Finishing

As November draws to a close Redeux Vintage Furniture is beginning the move indoors. Slowly, until after the first of the year, pieces needing painting, staining or oiling will be taken to our lower level.

So, for all of you on the Redeux mail list, our “winter shop” will be open just for you. Look for the “Furniture Tag Sale” sign in front of the garage doors – that will be the indicator that I am open and working inside. Just come to the door. Call ahead if you’d like: 203-254-2017 / 203-414-1727.

With the onset of the colder weather I really had intended to consolidate the pieces on hand to make the move indoors a bit easier. However, we've gotten in several items that I just could not resist – or leave homeless. These include:

A small, console type chest with drawers at the top and doors below. It is dark mahogany.

Two oak chests, both having curved tops. One seems to date from the late 1800’s; the other from about 1910-1930 or so.

A very nice oak chest with pivoting mirror.

A chest of drawers that appears to be walnut with a gold stenciling on the front. The design is quite different and is pictured here:

Note the drawer pulls that appear to be original– they appear to have Bakelite incorporated into their design. This would date the piece to the Depression 1930’s.

A sideboard/server also was located. For those of you looking for an elegant piece that is not quite so “heavy” looking as the darker mahogany ones we’ve had this may be right for you.

Just finished is an oak dresser that has been stripped of its old, damaged varnish and given an “evening” coat of stain and then hand-rubbed with oil. New period-correct brass hardware has been added. This is a sturdy, handsome piece. The "before and after" pictures are at the top of this posting.

Just refinished, too, is an oak bed frame with a trundle-type of frame to accomodate a sleep-over guest. The piece seems to date from the late 1800's and has wonderful detailing. It is a bit smaller in size than a modern twin so it would be quite suitable for not too tall folks (up to about 5'8" ) and children. A mattress company in Hamden can custom make a quality mattress for this bed at a reasonable price. This is a very special piece! Ask me for more details

There are also a number of other wonderful pieces ready for a new home!

Working in the garage these past few months has given me the opportunity to chat with all of you and the question of why I choose what finish for which piece often comes up.

Each piece is different and has its own personality, so to speak. Sometimes, it takes several weeks to figure out the best approach for restoring an old chest, table or server. Once in a while I’ll know what to do the first time I see a piece of furniture – regardless of its current condition. Concentrating on only American-made wood furniture built before 1950 makes the job a bit easier. Quality and craftsmanship, so often in short supply in modern furniture, was the rule of thumb back then. Restoring these furniture pieces is both a privilege and joy.

But, back to the finishes. I prefer oil stains and paints over water-based products. While requiring a bit more care in application, they are much more attractive, durable and better for the wood.

The same with the top coating on stained wood furniture. Varnishes and shellacs have their place and have been around almost forever. Yet, more and more, I find myself drawn to giving a piece, when appropriate, a hand- rubbed oil finish. Boiled Linseed oil is my preferred method and each piece gets at least 2 to 3 applications of the oil. This oil finish provides a durable, water and scratch resistant top coat. The oil penetrates the wood fibers and actually gives them more strength. An oil finish is also resistant to heat damage – great for table tops! Re-touching later is fairly easy, too.

Thank you, again. You have made Redeux such a joy and I look forward to seeing you again very soon. Remember to look for the sign in front of the garage - or just call.

Bill

Fall at Redeux

The time has come…or is at least very close. Work at the Redeux Garage has become very sporadic lately due to the weather. Paints, glues, varnishes and stains just don’t like the chilly temps and have become a bit sluggish and unpredictable. But, not to worry.

As I mentioned a while back, work will soon begin commencing in the house. So, you may not see the garage doors open and me working inside as often as before. However, this is what we’ll do and see how it works out: I’ll try to have all pieces of furniture photographed and posted on the web site or sent out via this Blog. Whenever possible the doors to the Redeux Garage will be open. If I’m not out there working away just ring the doorbell. When the weather is really cold or inclement the doors may be closed but if you’d like to see something either call ahead (203-414-1727) or come to the door. This arrangement is only for you that have stopped by before. At some point, right after the first of the year, all the pieces will be taken inside and you’ll be able to browse, have a cup of tea by the fire and chat while I am working on something in our lower level. Again, just call or look for the sign to know I’m working away on some new and interesting treasure. Also, many of you have stopped by after work. With darkness now coming before 5:00 P.M. it is difficult to work in the garage. So, look for the sign in front of the well-lit Redeux Garage to see if we’re around; usually Tuesday thru Friday 1:00 until 5:30 and Saturdays 9:00 until 3:00 is a safe bet. Call me to ensure we don’t miss one another (203-414-1727).

