk is for sale at "Of Things Past" in Toronto.
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What a beautiful "after" kitchen. This is an example of how sometimes painting kitchen cabinets can give you such a new modern look.
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This is a fabulous old cupboard owned by some people in Bowmanville. The top part of the bottom cabinet was cracked and had sagged with the weight of the upper cabinet. My husband Raymond made a new solid oak piece for the top of the bottom cabinet. At that point my sister Mary and I coloured it to match the bottom of the cabinet. It is such a wonderful old piece. Sometimes the best part of...
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Here is a pair of nightstands/end tables that are made of mahogany. Our customer wanted them to be stained dark walnut to match a dresser. Usually, I believe in "Restore Back to Original" but for these pieces we changed their colour dramatically.
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This is a picture of a set of Mahogany Nesting Tables that we recently refinished for a customer.
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This is an example of a round oak table where we refinished the table top with "Gunstock" stain and painted the base and the skirt of the table with black melamine paint.
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Recently we refinished this beautiful old oak buffet. It is a great piece of furniture and really makes a statement in it's modern surroundings. The bottom drawer of this buffet had been put together with brass hinges. Raymond rebuilt the drawer and it works perfectly now.
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Here is a picture of a mahogany bow-front china cabinet that we refinished in the month of July. What a fabulous piece. It is a piece of a complete diningroom set. The rest of the set can be seen under testimonials. We had "Two Men and a Truck" pick up the complete set and deliver it back to the customer. She was very pleased with their professional moving service. She was also very pleased...
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This vanity was painted rather than refinished. It wasn't stripped before it was painted so...sometime down the road say in a 100 years someone will be able to remove the paint and the walnut underneath has not been damaged. It was painted a very soft white to match a life-size angel and then we softly antiqued it with a light brown colour. I must say it looked wonderful....very soft.
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Recently I had the pleasure of working on this beautiful mahogany desk. This desk was not only beautiful but it had impressive provinance as well. This desk was given to my client by a very good friend of his. My client looked so forward to having this desk done. He dropped by the shop on a few occasions to see how it was coming. We ordered a hand tooled leather desk pad to go with the...
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This mahogany table and chairs belongs to a fellow in Ottawa. What a fabulous set!
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This set was about 10 years old....a reproduction antique. The legs of the table and the chairs were blue and had been distressed to make them appear older. The lady who owns this table wanted a new sophisticated look so we painted the table skirt and legs black and painted her chairs black as well. This set took on a whole new look. At the same time we refinished her table table.
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Here is an example of a fabulous Victorian Mahogany Table. As usual I had forgotten to take a before picture. It needed some repairs and it was refinished...and what a stunning table it is.
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Over time we have done many 1930's walnut dining room sets. This one came out beautifully. These diningroom sets were mass produced in the 1930's and refinishing the tabletops actually saves them from damage and the varnishes of today are far superior to to the varnish/shellac that was used on them 80 years ago.
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Here is a beautiful cherry princess dresser from 1909. There was a date stamped on the back of the mirror. This beautiful piece is actually one of my own and is for sale in Orono at the Antique Mall. They sure don't make them like this anymore.
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Recently we refinished a piano that was left to a woman by her mom. The piano was originally a light brown finish. We refinished it in an ebony (black) and it turned out fabulous. I have no problem refinishing piano's but I will not pick them up or deliver them. They must be brought to our shop. They are just too heavy for us to move. Sorry the picture isn't that great. It is a very dark...
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This "timeless" walnut cedar chest is an example of a piece of furniture that will stand the test of time. It was as valued by our grandmothers as it will be valued by our daughters of tomorrow. What a great addition to anyone's home. This piece is one of my own and is for sale at the Orono Antique Mall.
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Sometimes I get busy in the shop and I forget to take pictures. Anyway this set originally had green legs and a light table top. The chairs had been painted green as well. To update this set we stained the top "Gunstock" which is a popular colour right now for floors and staircases. The stain is made by a company in Toronto called "Vintage". Anyway, by painting the chairs and the table legs...
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Recently we refinished this hoosier. What a great piece! The inside of this piece had always been painted so we painted the interior a soft cream which went well with the warm oak.
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Here is a beautiful old pine cupboard that we refinished. I always like to take steel wool to the primitive pieces after they are varnished. I usually steel wool it to remove the shine and then put a coat of beeswax on it. The wax softens the look.
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Here is an example of a beautiful diningroom table that we have restored back to it's original glory. Notice how beautiful it looks agains the green walls.
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Recently Gentle Hands Restoration refinished this staircase. My sister Mary and I first stripped that black paint off the stair steps and the handrail. It was a huge undertaking and took almost 3 weeks to complete. We and the customer were very pleased with the results. The change from black to wood with a rich warm finish was a stunning change.
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Here is another picture of the finished staircase.
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This picture does not do justice to the "Before" condition of this table. We found this table out in a barn. One leg had been completely smashed. The veneer had lifted because it had been out in an unheated barn for many years. Many people would have written it off as "not worth saving". Raymond reglued the entire piece (a little bit at a time) and then refabricated a leg. Here is a...
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I bought this cherry Victorian Parlour Set in a yardsale in Kemptville, Ontario. As you can see by the picture, it was in very bad shape. It needed to be completely put back together and refinished. Here is a picture of the cherry Victorian Settee when it had been completely restored. We had put it completely back together and refinished the wood. The upolstery work was done by "Kate's...
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This spinet desk was in very rough condition when we picked it up from Bob Miller. I guess this desk was in a cottage that his family had purchased at one time. He wasn't really sure we could do anything with it. This is a picture of the spinet desk once it was restored. Bob was extremely pleased with it.
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