Client Project: Restoring a Century Old Table

This restoration project was truly an experience to remember.  A client contacted me in hopes of bringing the life back to a gorgeous family heirloom: her grandmother's 100 year old farm table.  I have never worked with anything like this before and could not have been more excited to take on the project.  My client expressed her wish to leave as much of the table's character and charm in place and wanted merely to bring back the original shine and rich color of the wood.  She mentioned during our consultation that the discoloration and differentiation in the wood grain was something she wanted to live with, as it has been in her family for so long and the piece was very special to her.

Here are some Before's:

For this project we lightly sanded the table surface and gave the entire piece a good wipe down with a very soft, slightly damp cloth.  The table was cured using Miss Mustard Seed's Hemp Oil and two generous coats were used here.  Hemp oil does nothing more than moisturize dry, old wood surfaces and can even be used on old hardware and painted surfaces.  It is 100% natural and will continue to condition and protect a surface for many years.  You can see the difference just one coat makes below:

Because our client had never used the piece, it was given to us disassembled and we were more than Happy to put the table together for the big reveal.  This process involved working with hardware dating back to the 1920's and thanks to the very awesome crew over at Pointe Hardware in Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan, we were able to replace and repair certain items essential to the proper assembly of the table.

The results could not be prettier.  The hemp oil worked it's way deep into the wood's grain, giving a warm, golden hue to the antique wood and restoring the rich shine and depth the table once had.  We hope the client is as Happy as we are with the stunning results, and that she is able to enjoy her family's historical piece for years and years to come!