What you need to know to restore your precious antiques---PART 2

Happy Wednesday everyone! So glad that you made it to our blog on this rainy day!

I'm just going to jump right in to where we left off last week, restoring antiques to make them better than ever!

I'm going to start with a before and after! One of my favorite things...

The before: 

Louis XV Oak chairs--these beautifully crafted cane chairs were a bit on the boring side so we spruced them up!

The after:

         Louis XV Oak Chairs--now with a white glaze over the original stain and a new upholstery instead of the cane--small changes, big difference.

Now that you've seen a few examples of what we do, I know what you're thinking, "why put in all of the effort to restore antiques when you can get something new and take it home right away?"  Well, the answer is easy. Old frames that were built centuries ago were crafted with better accuracy and care. Craftsmen in the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries built each piece individually and by hand.  From the decorative aspects to the functionality, these expert and passionate craftsmen took pride in their work. Furthermore, building furniture by hand was an expensive and painstaking process so these craftsmen built their work to last and be passed down from generation to generation - and they were right.  To this day there are pieces that are over 100 years old and are in better shape than something that was built recently and only a few years old. 

From sturdier frames on tables, chairs, desks, to metal spring systems in chairs - craftsmen of yore built furniture to last.  Every little detail was obsessed over.  Now, I'm not saying that the furniture built today isn't as good--ok, maybe I am saying that a little bit BUT, the main reason for this is because it is just too expensive and not as productive to mass produce sturdy pieces of furniture today.

Maybe we're a little biased but we would prefer something that has stood the test of time - sometimes 100's of years! - and is still as good as it was from the first day it was built.  You can even see and feel the the unique mark of each craftsmen in each piece and sometimes it's fun to think about the story of that man and where he came from.

A look at the intricate spring system of a couch from the 19th century

Here are just a few more pieces to get your creative juices flowing!

Come by and visit our showroom, online or at our store location soon! We'd love to see and hear from you!
Mention this blog post for a great discount on your next restoration project!

Don't forget to like us on facebook!

See you soon!! 

What you need to know to restore your precious antiques---PART 1

Happy Friday Everyone!

I am so excited for todays post!

In this post I'm going to show you how you can recreate and freshen up that old chair, dresser, table, china cabinet and more! Our posts in the past have all been about the type of merchandise and the brands that we sell in our showroom but lets go past the showroom and take a look at the magic our expert craftsmen perform. 

Where to begin?!?! This has been the hardest post for me to write...there is so much to tell you about that I don't even know what to begin with. With that being said...let's start with a quick tour of our workshop!

Now that you had a tour of where our magic happens! Let's take a look at some of the great things that come out of our workshop.


Lets begin with this lovely chair: A French Louis XV, walnut arm chair

All we did to spruce this chair up was add a white wash on the existing finish and then upholster it with a more modern fabric that turns this once drab antique into an antique that will pop in any living room!

Look at what you can do with a little bit of white wash and new fabric!

Look at these details...it's amazing what you can do with some imagination! 

Lets do another one or another two: A Pair of American Walnut Chairs 

Instead of a white wash on the existing finish we striped the finish, threw on some white paint and finished the chairs off with a glaze to give them a white vintage feel. Then we reupholstered the chairs in a modern fabric with a vibrant blue motif. 

I think that these two chairs are just incredible!

Are you having fun yet?! We sure are! Lets continue...I love looking at all of our work. I think that our craftsmen are just amazing...they can really work magic!

Moving on to our next example: Walnut English style dining chairs

For this set of 6 dining room chairs we wanted to show off the beautiful walnut wood but we had some fun with the fabric. For the front of the chair we used a handsome tweed fabric and for the back we used a new modern fabric. This fabric is recycled leather, it's a new production and we are absolutely obsessed with it.

What is recycled leather? Recycled leather is made out of a real leather backing with vinyl on top. The real leather comes from all different places but it is all recycled and usually a cow hide. The vinyl on top gives you a variety of textures and colors and it makes the leather more durable and allows it to last longer. 

The best part is that it is environmental, low cost and so much easier to maintain. 

It's really the best of everything all put into one and we absolutely love it! 

Just look at this amazing recycled leather

Thanks for reading!!

Tune in next week for Part 2--which will have more examples and ideas of restoring your antiques! We'll also explain why restoring antiques is better than buying new furniture!

Come by and visit our showroom, online or at our store location this weekend! We'd love to see and hear from you. Don't forget to like us on Facebook for great deals and events!

See you soon xoxo

Hey Everyone!

It has been a whirlwind in the store this week! Busy busy busy...which makes us happy happy happy, but because it has been so hectic our newest blog post isn't ready yet :'(
I know...it's terrible but to try to tie you over for the weekend I wanted to show you a fun DIY project!

I  know what you're saying...you're an antique and restoration store...a do it yourself project??? But bare with me...you'll love it!

Introducing: Tea cup gardens!!

These are so cute and super easy to make, you can follow my exact instructions or you can wing it and come up with your own creations! 

Materials:

-Vintage tea cup

-Plant (you can use anything, in this example we used an creeping thyme, but you can anything from herbs to flowers and succulents)

-potting soil

Step 1:  Find an awesome teacup! You can go through your grandma's attic to find old china, go to your local antique shop or flea market! Most importantly have fun...the hunt is just as fun as it is to make it :)

Step 2: Clean out your teacup--soap and water work just fine

Step 3: Find your perfect plant--we used Creeping Thyme

Step 4: Pull your plant out of the box and shake out the dirt enough to make the plant fit in the tea cup

Step 5: Place your plant in your tea cup and start packing it in

Step 6: Take extra dirt and pack it all in, make sure that your plant is in tightly 

Step 7: Voila--Enjoy your new tea cup garden!!

Extra step--Mix and match many different tea cups for a sweet vintage feel!! 

Thanks for reading! 

And don't forget to stop by on Monday (6/17/13) for our exciting post on how to restore your heirloom pieces!

Visit us this weekend and take a look at all of our inventory, stop by our online showroom at http://www.evanstoniaantiques.com/

See you soon xoxo