Diamonds in the Rough

Last week The Redhead and I were up in Maine visiting family. No trip up North seems complete without at least a quick search for some buried treasure – some special piece of American vintage furniture that may need a little Redeux TLC to make it, once again, someone’s prized possession. A treasure we did surely find.

Several generations ago – before the internet, the telephone and certainly before the “electronic hearth” (a term heard at this weekend’s Podunk Bluegrass Festival in East Hartford to describe televisions) replaced real conversations and correspondence – people wrote letters. With real paper and real ink. It took time. But people took the time because sending someone a letter or note was important. Most often, folks had a special place in which they preferred to write. To have a real writing desk was both a luxury and a blessing. A desk to keep your pens, papers, diaries, stamps and other necessities for writing let you retreat into a special place – allowing you to converse with another – on paper. There is nothing like it. Having a hand-written letter from someone is really having a piece of them to hold on to forever. Our latest Maine search turned up something quite extraordinary – a virtual time machine. We found a truly vintage Ladies Writing Desk made of mahogany and having the required nooks and crannies, sliding writing surface and elegantly turned legs and beadwork trim to make this someone’s “special place” once again.

Once back home our search for special pieces did not end. Several folks asked me to keep an eye out for a drop-leaf table with leaves that would accommodate larger gatherings. Finally, I located a beauty. Having saber-type legs capped in brass, this table can accommodate from two to probably ten people. It comes with 4 chairs with nice floral printed seats.

A compact server was also found. Nicely detailed, this server is a great dining room, hall or living room piece. For those needing a full-sized server (side-board), we now have two in stock. Both are striking.

Despite the really warm weather, a tall oak dresser with clear glass knobs was finally finished and is ready for a new home.

A Nichols and Stone rocker is also ready as well as a B. Altman red painted Windsor style side chair. Just in, too, is a china display cabinet. The large glass front and light interior really shows off your china or collectibles.


You may have noticed that Winthrop style slant front desk sitting in the corner for some time. I just could not figure what would be best for it to show it off and make it beautiful once again. Decision made… it will be painted. Researching my traditional furniture style books, painting this is in keeping with Federal period tastes and applications. Possible colors are green(s), red or maybe, black. If interested in this piece and would like a particular color, see me asap!


This week, weather permitting, I will be stripping several pieces and prepping others for painting.  Stop by.


Hope to see you soon!


Bill

PolyAnna

Hot summer days are meant for iced tea, shady nooks and good books. Yet, when work calls it’s best to tackle it head on.


Stripping furniture is one of those jobs that is never very easy and one is usually surprised at what is found when it is finished. My last project provided surprises from beginning to end.

 Discovered in the corner of a yard filled mostly with debris, the dark wood drop-leaf table had stains, water marks and a few scars covering its entirety. Yet, it still had a certain style and grace. Another orphan adopted and taken home to the Redeux furniture health spa.

Having turned legs and elegantly shaped oval top this piece promised to be a classic colonial-styled side table and its trapezoid-shaped candle drawer was an unexpected detail. So, after a week or so of studying its lines and figuring each step of the makeover out came my scrapers, can of stripper and safety gear. First leg – done. Second leg nothing happened. Hmm, more stripper applied. Nothing. What the heck! Please, don’t let it be. Yes, polyurethane - sometimes under the old varnish, mostly over it. 90 degrees and I’m trying to scrap off plastic. A quick run to the paint store to get the “heavy duty plastic coating remover” and I was ready to finish the job before the sun set. Ten sunsets later the table was just getting its cleansing bath to rid it of remnants of heavy-duty plastic remover – most often referred to as polyurethane stripper.


Many steps and much time later, this classic beauty is now ready for a new home. Life lesson: when faced with refinishing a really good piece of furniture don’t be a PolyAnna - use shellac or varnish, please! Otherwise, 40 or 50 years later some grown man will shed bitter tears when trying to revive your little beauty.

Also just finished is a nice little country pine chest that is perfect for a small guest room or as an occasional piece. We have, also, a honey toned mirror with brass corner decorations that would go nicely with this piece.

A Nichols and Stone side chair with a gilt painting was a rare find. Black with gold accents and a charming country village scene painted on the back, this chair is a great accent piece or guest room addition.

These past few months many new faces, in addition to our old friends, have stopped by at Redeux. Two questions almost always are asked: where do I find all of my pieces and how and why did I start Redeux.

