“Came Out Better Than I Expected”: 50 Times Old Things Got A Second Chance At Life (New Pics)

Before - Previous owners painted over and beat our our original (1900) front door to Hell. They even had painted over the frickin' mail slot!
After - Stripped, repaired and stained. Credit goes to World of Wood for their amazing job. They even shined up the trolley bell.

Restoring this piece was quite the journey! After spotting a dainty occipital plume atop the birds’ heads, I suspected they were Great Blue Herons—a hunch confirmed when brilliant blue tones emerged beneath the dirt. I cleaned, replastered with Venetian plaster, and painted with specially ordered clay paint to stay true to traditional fresco techniques. Though I’m no master restorer, I gave it my all, and with a bit of care (and luck), I hope this artwork lasts for many years to come.

We do furniture restoration. I do the woodwork and she does upholstery. In terms of quality, Kroehler was unmatched, and there are still tons of upholstery pieces available by them from the 60s on FB marketplace that just need a skilled craftsperson or two to bring it back to life.

What makes their pieces so high-quality is the internal build material. This sofa uses WHITE OAK for the FRAME, which no one would do now. It’s harder than a walnut and heavy!

This sofa specifically was made in the style of, or sort of a copy of, Adrian Pearsall, whose brand, Craft and Associates, made walnut-framed furniture with very forward designs. Their designs were more aesthetically pleasing, but whenever we get Craft and Associates pieces, (which is actually worth more) the frames are always broken and need repair.
The Kroehler-made furniture is always rock solid. If you ever want a vintage sofa that is worth the investment of new upholstery - go with Kroehler!!!

I restored these using electrolysis and then a tiny bit of electroplating.

I was stunned at the gorgeous details hiding under all that paint (I counted at least 5 layers!) Debating whether to commit myself to stripping the rest of the original door plates from our 1920s rental once the weather perks up - my house still smells like citristrip.

It didn’t turn out perfect, but I learned a lot and at least it’s not blue anymore lol

The table was $360. I stripped and sanded the table and sized it down from 10ft to 8ft long. Took a week.

I also got the chairs off of FB Marketplace - $100 for all of them.

They're actually great quality, only minor stains and fabric pilling, but after a fabric shaver and steam clean looked brand new.

In addition to $200 in materials to refinish the table, I spent $660 on the entire setting.

I bought this 1950’s AMF DeWalt 9” radial arm saw for $50, and spent 4 weeks restoring it. I am aware that they are fairly dangerous, but I understand how to use them safely and plan to have this be a dedicated crosscut machine. It took a few hours to fully calibrate everything, but once I did that, it was dead accurate.

My mother bought this in New York for her first apartment. As a child i loved imagining i was tiny and this was my house. She found it in her basement last year and gave it to me. I spent some time cleaning and refurbishing and adding some new details to it. It makes me so happy to see it hanging in my kitchen.