The value of refinishing is very subjective and there are many factors to consider from a cost standpoint alone. We like to think of it as a decision between buying or repairing a microwave oven. No one gets their microwave repaired anymore. Due to mass production, the cost of buying a new one is much less then repairing the old one.

The question you might ask yourself is; can I buy the exact same quality furniture today and how much will it cost compared to refinishing what I have now?

While taking this into consideration, the decision gets more complicated. Chances are the quality of the wood and higher production quality from the past is much better than you would buy today. Note, this applies to furniture that is less then 100 years old, if it is a hundred plus years old preservation is a whole new ball game.

Refinishing Modern Office Furniture

Save time, save money, and save the environment. At Melrose Office Interiors, we pride ourselves in restoring damaged designer furniture. Why replace worn furnishings when we can restore, refinish, or upgrade them for a fraction of the cost of new pieces. Today most repairs and re-top coating can be done onsite using green waterborne finish and repair materials. These state of the art green finishes have both durability and beauty.

High-end designer furniture should be repaired with the factory used materials and method of application.

Restoring Antique Furniture

When a notable antique furniture piece is restored, it often loses most value. This is a very hard concept for many people to grasp. As our current generation adds or subtracts from the original work from a master, this is like painting a Hitler mustache onto the Mona Lisa painting that Leonardo da Vinci created. Our current finishes may be fashionable, but it would change the work of a Master.

Most antique furniture pieces were created over a 100 years ago. The wood was taken from very old growth trees " many extinct " and will show a different grain pattern than our quick-growth varieties today. Furniture finishes were created through different processes " many lethal " than our high tech varieties on the market place today. As an example, when a real fruit finish is removed from an 1830’s table, it can never be replaced. A new finish will always be a Hitler mustache where the old patina of an aged finish should be.

Refinishing Antique Furniture

The art and science of restoration includes consideration towards the act of preservation. Everything that we do to a priceless piece of antique / Designer wood furniture today should be easy for a future generation to maintain or replace. Refinishing wood is not an act of restoration or preservation; this is a permanent change being made to a some times valuable antique. Refinished wood pieces have their place in an active office space, and this process is fine to attempt on wood furniture that is not designated as an investment or heirloom to treasure.