Honestly, each piece that makes its way to Redeux has its own story. Having a real love for vintage American-made furniture, I search for interesting, quality furniture every time I leave the house. Often, pieces turn up in the most unlikely of places.

As for how I started Redeux, partly the reason was that I wanted to do something that, to me, mattered. But wanting to do something and actually doing it is something else. I talked to many people about the practical aspects of starting something like Redeux (see my first blog entry, Getting It). But, the main inspiration for starting Redeux came from Joan, the owner of an antique / gift shop, Country Treasures, in Pound Ridge, NY. A quiet, lovely woman, Joan started her shop at the same age that I thought of starting Redeux. Joan said it was never too late to make a dream come true. She was right.

I’m fortunate to know Joan as a friend and much more. The Redhead knows her as, Mom.

Charles Shackleton and Miranda Thomas are a husband and wife team that make incredible furniture and pottery in Vermont. Using natural materials, their hand made products are truly heirloom quality. We’re fortunate to own several of their pieces and will treasure them always, as will generations after us. Both Charles and Miranda are wonderful people that truly put their heart and spirit into each piece they design and build. Check their website and, if possible, support these fine craftspeople by buying hand crafted American made furniture.


http://www.shackletonthomas.com/news.detail.php?news_id=42

New pieces arrive weekly, so stop by and see them from start to finish.

Tea, iced or hot is always on!


Best wishes and hope to see you all soon.


Bill

Beauty from a Beast

This past week several pieces of furniture that seemed to have serious problems turned out to be real treasures and, in one case, was the impetus to explore offering another level of beautifully restored Redeux vintage furniture.

The first piece to drive me a bit crazy was a compact chest or console (see the "before photo above and the "after" photo at top of this Posting). Very different from most anything I’ve had so far, this piece mixes woods – solids and veneers, styles – carved drawer fronts mixed with carved and molding details elsewhere, and turnings. And somehow it all comes together into a really eye-catching piece of art furniture. The first problem encountered was the chipped top veneer. Having experienced this before with other pieces such as “The Three-Legged Dog” (see previous posting), this piece had something about it that demanded it be saved and preserved as best as possible rather than scraped. This required first a very careful removal of years of old shellac / varnish. Next was re-staining the top and applying several coats of shellac. The top was then finished with a hand waxing. The drawers, once so badly covered in grime that the type of wood could not be determined, were restored to reveal the carvings and moldings. The base, with its wonderfully turned legs, was likewise restored. This piece will be fitted with a glass top to protect it for years to come.


Restored and immediately placed with a new home was a coffee table with carved legs and leather top. Several days in the Redeux Spa fixed a mahogany top that had been badly damaged by water / liquids and rejuvenated the leather top that had wear and tear typical of 60 -70 years or older leather. The Redhead was sorry to see this baby leave.

One of the benefits of Redeux is the interaction with all of you. Ideas, suggestions and lots of encouragement have been given to me and all of it is appreciated. Last week Gina came by to look at several painted pieces. While looking at them she noticed the tall dresser that seems to have a Dutch influenced design, stained a brown-orange (sounds odd but really works well with this piece) but has a painted top. It is the top that does not work and has been awaiting just the right approach to fixing it. Gina suggested painting a design on it rather than a solid color. The “Aha” moment had arrived. Next week a noted area folk-artist will take a look at it and we’ll come up with a solution that will make this piece a one-of-a-kind treasure. If interested in this piece let me know.


Recently arrived at Redeux are:


A very nice secretary desk made by the old Maddox Tables and Colonial Reproductions of Jamestown, NY. It’s in very nice condition and has the key to lock the top and each of the drawers!


A drop leaf gate-leg table will be undergoing the treatment soon. This piece promises to be a real beauty.

Finding a Bent Bros. chair is always nice and I just found a nice little maple chair that has some nice turnings. Bent Chair Company went out of business about ten years ago and is yet another of the great Gardner, MA furniture manufacturers gone forever.


For those having an office or classroom setting and in need of a filing cabinet, I have one for you. Made of oak with a glass front, this cabinet stands about six feet high and has storage below the numbered file slots. Artists and collectors may find this piece useful, too. Beautiful and different!

Bring the spa to your home with an “Astro-Bilt” make–up table and chair. Dating from the early 1950’s, ladies can paint their nails using the convenient swing out arm rests for ultimate comfort! It comes with a nice low-backed chair.

