Never understimate the power of paint.

I received an e-mail recently from a client inquiring about my painting services. She had purchased an old sideboard (probably circa 1925) from Craig’s List, and wanted to know if I thought it had any “potential” and/or whether it was worth salvaging. With that lack-luster introduction, I had fairly low expectations. However, when I opened the photo attachment, I fell in love; her piece was stunning. Sure, the finish was beat up; it had holes in the top, and there were some deep gouges along one side. But it also had wonderful lines and graceful proportions; lovely carvings gave it flair, without being excessive or over-the-top, and the original hardware and skeleton key were in perfect condition.

Immediately I responded to her e-mail with an enthusiastic “Yes! – your piece has oodles of potential.” In the time since she first contacted me, the sideboard has been delivered to my workshop and I have begun working on its transformation. I absolutely love watching a beautiful old piece of furniture – one that someone might have thought was past its useful life - transform into a showpiece, with the right amount of love, attention, and a good coat of paint.

Working on this sideboard, I have become intimately familiar with some of the tiny details that are the hallmark of a beautiful piece of furniture. They truly don’t make them like they used to. The backboard is attached not simply by nailing it to the finished cabinet, but by building it into the cabinet, sandwiched between pieces of the structural framework. The escutcheon plates that give ornamentation to the key holes are attached not with nails as I usually see, but with screws; four tiny ones each, no bigger than those you’d find in your eyeglasses. And the veneer on the cabinet doors is thicker than any I have ever seen. (A brief segue here; if you think ‘veneer’ is a bad word, please reconsider. Veneers have been around for centuries. The great cabinet maker Duncan Phyfe (1768 – 1854) used veneers extensively, and had a reputation for his artistic use of fancy or unusual wood grains in his veneers. In fact, it is reported that he once paid $1, 000 for a single log and personally supervised the cutting of the veneers. It was only in the 1970’s, when newly invented techniques for cutting veneer sheets as thin as a piece of paper, did veneer start to become a sign of a lesser piece of furniture.)

I’m so glad that my client contacted me about this sideboard. Whoever sold it could not have known what a treasure s/he had. When I am finished with it, it will be beautiful and ready to grace her home for many years. Finally, a quick word to the die-hards out there who are horrified at the idea of painting an antique… Please consider that the original finish on these pieces is already destroyed. I have painted pieces that were used to store paints, left in the rain, even one that had been chewed by a large dog. These are pieces that were headed for the junk heap until someone saw their potential. I make no apologies; one look at the before and after photos on my web site should convince you. Never underestimate the power of a good coat of paint.

UPDATE 2-24-10: Here is a photo of the finished piece!