Testimonials
Hi Darlene: “I inherited his and her dressers from my parents this year that bring back fond memories of my childhood. They are so superior to the quality of furniture made these days, that I wanted to incorporate them into my home. They were, however, in poor visual condition due to many years of use and several moves. I consulted with Darlene and she took the time to strip them to...
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Good morning Darlene, Thank you for painting and refinishing my dining room table and chairs. They turned out beautiful! I feel like I have a brand new set for less than half the cost to replace it. The young men who picked up the set from my home were very professional and the job was completed ahead of schedule. This has been a very positive experience from start to finish and I am highly...
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Hi Darlene. Due to poor lighting and angles I am having an awful time getting good pictures of my kitchen and dining room set that you so wonderfully refinished. I wanted to try to get something you could use on your web site but not sure if these will work or not - let me know. Not sure if you can tell by my photos, but the kitchen cupboards look brand new and so does the dining set. My...
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Thank you so much Darlene for the beautiful job on our dining room set!! It is amazing! Also for working extra hard to ensure we had it before the BIG birthday party!! We will enjoy it for many years!! Your eye for colour and style is bang on!!! Many thanks Denise Lorenz
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Darlene, We can’t tell you how thrilled we are at your “magic” in transforming our pieces of furniture into something so beautiful. We particularly love what you did with our solid mahogany antique bow front dresser. The top was in rough shape in particular. You really mended it beautifully! We can’t tell you the compliments I get on this piece. The vanity, was in...
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Hi Darlene, Just wanted to drop you a line to say thanks for the lovely job you and your staff did on our dining room set. It looks amazing and very dramatic with the new black paint. Thanks again and hope you have a lovely summer, Pat & Jim Tennant Cobourg
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Darlene Blades of Gentle Hands Restoration did a beautiful job on our breakfast room chairs and small cabinet, which used to be dark green. She also restained our table, which went from a reddish shade to a medium brown. Darlene was a pleasure to do business with. All items were carefully wrapped and unwrapped, and they were even delivered ahead of schedule. I have already recommended Darlene...
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Hi Darlene, We want to thank you and your team for restoring our dining room and bedroom and assorted pieces back to their former glory. We are beyond thrilled with the beautiful and painstaking work that you obviously put in to the restoration. We would not hesitate to recommend you, the results you obtained are beyond compare. Thank you again, Lynn and Paul...
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Darlene and her team did an amazing job start to finish. She provided a quick quote on line based on pictures I provided. Pick up and drop off could not have been more convenient. I had 5 pieces of furniture my father had made post retirements which -- while sturdy -- were not finished well. Darlene's care and attention really transformed them in to something beautiful which I'm delighted to...
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Hi Darlene Thank you again for the excellent refinishing work performed on our daughters funiture. As you know this furniture was mine as a little girl, therefore has great sentimental value to me. It has generated many compliments and my daughter is very happy with what she calls her new furniture. I've attached the before and after photos. Thanks again for a great job. Thank you,...
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Hi Darlene, Better late than never! I can't believe two months has gone by since I last e-mailed you. I do want to thank you so much for the fabulous job you did on our dinning set. We are so pleased with the look of the refinished dining room/kitchen teak table and chairs. Your expert advice and patience on choosing and explaining the various finish options were very helpful and appreciated....
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Hi Darlene I just wanted to write you a quick thank you for the work you did on the hutch. You did such a great job and we love it! Here are some pics of the hutch in our eating area. Thanks again P.S. I'm looking for some end tables on kijiji right now that I would like painted, if your able to do it. I will email you when we find what we're looking for. Sincerely, Kelly
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Darlene Thank you for the excellent refinishing work performed on our kitchen cabinets and window shutters. As you know cabinetry is a focal point in any kitchen and thanks to the quality of your work our "new" kitchen " sparkles" and has generated many compliments. To illustrate the foregoing I attach a number of photos of the finished kitchen and by separate e-mail before photos. Thanks...
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Gentle hands restoration recently restored my mother-in-laws walnut dining room set. They restored it beautifully and have allowed it to continue serving special occasion meals with family and friends as my mother-in-law would have appreciated. They also restored a very well used oak desk and have turned it into a wonderful useful piece of furniture for us. I recommend anyone to take furniture to...
