Is Great Aunt Mitzi’s armoire really worth a fortune?
Furniture Medic by WoodLord Restorations has been carefully inspecting your antiques in the New York and New Jersey Metro areas for decades. During inspections, our restoration technicians will be noting the wood species, construction methods, finishing materials and styling details to determine the proper restoration method.
If you are interested in a comprehensive report, the Furniture Medic inspector will ask questions and complete research to produce a document which will attempt to trace the item’s provenance. This treatment report will contain photos and outline the items’ problems and the recommended solutions.
For truly valuable antique furniture, we recommend an inspection by a licensed appraiser. We will be happy to offer appraiser references.
Identifying Antiques
Generally, any item that has been around for about 100 years can be called “antique”. The truth is that there are very few pieces of antique furniture that have extraordinary value. However, the truth is that there are very few pieces of antique furniture that have extraordinary value. However, there are many thousands of pieces of antique furniture that have extraordinary sentimental value. We can help you determine which type you have in your possession.
Because we see so many pieces of furniture, our estimators will be able to tell you certain things about your particular antique. We will be able to determine what kind of finish is on the item. Finish is the protective chemical on the wood and it’s one of the very first tests to determine antique status. Certain finishes were used during particular times in history and coupled with other factors, can help to validate the age of a piece. Style is another barometer of age and value as well as the item’s construction method and materials used.
All together, these clues add up to tell the story of Grandpa’s rocker.
Could it have been used by General Lee during the Civil War? Finish, style, construction and materials can help to prove (or dis-prove) that family story.
Our estimators may be able to tell you at first glance that Uncle Stanley’s library table is just a big old table or after some research, we may be able to determine that Uncle Stanley somehow had collected an original library table from the New York City Public Library. Let us help you with the detective work!
Generally, the more information we can uncover about a piece of furniture, the better equipped the customer is to make an informed decision about the restoration process.
What Does “Restoration” Mean?
Restoration can run the gamut from basic cleaning, only, to full blown strip refinishing. Our job is to break down the processes into options from which you can choose.
Often, a piece is not functional and a restoration will entail the repair of a drawer slide to allow the use of a drawer.
Other times, veneer may be loosening and we will inject glue in order to preserve that precious, original veneer.
Sometimes, an antique piece has been painted and in order to restore it to the original state, it must be strip refinished.
“Restoration” can mean many different things and it’s our job to help isolate the repairs and help you set a course to reach the end result you desire.
Our technicians adhere to the principles espoused and the techniques advocated by Don Williams, (retired) senior furniture conservator at the Smithsonian Institution.
We strive to use reversible methods of repair and to retain original methods and materials whenever possible.
Follow this link to an article published in Professional Refinishing Magazine, June 2002.
The article is entitled “Antiques Roadshow and Refinishers” and was written by Peter Cook, the executive producer of the Antiques Roadshow.