My wife bought a perfectly good two piece hutch a few years ago.. but now says it looks “cheap” and “new”. She wants me to make it look “antique”.
It is dark stained with a satin poly finish. Any ideas? Do I have to completely strip this thing.. or is there something I can do, (besides wait 50 years) to achieve the “antique” look my wife wants?
Thanks very much..
bill
Replies
If you strip it and refinish it with a lighter (and GOOD LOOKING/well applied) varnish finish I think you could achieve what she wants. "Cheap" and "new" often has to do with the look of the finish, even on a very old piece. I have seen SO many wonderful pieces of furniture with a "plastic" slapped on finish. It is a shame.
Thanks, Gretchen. I'll take your suggestion into consideration.. but I'm loathe to strip this monster of a hutch. It's like looking at a mountain and deciding which is the best way to the other side.. climb over or go around. I'm searching for a way around this problem.. and there may not be one.
bill
Once you start it may not be as much as you thought. Turn it so you are working on horizontal surfaces. It isn't paint--and that is a BIG plus. I took paint off of a corner cupboard--not fun. But the final result was so worth it.I know--easy for me to say. But I really think it will reward you--IF you like the piece of furniture to begin with.Gretchen
Gretchen.. what would you use to strip this piece? I know there are some friendlier chem strippers out there.. any recommendations? Thanks..
bill
"Friendlier" strippers just don't do the job. Keep the air flowing and do the job, preferably outside. Gretchen
Bill,
What exactly does your wife mean by 'antique'? Making a new piece look old usually means distressing the piece a bit: rounding off corners to simulate wear, putting dings and dents in the surface, darkening the "worn" parts, applying a "crackle" finish, and any number of other tricks to make it look old and used. Or does she mean only that she wants it a different color?
Alan
Alan.. I don't think my wife wants it to look beat up.. I think she just wants it to look less new.. or even better, old. What's weird is she wants ME to look less old and more new. If things were the other way around I'd have it made. Serously, I'll try to pin her down some more. (figuratively speaking, of course)
Bill,
That your wife wants it to look old without looking "beat up" may be a problem. Most old things--though not all, by any means--show signs of having been around for a few years. Of course some kinds of furniture show wear and age more than others: chairs, sideboards and tables usually show lots of wear and tear; hutches, hoosiers and bookcases show less, though they still will have dings, dents and show wear.
As you said, best to make sure SWMBO means--exactly.
Alan
Thanks, Alan. While I was trying to get her to show/explain to me what she wants.. she said she also wants me to build a corner cabinet for my daughter's room. Now that I can do. Maybe she'll forget about the hutch.
bill
"... maybe she'll forget". Right. She won't forget and will think you've either gone senile or are ignoring her request on purpose. Now, that'll really get things interesting ... :)
My thought when I saw the first post was "oh my goodness, all that work and it won't be any better". But the boss is always right, I guess.
Good luck.
John
You're right. And, funny, your thought is what I was thinking, too.
bill
Bill,
Curious, what is the hutch material....two piece?...for the dining room or kitchen?..and what else is in the room furniture wise and does she want to match looks? thanks
It is a two piece.. located in the kitchen. We also have a pine table stained the same dark color. The tabletop is made from old distillery floor boards. I think she wishes the hutch were made from floor boards too.
bill
Bill,
I think your headed down a dangerous path for two reasons. The quality of the lumber in the kitchen table along with its age and provenance may be what she is resonding to and you cannot duplicate. If its a soft pine with rounded boards (ie colonial furniture kinda) then it just dosen't look right against the table. Second, adding age to a piece takes some skill and experience...and, I believe, has to be sold to the customer (your wife) which means done by someone that has a reputation for such things....and as you said, you just look old....lol.
So my first question is can you move this thing into your shop, modify and get some storage utility out of it?...and either build her a new one or go antiquing.
Thought two: maybe some of that english wax (with color) that the antique dealers use would help give it a heavy dull low sheen look.
Stripping and refinishing could produce a different outcome but Iff a hand rubbed finish is the answer. Good luck
I agree, BG. I'm not the one to monkey with this kind of project. I would only make something that looks fine now.. look much less than fine.. to be generous to myself.
I like the English wax idea.. think I'll visit one of our local antique dealers for some suggestions.
Thanks for all your time and good suggestions..
bill
Bill, I've been following this thread and was going to offer a suggestion that I've had success with but was hesitant because it seemed that stripping & refinishing was in order.
Here's what I've done on a similar piece. Lightly rub it with 000 steel wool. Don't be too concerned about getting it perfect. Ding the corners a bit and then rub it with Briwax. I used the dark one. Rub the wax on with 0000 steel wool. It'll get into the imperfections and grain and will darken it, make it look worn and aged. After a few minutes rub/polish the surface with a clean rag. The finish should then be dulled but smooth and worn looking, darker in the indentations.
Its not that big a deal and you might even let your wife do some off it too. I find they appreciate the project more if they participate in it.
Good luck, Hugh
Hugh.. I like you idea.. it's a whole lot better than stripping and refinishing. I'm going to give it a try and I'll let you know how it works out. Thanks very much..
bill
Bill... Here are a few suggestions... first, if the existing finish is too slick, take some 4/0 steel wool and dull it down in areas that normally would get lots of wear. Take a broken chunk of brick the size of your fist and drop or roll it along some of the flat 'work' surfaces to put a bit of aging on it. you may also want to add (rub in) a bit of burnt umber stain or glaze in some of the nooks and crannies to simulate fading/aging. Take a look at some older pieces of furniture to see where this darkening/buildup occurrs. Whatever you do, do it lightly. You can always add more aging later, but it is hard to remove too much aging.
SawdustSteve
Excellent suggestions, Steve. Thanks very much. I think the steel wool might create the effect she's looking for.
bill
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