New life for old furniture!

A new entry: New life for old furniture….

Between my classes (I’m working on an Interior Design degree), cleaning up storm damage around our property, and trying to get ready for a Spring barn sale, there hasn’t been much time to work on my blog. Yesterday however, I was working on a beautiful old chest from 1955, and it occurred to me that people might like to know my favorite furniture tip: lemon oil! Did you know that an old piece of furniture that is looking tired and dirty can be given new life just by cleaning it with lemon oil? Take a look at the pictures here. These are the SAME drawer before and after a good cleaning with lemon oil.

BEFORE: 

AFTER:

Here’s how to achieve these results on your own piece of furniture:

1. Remove the hardware from each drawer or door.

• Always take the time to remove the hardware. This step is necessary because very often the worst dirt is around the pulls, and if you try to work around them, you will not be able to keep your strokes going in the direction of the grain.

2. Apply a liberal amount of lemon oil directly to the surface.

•  Any kind of lemon oil will do. I buy mine at Safeway. Just make sure its 100% lemon oil, with no additives.

3. Using #0000 steel wool, rub the lemon oil into the wood in the direction of the grain.

•  You must use #0000 steel wool. This is the finest grade available in your local hardware store. Anything rougher – even #000 may scratch your finish, so take care when choosing steel wool.
• Always work in the direction of the grain. If you do not, again – you’ll get scratches.
• If you’re nervous or unsure, always test first in an inconspicuous spot.

4. Wipe up any excess oil with a soft clean cloth and reattach the hardware.

  

It’s really just that simple! Cleaning your old wood furniture with lemon oil is like giving thirsty wood a long cool drink of water. Here’s another example. In the picture below, you don’t see the same drawer, but rather two drawers from the same piece. Both drawers started out looking like the drawer on the right, but in the photo, the one on the left has been cleaned with lemon oil and steel wool – nothing else!

One final note – and this is important: Make sure you use plenty of lemon oil. Don’t skimp! The lemon oil acts as a lubricant between the furniture surface and the steel wool. You need to have a thick layer to prevent scratching – but as long as you do – you can really scrub! In fact, you’ll be surprised at how vigorously you can scrub the surface! Give it try – you’re going to love the results!

p.s. This hint will not work on modern furniture that has a polyurethane finish. It won’t hurt it, but you won’t see much of a result.