Heirloom Modernisation

A vintage white secretary desk with an angled writing surface and three drawers featuring ornate brass handles. The desk is situated on a wooden floor, with a potted green plant to the left and tall, dried pampas grass in a vase to the right.

A white wooden dresser with three large drawers and two small compartments on top, each with brass handles. The dresser stands on a wooden floor in a room with white brick walls, a painting above, and some plants placed around it. Sunlight casts shadows on the floor.

A white wooden dresser with five drawers and vintage-style brass handles stands against a white brick wall. A potted green plant on the left and dried pampas grass on the right accentuate the space. Natural light casts shadows on the dresser and hardwood floor.

A wooden antique secretary desk with a fold-down writing surface and three drawers, standing on cabriole legs. The polished wood has a rich, warm finish, and decorative handles adorn each drawer. The desk sits on a gray carpeted floor in a room lit by sunlight.

A wooden chest of drawers with brass handles stands in a living room. The chest has five drawers and is lit by sunlight from the left. Surrounding the chest are various items, including a red throw blanket on a nearby piece of furniture, a table lamp, and a painting on the wall.

A vintage wooden dresser featuring a large rectangular mirror. The dresser has three drawers with metal handles and two smaller compartments on either side of the mirror. It is placed in a well-lit room with other furniture and decor visible in the background.

A white wooden dresser with four knobs and slightly distressed paint stands against a wall. On the left side of its bottom shelf, there's a pile of books, magazines, and a binder with a gold star pattern. A remote control sits on top beside a radio and a TV.

Cabinet, Chest of Drawers, Dressing Table

Julie contacted me as she had three pieces of furniture that she had inherited from her mother that she wanted to refinish to better fit in with her existing decor.

“… I am absolutely delighted with the whole experience from Brenda and Stu.
I heard about Brenda’s business when she was being interviewed on Radio Surrey.
On making contact with Brenda she was so helpful and arranged collection so promptly.
My furniture is a mixture of art deco post-war brown in colour and good condition. I did not want to part with the furniture as it was my mother’s but just needed to change the colour to a soft white so it would look nice in my bedroom.
Both Brenda and Stu reassured me that they could restore my furniture to the colour I wanted and they could even attach a new mirror to my dressing table.
They kept me informed during the whole process and I am over the moon with the finish.
Such a professional efficient service and very good value for money when considering the price of current modern day furniture….”

JULIE – Client

CREATING THE DESIGN

Julie showed us a cabinet she had in her kitchen, which she wanted to closely match these three furniture pieces to.

The brief was:

off white
distressed
white washed

All three pieces of furniture needed to be sanded back to raw wood so that they could be white-washed and have the original wood show, rather than the original dark varnish.

I chose Rust-Oleum Antique White Furniture Paint which was the perfect off-white, creamy tone. Julie had sent me pictures of the handles that she wanted so I was able to source these lovely hand-cast cast iron antique brass drop handles.

THE TRANSFORMATION

I made sure to send Julie pictures all the way along, to make sure that I got the whitewashing and distressing exactly as she wanted it.

Once everything was finished, we made the trip to deliver the three pieces back to her and it was so lovely to be able to see her reaction to them (she was very pleased!)

These are some of our favourite pieces of furniture to refinish. The ones that have sentimental value to a person, and rather than just get rid of them because they look dated, have them redesigned in a way to fit in their home for years to come.