Speaking of interesting treasures, the birdseye maple chest has been finished. When it was first found the top was badly damaged from liquids with alcohol (perfume, after shaves, etc.) and some drawer pulls were missing. Well, the top has been stripped, re-stained and given a hand-rubbed oil finish. I used this technique in order to minimize the chances of the same type of damage happening again. The drawers have been refitted with great looking pulls while keeping the original backing plates. The remainder of the chest has been refurbished as well and the birdseye graining of the top and the tiger stripe maple front and sides make this a very attractive piece.

The old oak chest that has been sitting in the front of the garage for some time has been stripped and the drawers re-glued. It will be given a coat of light to medium stain and then my favorite hand rubbed oil finish. Working with the oil finish continues to be my favorite final coat. It has low luster, shows the wood grains beautifully, and actually gives strength to the wood fibers when it soaks in and hardens and is fairly low maintenance. And, it is very traditional. Stop by and see this beauty.

The tall chiffarobe is getting more prepping but will be ready for the Redeux Spa soon. This piece will probably be painted the same deep red as the chest but may have a few special highlights added. Together, they would make a great looking bedroom set!

A new piece just arrived and will be given the fast track to the spa because it is such a great find. Made of oak, this approximately 1890 – 1920 era chest with a large tilting mirror would be a great hall or bedroom piece. I’ll post pics asap but feel free to stop by beforehand. There is also a nice little serving cart that I plan to have ready before long. It needs to be refinished so some of the final finishing may take place inside.

Finally, if you are looking for something special let me know. For the coming few months I will be concentrating on finding “special requests” and more unique, more compact pieces. Also, if you have a piece of furniture you no longer need, give me a call. There are a few of you that I need to arrange meeting with.

Thanks again to all of you.

Bill

Old Paint

These past several weeks at Redeux have been busy… when the weather was cooperating. Several pieces have been refurbished and several more are nearing completion. Also, a field trip was made to Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts to explore and study painted furniture in Colonial America. First, here's what’s ready at Redeux.

The green / blue Berkley & Gay dresser is still available. This really is a nice piece and the bright brass hardware really sets the color off. Another dresser, painted deep red, has just been finished. An antique wash chest with carved mirror is awaiting a new home as is a somewhat younger version, also in oak. The Amish(?) oak farm table has been given a new coat of oil on the top and looks great. A very neat pickled-oak chest/dresser and a large, Dutch style dresser are also ready. We now have two chiffarobes, both painted and also several very nice maple dressers that appear to date from the 1920’s to 1930’s. Included is a very nice maple dresser having two different types of graining. It's different and striking. I'm awaiting the arrival of some drawer-pull hardware but otherwise it is ready to go. For desks we have a Victorian cylinder style roll-top, a very beautiful writing desk with an interesting carved wood decoration on the top door and a mahogany convertible desk that expands to a dining/conference table. A neat little slant-top is also close to done. Nearly ready – at last- is the large oak dresser with tall mirror and white stone top. Dating from the mid to late 1800’s this piece was built using joints, slots & dowels. It is quite some bit of craftsmanship! There are several other small, occasional pieces awaiting homes, too.

The trip to Sturbridge, as always, was both enjoyable and informative. Previous “field trips” had been devoted to learning different styles of joinery; nail types and their uses and the milling of wood boards. Last week’s trip was devoted to studying and learning about painted furniture. This was brought about by my increasing interest in painting furniture and by finding several very old pieces that appear to have been painted at, or close to, the time of construction.

While painted furniture has been around forever, furniture painting in America became popular starting in the early 1899’s with the increasing industrialization of the nation. With this industrialization came more wealth, more leisure time and less expensive furniture due to machine-made parts. Less exotic native wood furniture such as pine, birch, oak and maple were considered suitable for decorating by painting the entire piece or painting scenes or adding stenciling. But, contrary to some “experts” opinions, painting furniture did not imply that the piece was inferior. What struck me most, I suppose, was the very bright and varied colors that early Americans commonly used. The image of New Englanders being somewhat drab or austere in their use of color and decoration appears to not be supported by historical evidence. In fact, many homes had furniture and accessories in a riot of colors in the same room! And, it all worked.

What this field trip means for Redeux is that our color choices for furniture can be more varied. This does not mean that every piece is a candidate for painting – far from it. Many of our pieces would be ruined by painting them. A birdseye maple dresser is beautiful enough without adding a thing. But, a simple, non-historical piece that might benefit from a new facelift may be sent to the Redeux Color Spa. During this coming winter I hope to learn some new techniques for painting and most certainly will draw upon the furniture at Old Sturbridge Village for inspiration.

Thanks, again, to all of you for stopping by the garage. This week, with some warmer temperatures promised, I’ll be busy getting as many as possible of the remaining pieces refinished or painted. Stop by. Tea is on!

Bill