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Hi Darlene....I want you to know how happy I am with my dining room table. You took my old table and gave it new life, allowing me to blend a piece of my past with the new buffet. Your service is top-notch, providing pickup and delivery when promised. I look forward to continuing to work with you in the future. Thanks. Mary
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We love our refinished table, feels like it is brand new and very modern. Darlene and her staff were very helpful in suggesting different options and we love the one we finally chose. The job was completed quickly and exceeded our expectations . Best regards, M&M
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Gentle Hands has transformed our old builders cabinet doors to a bright new modern look. It changed the whole appearance of our kitchen from 15 years old to new. I highly recommend Darlene to do the same job for you. Thanks Rob
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We absolutely love your work - it puts the finishing touch on our renovation projects! Sincerely, Susan Crisp
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When we came to Darlene with our oak kitchen cabinets, we knew that we wanted to change the stain from the outdated, washed pinkish stain, but weren’t sure what would be the best way to update our kitchen. Could the kitchen cabinets be refinished or did they need to be replaced? Darlene took one of our cabinet doors, stripped it down and gave us her opinion that they could be refinished....
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Darlene is the ultimate professional who takes pride in her work and provides first-class & prompt customer service – Darlene painted our kitchen cupboards and drawers. – my wife & I were thrilled with the way Darlene handled the entire process from start to finish. After getting few quotes from different companies, Darlene's quote stood out above the rest. The quote...
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Hi Darlene, Thank-you for doing such a wonderful job on my diningroom set! I did quite a bit of on-line research into companies who did restoration before I decided on yours, even though I had to send it to you from Kanata, [Ottawa]. I am very pleased with the "new" look and will not hesitate to recommend your services to anyone. Sincerely, Antoinette O'Connor
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With a new baby on the way, my husband and I were in the process of moving our little girl out of the nursery and into her new “big girl” bedroom. As we shopped around looking for a new bedroom set we were displeased with the quality and prices that we were seeing. My husband suggested that we maybe think about taking an existing set (of good quality) and look at restoring it. With...
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Re: Modern Oak Table from Richmond Hill I finally got to see the table last Saturday. It looks beautiful! Well done. The important thing is my clients love it. You matched the colour "dead on", I'm really impressed. I will definitely recommend you and call on your again. Thanks for saving the table. Penny Waller Interiors
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John picked up the cafe cart - wow - it looks fantastic! Thanks so very much. Please thank you husband for putting it together for us and for giving us not just one but two towel racks, it looks much better this way - thanks, we really appreciate it. We'll be having some other furniture to be refinished later and will be in touch. You can be sure we are spreading you name to all we...
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Thank you Darlene, you did a great job. I had to learn my limitations the hard way. I thought I could refinish my table myself. I definitely couldn't and you took it away and made it look wonderful, without telling me off for making you all that extra work. No more table cloths to hide water marks. My dining room has never looked better. Peggy Pavlin
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We were looking for a fresher look for our kitchen table, and Darlene Blades gave us that look! Our chairs were done in the black and the table was the challenge! I had something in mind, Darlene was great at working with me to accomplish a look for our home that suited us. I love her work, but more importantly I am comfortable working with Darlene until I am getting what I am looking...
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We inherited a late 1800's oak table with five leaves and had Darlene restore it for us. She did an incredible job! She also took eight new oak chairs and made them look like they were from the same period. We now have a beautiful dining room set. Darlene also refinished two little tables which were quite damaged and made them look like new. Darlene was very professional and knowledgeable and I...
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Hello Darlene, Yes, I am so very happy with my set. So glad I chose you to hand restore my treasure. You do excellent! and professional work. Thank you. Best regards Maria
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We were so pleased with the work that Darlene Blades did on our antique dresser and our antique vanity. Darlene and her husband were a pleasure to work with and their knowledge and expertise on antiques were obvious. They were very helpful and our antiques were restored so beautifully. They look so pretty in our bedrooms. I would highly recommend Darlene Blades and Gentle Hands Restoration....
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Dear Darlene; I would just like to take this opportunity to thank you for the incredible job you did on our hutch and dining room table. Your expertise in your work certainly was apparent when we were discussing what needed to be done to make these two pieces look the best they possibly could. A very used and not well maintained maple hutch turned into a piece of furniture that is proudly...
