Orsay Custom Furniture and Cabinetry

Guidelines for antique restoration and repair

*If you want to skip reading through these guidelines you may scroll down this page to some before-and-after images.

First let me say, regarding antique repairs, repairing something sooner is always better. Antique chairs and tables that are creaky or wobbly are catastrophes waiting to happen. Severe damage will result to the chair if it fails, not to mention damage to the person sitting in that chair when it collapses!

Increasingly, I am being called upon for either antique repair, antique refinishing, or antique restoration. Sometimes all three. Having made furniture for over 15 years now, I understand how it is constructed and finished and am thus able to offer suggestions regarding what steps might be necessary in order to restore a given piece or even architectural woodwork.

For many years, my shop was located in Bergen County, New Jersey. There, the older homes are replete with beautiful dark chestnut woodwork. At best, this beautiful old woodwork has had nothing done to it and may simply be showing signs of age with dirt and 'alligatoring' of the shellac. At worst, it has either been painted, or very poorly repaired, restained, and polyurethaned. Often efforts to recreate the wood in additions or while repairing existing trim is painfully mismatched in both color and finish.

If you own a home with this type of architectural wood trim you will probably recognize problems similar to your own in the "before" images shown below from a home in Ridgewood where I recently did some extensive work. These images show a range of problems representative of those you would commonly see in old architectural trim.

Architectural restoration and repair will generally cost between $3 to $5 a square foot. Antique furniture must be considered on a case by case basis. I will do my best to give you an accurate estimate, however, only you can decide if it is worth the cost.

*****Please Note: Because I cannot break from my custom work to do small jobs, the absolute minimum cost for repair, refinishing, or restoration of anything is $1000. Most furniture repairs and restorations are more.*****

Is it worth the cost to have this piece of furniture or antique repaired?

I am often asked, "Would it be worth it ...?" to repair/restore/refinish a family heirloom, antique, or favorite piece of furniture. Though an idea of the inherent quality of furniture may be gained through its quality of construction, which I am able to provide an opinion on, from a purely monetary perspective this is a question best left to an antique expert. However, keep in mind that a chair, table, or other piece may have tremendous sentimental value or be a treasured family heirloom while at the same time not be worth a great deal of money.