50 Before And After Pics Of Things Being Restored To Their Original Glory

We got in touch with artist Gavin for a chat about the magnificent work he's done upcycling this gorgeous grandfather clock right here. He was kind enough to walk us through the inspiration for the project, his work process, and what advice he'd give to someone hoping to follow in his footsteps.

"The inspiration for the project started with my career as a canvas painter. I had been creating wall art for years and had begun to run out of space for my art and the collection of art I had acquired from the many creators I’ve met along my path. During quarantine, I began to focus on the home space as many of us did and noticed that a lot of the pieces of furniture did not inspire and bring me joy in the same way that much of the wall art did," he shared with Bored Panda.

"Being that furniture is such an interactive piece of our lives, I saw an opportunity to deepen the artistic nature of the home through pieces of furniture, notably an old grandfather clock I had recently picked up. I began the process on this huge project after painting a few smaller objects such as jewelry boxes and shelves that I had. As always with my art, part of the intention has been to create relics that outlast me and become pieces of history, heirlooms that inform and inspire for many years to come."

The entire restoration of the clock took a jaw-dropping 150 hours. "What a lot of people don’t think about with the process is the actual restoration stage. I have to sand down all of the wood, removing the varnish and creating a proper surface that the paint will adhere to and last for centuries to come. From here, I prime it with a base layer of black and begin to create my designs. These designs are based on a process of intuitive geometry," artist Gavin said.

He explained that he likes to pick an overall theme for the piece to work with. From there, he uses the furniture to inform the direction of the geometry, "breaking the 3D object down into a bunch of rectangles and circles. These rectangles and circles are then intuitively divided and activated by creating symmetries and then 'connecting the dots.'"

According to the artist, the most challenging part of painting the grandfather clock was reaching some of the nooks and crannies to adorn them with precise geometry. He had very limited hand movement in those tight spaces. "or a lot of the intricacies, I can take the piece of furniture apart, but for some, I just have to squeeze my hand as best as possible into the spaces and make it work."

Meanwhile, Gavin was happy to share some advice for his fellow upcyclers. "Be true to your creative vision and create what you want to see in the world. The more true to yourself the piece of artwork is, the better received and more authentic the work will be. This shines in the art world, having a unique perspective because no one thinks exactly like you do!"

Gavin also told us more about himself as an artist. "I roam the world as an artist performing at music and art festivals in addition to a studio practice newly enriched by the world of furniture painting. I believe there is a balance between the classic hermetic artist and going out into the world to gather inspiration and form your unique perspective. At events and in my travels, I can go out in the world, meet people, and see sights beyond my imagination before returning to the studio and integrating the life experience. My main drive as an artist is to widen perspective, increase humanity's collective limits of how wonderful the things in life we often see as mundane really are. I believe there is reverie in the everyday, as the Grateful Dead once put it, 'Once in a while, you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right.'"

You can find more of Gavin's incredible art on his website, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. 

Inside most of us, there are two wolves, constantly battling each other over what design philosophy is best. One of them is a minimalist that likes order, cleanliness, and simplicity. The other is a maximalist that enjoys hoarding things ‘just in case they’re useful’ and embraces chaos.

Restoring old things, we feel, keeps both sides of you happy: you take something tired and dreary, and, with enough persistence, you turn it into a better, upgraded version of itself. It’s no longer clutter—it’s useful, beautiful, and proof that you’re far more skilled than you might’ve thought at the start of the project.

Before you rush headlong into any project (or you buy out half the local secondhand goods store’s supply of grandfather clocks), it’s a pretty smart move to think about what you’re trying to accomplish. Do you think this will be a one-off thing or do you think that restoration will become a large part of your life?

Are you trying to create a massive social media presence by showing off your awesome restoration skills? Do you plan on building an actual business with restored items? Do you want to try and learn some new skills that sound like a lot of fun? Do you want to restore an item that has sentimental value to you but has seen better days? (Or… maybe a bit of all of the above?) First and foremost, be honest with yourself about what you want from these projects.

The next step is to envision what you’re actually aiming for. Ideally, what will the end result look like? It’s perfectly fine to adapt to changing circumstances as you start working (no plan survives first contact, after all), but you need a roadmap to help guide you. Having a bunch of references can help you with that. Meanwhile, do some sketching and model some preliminary designs. Try to see what the biggest pitfalls can be.

Next, be realistic about your skills, resources, and capabilities. How many hours each week do you think you’ll be able to spend on restoring that vintage car or old fridge? What’s your budget for this actually like? Do you have the necessary skills or will you have to learn a bunch of them just for this project? Do you genuinely have the patience to see things through or would starting with a smaller, simpler restoration be a better fit?

These questions aren’t all that fun to think about, but they’ll help you gauge whether or not you’ll quit a few days in when you might not see enough progress. Now, this shouldn’t dissuade you from actually getting to grips with DIY restoration, however, probably all of us have a list of projects and new hobbies we’ve given up on at the first sign of trouble.

Sometimes, it’s best to jump straight in and see if the hobby interests you. Other times, you might need to slow down, take a step back, and think things through before you dump a bunch of money on something you might quit very soon.

The materials you’ll need will entirely depend on your plans! If you’re restoring a vintage car or camper, you’ll need actual vehicle parts to make sure everything’s running smoothly. Meanwhile, if you’re restoring a grandfather clock, you may need to fix the mechanism as well, not just paint the exterior. Similarly, are you actually hoping to fix a fridge or vending machine, or are you focusing on the aesthetics alone, to turn it into a setpiece?

The internet is chock full of free and paid resources to help you improve your skills. You can find a ton of great advice on YouTube or just by googling things. Meanwhile, don’t be shy and visit your local library for some books and guides. If you happen to have any relatives or neighbors who are into DIY, crafting, and restoration, have a chat with them about what you’re trying to accomplish. Odds are that they’ll be glad to help you and walk you through some of the most common ups and downs that you can expect.

Nobody’s perfect and none of us are fantasy book protagonists, so more likely than not, you’re bound to mess up and make some major or minor mistakes while restoring whatever it is you chose to restore. Dealing with failure is a part of the process. It’s unavoidable because you’re learning new things and even if you’re a seasoned DIY veteran, you’re not somehow immune to messing up.

So it’s essential that you deal with any frustration that might come by embracing those mistakes that may or may not pop up. It’s all right if you nailed a board crookedly, messed up a detail while painting, or put the varnish on waaaay too thick: you can start fixing these things or, in the worst-case scenario, start over. They’re not mistakes, they’re learning opportunities! And just wait, you’ll be incredibly proud of yourself once you finish everything.

We'd love to hear which of these pics you enjoyed the most and if you've ever done anything similar, dear Pandas. Meanwhile, for some more restoration awesomeness, take a peek at Bored Panda's earlier list right over here.