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I was so pleased with the work that Gentle Hands Restoration did on my 1930's music cabinet. It was in rather rough shape when it left my home, but my goodness, when it was brought back it looked totally amazing! It now looks like it was meant to look all along. It was repaired and lovingly restored to my complete satisfaction. The service was friendly and professional. I would be happy to...
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Hi Darlene: I just wanted to thank-you for the repairing and conservation work you did to my 1920's oak file cabinet. It looks so much better. Thank-you Sherri Rosen
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Hi Darlene Just wanted to let you know how much we love our newly refinished dining room set. The creative burl finish you did on the columns really made the piece. Thanks so much! Richard & Sandi Gauder
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"Darlene from Gentle Hands Restoration has transformed our dreary kitchen set into an incredible up to date dining set. We were amazed at her workmanship, dedication and the care that she put into the job at hand. Her passion for antiques and refinishing is contagious!"
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Hi Darlene, Just wanted to drop you a note to let you know how thrilled I am with all of the restoration and refinishing work you have done on my antiques. As you know the Morris Chair and Hoosier were both pieces that I inherited from my grandparents and are absolute treasures to me. I can't tell you how amazed I am everytime I look at that Hoosier. I really didn't believe it was...
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Dear Darlene Blades I wanted to take a moment to write you a note about the wonderful work that you did refinishing my cherry night stand. As a lover of antiques and a homeowner with a house full of treasured items, it was wonderful to be able to find someone who does such beautiful work restoring and refinishing. The cherry night stand looks amazing and has been restored to its original...
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Gentle Hands Restoration painted our kitchen cupboards and kitchen table and the difference was amazing. We were looking for an affordable way to re-model our kitchen and changing the look of the cupboards and the table was the centrepiece of it. The results were stunning. Gentle Hands Restoration did a great job in every way. Bob and Cindy McKenzie
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"Darlene Blades of Gentle Hands Restoration did a wonderful job for us at Newcastle Funeral Home re-finishing some of our older chairs, and putting a brand new finish on an unfinished table we purchased. Her work was very high quality, quickly done, and we felt it was extremely reasonably priced. We have no hesitation in recommending Gentle Hands Restoration to anyone who wants an excellent job...
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"I just love the way the buffet looks, thank you for all the trouble you went through".
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Joelle Dowling NEBS Account Manager Oshawa, Ontario May 17, 2005 ATTENTION: Darlene Blades, Gentle Hands Restoration Dear Darlene: I cannot begin to tell you how please we are with our table. As you know, my husband and I have had our solid oak suite for over 25 years. We purchased it in Calgary and it has moved around the country with us. About 3...
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October 15, 2004 To Whom it May Concern: Darlene Blades has refinished several pieces of furniture for me in the past. Some of the items were: my dining room table and chairs, an antique table and a magazine table from the forties. Darlene's work is faultless and very pleasing to the eye. Her finishes are exquisite. She is very prideful in producing "the look you want" and that is suits...
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....not only did Darlene and her "gentle hands restoration" do a remarkable job of rebuilding my grandmother's solid teak table, but all the friends and neighbours I referred to her were also delighted with the work she did for them. Careful, attentive to detail, throrough (no corners cut!) wnd with an apparent appreciation for the wood she works with, Darlene's love of her craft shines out in...
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It is a real pleasure for me to recommend Darlene Blades of Gentle Hands Restoration for the restoration of fine furniture. In moving into a new home a few years ago, I decided that much of the furniture that had passed down to me from my mother had become rather worn and dulled by many years of use. (The fact that we had a family of four boys did not help!) I went looking for someone who did...
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We are every day enjoying the dresser you refinished for my husband. We've had lots of people remark on it and the mirror you were able to find for us looks like it was meant to be a part of the dresser. Too bad you've moved so far away. We have several pieces we've picked up lately that could sure use your attention. We know we will not find anyone locally with such a wonderful feel for...
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To Whom it May Concern: I am a small shop owner in the Pacific Northwest, where I carry consignment Antique furniture. Each of my consignee's refinish or touchup their funriture before they bring the pieces in, of them all, Darlene's was the absolute best. Her pieces were stunningly beautiful and amazingly affordable for her level of skill, which is why she was my best seller. She has a true...
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