…is another man’s treasure. Or so they say. I picked up this table used and in rough shape. I knew it was a classic design, possibly R.J. Horner, possibly even more rare. It had seen better days, for sure. But what I saw in it, was the potential to be restored to it’s previous greatness.
The table, I estimate is from the late 1800s and serves the style of the Victorian age so common to the Americas. The carvings were often modeled after those in Europe, but took on their own sense of regal and majestic opulence. The characters on the base of the table are an amalgamation of the common Lion theme, and of Pan, or a goat-like beast. it is truly a unique, and beautiful piece. When I bought it, the previous owner had plans to ‘paint’ it with chalk paint, but never had the time to do so. So she graciously decided to sell it, as her husband was getting irate that he had no room in his garage. Along with the base, the top and two leaves, she included eight beautiful Chippendale chairs. Truly a great deal for someone such as myself. My wife however, is still on the fence.
Left side pre-initial cleaning, right side after a quick detailing with cloth and Q-tips.
The first step in restoring antique furniture (aside from transporting it, of course) is cleaning it. An age old trick handed down from my Grandfather, is to use Murphy’s Oil soap to clean old furniture, which allows for a thorough cleansing, without removing or destroying the original finish. The removal of ages of dust and dirt can provide a stark contrast in a piece. The simplest of steps can make a world of difference.
Some new trim to replace the missing pieces
It took a looooooong time, to repair and match the finishes of the table base. It appeared as if someone used cleats or very rough work boots on a daily basis. The wheels and other hardware had long-time disappeared and there were many knicks, scratches and even deep gouges in the finish.
Minus a few wood chunks that had been cleaved off and some damaged or missing trim, the base is heavy, and made of Mahogany. The color is a dark, yet natural shade, with a sheen only made possible with old-school techniques. The results were beautiful.
Matching and finding old hardware can be like a scavenger hunt. But the Internet makes this easier. There are many sources with exact, legacy matches, and if worse comes to worst, often there are replicas available. I was lucky enough to find a set of 4 matching wood/metal wheels, and two ball-point wheels for the inside of the base. The two different sizes allow the table to balance when the leaves are placed.
One half of the base.
Top Before stripping and refinish
The top needed to be stripped before the finish could be applied. My philosophy is to do as little repair as possible, and to keep the original provenance intact to the best of ability. So again, for the table top, I only removed what was damaged, and instead of sanding to a new, perfect surface, I left some of the scratches and deep damages to preserve character and texture. Each mark has its own story. And the top of this table, together with its two leaves, had a lot of deep cuts, bangs and scratches from years of use and storage.
Top after stripping and refinish
With each new coat of oil, I added very nuanced shades of pure pigment. As I was in process of stripping the many, many layers of varying treatments, the color purple came out in the remains. So, I used pure pigments in very small amounts (a drop per coat) of brown, red and blue. My goal was to allow the natural beauty of the old wood grain to come through. Despite the styles of 150 years ago, I chose to lighten the top, rather than make it dark to match the base. Again, very subtle. In all I did probably eight coats of oil, and let them dry completely before doing another wet-sand coat. in all, the dry time and total treatments between mineral spirits took nearly a year. The wife was very displeased about the very large table top taking up 1/2 of our two-car garage.
Refinished top
We now use the table and chair sets as our primary dining table. We hope to enjoy this set for many years to come. Half of the joy in completing a restoration project is breathing new life into an old legacy.
A very old, horse hair, Chippendale style chair. One of eight that came with the set.