Find Old Furniture To Restore

 If you are going to develop your skills, you will have to get hold of old furniture to restore. These days old furniture can be found everywhere and often people sell furniture that is still in a good condition because they do not want to go to the trouble to fix it.

Vintage kitchen dresser restored to original state

The first option is to look at pawn shops and secondhand furniture shops. However, you should be careful because they are in the business of making a profit and you may end up paying too much for it. The main thing is to buy something that you like. It also depends on what you want to do with it. If you are going to keep it the price may not be that important. Should you want to fix it and sell it again for a profit, then price is very important. It’s  important to be aware of prices of secondhand furniture. Make sure that you know the value of a piece before you buy it. Remember if you are going to sell it you want to make a profit and the selling price must be lower than the price of a similar new piece of furniture.

The best option is to buy a piece that is not too badly damaged. Small defects such as cracks or loose joints can be fixed without too much effort. But if you have to replace some parts (e.g. a table leg), then it can become costly. In such a case you may have to go to a cabinet maker to make a new leg and more often than not you will have to take the whole piece apart to fit the new leg. Also, some hardwood types have become very rare and can be difficult to find and are usually very expensive.

Auctions can also be a good source for secondhand furniture. Again, beware of paying too much for it. If a piece is soiled or damaged you might get it for a very low price. Make up your mind what you want to pay for it and stick to that.

Keep an eye on your local news paper.  Be sure to first have a look at the piece before you make an offer. The internet is another option. Gumtree and other similar sites sometimes have good buys. Like with a news paper, you should try and see it before you buy.

To start off with your restoration and refinishing efforts, you should try and practice on your own furniture.  You can then afford to make mistakes.

Revamp Old Built-in Cupboards

Cupboards in light grey with white borders

Built-in cabinets are used for storage in kitchens and bedrooms. These cabinets can be revamped to look as good as new or even better. Usually made of pine wood, melamine or Supawood (MDF), they tend to become worn and rundown over time but fortunately can easily be revamped to regain their former glory. You can basically do three things:

• ·        The doors can be replaced with new ones. This could be a bit costly but will still be cheaper than replacing them with new cabinets.

• ·        Refinish the cabinets by painting them.

• ·        Adding new trims such as beading, wooden trims or new handles.

The cabinets showed in the picture were revamped by painting them and fitting trims around the doors and by replacing the old wooden knobs with round glass knobs.

Old built-in cupboards resprayed in white with trimmings

The first thing to do is to remove the doors and to remove all the hinges and other hardware. Make sure that you number them so that they can be replaced in the same position. After the old varnish has been sanded to a smooth finish, the trims were cut and glued to the doors. As can be seen, two blocks were made – bigger one at the top of the door and a smaller one at the bottom. The doors were then spray painted two coats universal undercoat and two top coats in a white eggshell enamel. The frames were left intact and painted with a sponge roller in the same colour as the doors. You could also spray the framework in a slightly darker off white shade to give a more interesting look.

These revamped cabinets not only look great but the room is now also was much lighter. The cost was a fraction of that of new cabinets. Although it takes a bit of time it can easily be done as a DIY project. If you don’t have a spray gun, use a sponge roller with a solvent base paint. Where doors are damaged with scratches or cracks, this will first have to be repaired. Wooden trims are generally available from any decent hardware store or wood merchant. The trims are cut at 45° corners. The spacing of trims should be uniform and carefully measured out before fixing it with wood glue. If you are going to fix them with panel pins make sure that you use thin pins to prevent the wood from cracking.

Refinishing built-in cabinets and kitchen cabinets can be a profitable home business. If you want to know more about the opportunities for starting refinishing as a home business, get all the information you want from my e-book, "Refinishing Old Furniture - start a home business"