I am no stranger to taking an old used piece of furniture and refinishing or repainting it to suit the needs and style of our home, but this dresser was different from all the other pieces I have worked on in the past. It doesn’t just meet a need in our home — it carries a very unique story and holds a lot of sentimental value. It’s not just a secondhand piece of furniture, it’s a 130 year old family hierloom. Today I’m going to share about my experience of hiring a professional furniture refinisher to give a second life to this precious antique dresser.

The Backstory of This Special Dresser

A handful of years ago, someone who knew our family called my Dad and shared that he was attending a local auction and came across a piece of furniture that my Dad may be interested in. He explained that there was a dresser for sale that had been built by Casper Wideman, my Dad’s great-great-grandfather. My Dad decided to purchase it, but it sat in his garage until he had an opportunity to clean it up.

When my Dad passed away, my Mom worked at clearing out her garage and she graciously gave the dresser to me. I knew right away that I wanted to have it fully and properly restored. It was such a unique piece connected to a family history that I admittedly knew little about. My Dad’s own father had passed away when he was only nine years old and he didn’t have the opportunity to really ask questions or dig into his ancestry. Some of his siblings (my aunts and uncles) knew more than my Dad did and some years ago I took some time to dig into historical records and trace a family tree back to the beginning of our family in Canada, but other than that, much of it remains a mystery. I love that this dresser holds a key to the past — our past — that we can celebrate, enjoy, and share with generations yet to come.

Besides the beautiful hand-carved details that are so sweet and charming, my favorite part of this dresser is the maker’s mark. On the bottom of the top left drawer, my great-great-great-grandfather wrote his name, the date of completion, and his age in pencil. It’s such a unique detail that makes me feel so connected to the past. My Dad was a carpenter who built many items out of wood over his many years in the trade and one thing he always did was sign and date his work. Always. I find it so interesting that his great-great-grandfather did the same over a hundred years ago. It makes me wonder if that was a small unintentional habit passed down through the generations.

The Inspiration

The old dresser was caked in a thick globby white paint that was discolored and bubbling. It has some beautiful hand-carved details, but the paint didn’t do those details any favors. I knew that I wanted to have the dresser restored to a beautiful warm wood finish. However, one thing I learned in the process is that when you work with antique pieces — especially pieces that have been painted — you need to work with them. You can have a general plan, but more often than not, the state of the beautiful old materials affect what finishes you can create and ultimately dictate the final design. Sometimes there is a more specific reason why the piece is painted in the first place.

I found some images to help convey my vision to the professional furniture refinisher I hired, but I really did try to keep an open mind. Generally, I just wanted the final wood finish to be warm and rich, yet not lean too red or orange. I was looking for a nice warm brown tone.

The Process

Before digging into the nitty gritty details of stripping back the old paint finish on this piece, it may be helpful to note how I decided who to hire for this project. I have been asked many times how I went about finding the gentleman who helped me with this. I wish I had a profound answer to that question, but the reality is that I just used a search engine to find businesses near me. Once I found a few options, I dug into their websites or gave them a call to ask more about their process and pricing. I ultimately settled on Classic Furniture Restoration & Services in Uxbridge, Ontario, Canada. Yared has many years of experience, lots of positive online reviews, and when I met him in person, realized he actually has many personal connections to people I know and even crossed paths with my Dad a few times over the years. He provided me with a quote upfront and I felt very comfortable leaving this precious piece of furniture in his hands.

Once I left the dresser with Yared, he worked through his process. He was diligent about keeping me in the loop and sharing progress images, as well as offering insight and sharing some very interesting details with me as he uncovered the layers of paint. It took my breath away when I saw the dresser without any paint. The wood grain was so interesting! I learned through Yared that the dresser was made out of six different types of wood, which he suggested may indicate that my three time great-grandfather likely built the piece using wood he gathered from his own property. This was such a pleasant and unexpected insight made during the process. It inspired me to search historical records to find where he would have been living at this point in his life and while I can’t definitively confirm it, I was able to trace the address of the farm where the wood was likely sourced from, which happened to be only a few miles from where I grew up. It was a very personal realization that made me feel even more connected to this piece.

Once Yared had stripped and sanded the dresser, I visited his shop to explore stain options. He was so patient as I asked to test many different combinations, seeking to find the right balance of tones. This proved even more difficult than expected since the dresser was constructed of so many different types of wood that each take stain in a different way. This is where I had to hold my vision with an open hand. The dresser ultimately would dictate what the final product would be. But we at least narrowed in on the general direction I wanted to take it and I put my full trust in Yared’s expertise.

The Finished Piece

The day I visited the shop to test out stain colors ended up being the last time I saw the dresser before Yared delivered the final piece to my house. When he unloaded it from his van, I could hardly believe my eyes. The finished product was absolutely beautiful — perfectly showcasing the imperfections of this beautiful piece of handcrafted furniture. I couldn’t believe how well Yared had matched the finish on the various different types of wood. I couldn’t believe how nicely the new finish highlighted the hand carved details. It’s quite likely that the dresser was originally made to be painted, but something about it’s new warm wood finish felt like a hug to my heart - the details, the character, the story were instantly evident.

In our fast-paced modern world, it’s easy to take for granted the time and care that went into crafting these types of furniture pieces. Yes, they can certainly be imperfect, and in the case of my dresser, even may have been built using materials that were on hand rather than the finest wood available. But 130 years ago, there was no such thing as big box stores or rechargeable batteries to power your tools. There were no widely-available plans or laser cutters or in the case of some rural areas, even mills. What amazes me most about this piece is the attention to detail. Whether it be the straight carved lines on the drawer fronts, the hand-carved lace detail on the backplate, or the cutout leg corbels, this piece screams craftsmanship. On the inside of the piece, you can even see saw marks from a handsaw - another little mark of the craftsman who built this piece - with love - from scratch.

I feel utterly honored to be the current steward of this precious family heirloom. Every time I open one of the drawers to grab something out, I’m reminded of the creativity of my great-great-great grandfather, the sentimentality of my father, and the string that connects them both to me. I hope this precious piece stays in our family for another 130 years and connects to another creative soul down the line as much as it has connected to me.

*The makers mark on the top left drawer bottom - Casper Wideman, my great-great-great grandfather*

I hope you enjoyed hearing about my experience with having an old piece of furniture professionally refinished. While I love the challenge of doing it myself, this one was scenario where it paid off the leave it to the professionals. I know this dresser is already well on its way to lasting another 130 years!

I Hired a Professional to Refinish a 130 Year Old Antique Dresser and This Is How It Went

The Backstory of This Special Dresser

The Inspiration

The Process

The Finished Piece

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