If you have a piece of Redeux furniture we'd love to have a picture of it where you now have it and are using it. Stop by with a photo anytime or just email it to me. The Redhead and I would enjoy having a display showing where all our little treasures have found new homes and new uses!

As always, your comments and suggestions are very welcomed and appreciated.

Looking forward to seeing you very soon!

Bill

Past Mistakes

Have you ever made a mistake and not been aware of it? Or done something wrong and just couldn’t figure out how to make it right? Sometimes, it may take one hundred years or so for somebody to find out.

Recently, I picked up a rather interesting oak china cabinet. It seemed to be about a century old and more of a “country “piece than a fancy display cabinet. Oddities were everywhere found – inside and out. Small nails had been hammered into the inside back of the cabinet along the top edge. Something had been hung on these nails. Could it have possibly been dipped candles being suspended by their strings? Below these nails were also numerous tacks - all in a straight line along the back and side boards. A scrap of tell-tale paper, still affixed to a tack and wedged into a seam, gave away their purpose. Someone, a long time ago, felt the inside of the cabinet needed to be “gussied up”. Tack up some decorative paper and…Voila!

Yet, what nagged at me most was the fact that the cabinet doors just could not latch. The small cast iron hook just didn’t stay up in order to grab the lip of the retaining plate. Perhaps an interior spring had broken. Nowhere could I locate a replacement part for this piece. So, the next best thing would be to try to make one. So, off came the iron hook for closer inspection. A small retaining pin held the hook and base parts together and was easily removed. No springs. Nothing. The hook was end-weighted so that it simply dropped down. But, it needed to go upwards to catch the retaining plate.

Now, Mrs. Giblin did not raise a fool. It did not take me all day to figure that the hook had to be reversed in order to drop and that the retaining plate had to be on top of the shelf – not under it. Had somebody incorrectly changed the position of the hook when, perhaps, cleaning the cabinet doors? No. It had been installed that way from the day it was built - upside down. And, the original owner/builder just could not figure it out. That accounted for the eye and hook they later added to keep the door closed. 100 years to discover a mistake that must have bothered several generations.

Finding that mistake led to something else…the realization that this cabinet, with its quirks and oddities, was hand made -this was no production piece.

 

Sometimes it’s the flaws that make something special, one-of-a kind, something to be treasured and more valuable.

Stop by soon,

Bill

Uncovered Beauty

Last week’s reopening of the Redeux garage after the long winter was a great success. Many friends from last year stopped by and quite a few new faces were drawn to the shop when they saw the activity going on inside. Seeing you all, having a chat and sometimes having a cup of tea is really part of the fun at Redeux.


Lately, we’ve had quite a few folks asking about queen sized bed frames. Since they are the most popular bed size in the U.S. today, most folks hold on to them or pass them down. Thus, we see less of them on the secondary market. Twin size beds are very commonly found for a variety of reasons. But, the main reason that Redeux does not usually have them is that they are too “new”. The Simmons Company introduced the first standardized queen sized mattress in 1958. At Redeux we have “vintage” furniture. I’d like to keep thinking that vintage still means older than me! The Redhead has her own thoughts on that.

Just acquired is an interesting little make-up table with chair. It is made mostly of pine and has a lovely golden patina of a natural finish. Made by “Aristo-Bilt” furniture, one of the first and best made “self-assembled” furniture companies in the USA. Introduced in 1941, the “Aristo-Bilt” brand was first registered in 1947. This was likely due to being engaged in other manufacturing during the war years. Aristo-Bilt remained a popular and sought after furniture line through the 1950’s or so. This piece is in overall wonderful condition with a minor flaw at the bottom of one leg – the likely result of someone’s or something’s teething. This piece should be ready by next week.

Completed this week is a really nice cabinet / bookcase. When first found, it was black with age and grime and had some unsightly scratches on the top. It appeared to be mahogany but it was difficult to tell. Well, after stripping off the old varnish and grime and some very judicious sanding of the deep scratches (I avoid sanding on real antiques and important pieces and use this method sparingly on some vintage furniture), a real little beauty was uncovered. The mahogany has a beautiful patina and an unexpected raised detail appliqué of what seems to be burled maple highlights the front on either side of the glass door. A light stain was added to bring out the beauty of both wood types and small castor wheels were added on the bottom for additional functionality. The piece was then given a hand-waxed finish. Lovely!

This week Redeux will be open from
11:00 A.M. until 5:30 P.M. Wednesday through Friday.
This Saturday we will be open only until 12:00 noon.

I hope to see you soon!

Bill