There was a very old secretary's desk in Rick's parents' basement that was always supposed to go to Rick. Well, it was in deplorable shape....the mirror was gone, pieces of wood were missing, the finish was horrid, and so on. We took it out of the basement in pieces. Took it to an Amish man who specializes in antique restoration. He took a look at it and told Rick how he thought it could be done. Rick liked his ideas and just said, "Do whatever you need to do. I'll pay for it." That was the other week. Rick would like to visit and see how things are going.
If it works out OK, I may give my hutch to the man for refinishing, too. It's a long story......my great-grandfather built the hutch for my great-grandmother and she had it for years. She gave it to my mother with the understanding that it was to come to me. It was not to be sold (my mother had a penchant for selling anything that wasn't nailed down). When my parents downsized to an apartment, she specifically told me that they were taking the hutch with them, so I didn't think much of it. Well, when everything was out of the house, Rick and I went to put the hutch in the moving truck and Mom said, "No, Pam, I sold it; they'll come and pick it up."
Well! They say they heard me screaming on Pluto. Rick said he thinks it was the first time he ever really saw me stand up to my mother. I yelled and carried on so badly that Dad came into the house to see what happened. When he found out that Mom sold the hutch, he even threw a fit. Rick and I put the hutch in Rick's truck. Mom started to whine about it, said, "Well, then I have to pay the woman back and I already spent the money. She gave me $700 for the hutch. You'll have to pay her back."
"Me? Oh, I don't think so. Your problem, Mother; this is mine and I'm taking it home where it belongs." We brought it home, put it in the kitchen, and it looks like it's been there forever...that is where it's supposed to be. I would assume she found the money somewhere because I never heard another word about it.
But she was furious and scratched the heck out of the top of the hutch while we were still arguing (before we got it on the truck). I'm talking really long scratches all over. It's ugly. And I don't know how to fix it. It's definitely an antique, well over 100 years old, and, even though, it's only hand-made by my Grandpa, I'm still afraid that if I try to fix it, I'll ruin the thing. Rick suggested that we get somebody who specializes in refinishing to take a look at it, so I'm going to take some pictures and see if the man might be interested in tackling it. I don't know what else to do. I keep a runner on the hutch all the time, so you really can't see the scratches. There used to be a plate runner (you know, to help plates stand up) along the back of the hutch, but that came off years ago....I could have that replaced, too.
Has anybody ever had an antique refinished? How did it turn out? I know you're really not supposed to do it, that it takes some of the value away from the piece. But I'm not even remotely interested in selling my hutch, so does it really matter? We have no choice with Rick's secretary's desk....like I said, it was in pieces and Rick wanted it repaired and he's willing to pay whatever the cost. I'm just not sure about the hutch, though.
If it works out OK, I may give my hutch to the man for refinishing, too. It's a long story......my great-grandfather built the hutch for my great-grandmother and she had it for years. She gave it to my mother with the understanding that it was to come to me. It was not to be sold (my mother had a penchant for selling anything that wasn't nailed down). When my parents downsized to an apartment, she specifically told me that they were taking the hutch with them, so I didn't think much of it. Well, when everything was out of the house, Rick and I went to put the hutch in the moving truck and Mom said, "No, Pam, I sold it; they'll come and pick it up."
Well! They say they heard me screaming on Pluto. Rick said he thinks it was the first time he ever really saw me stand up to my mother. I yelled and carried on so badly that Dad came into the house to see what happened. When he found out that Mom sold the hutch, he even threw a fit. Rick and I put the hutch in Rick's truck. Mom started to whine about it, said, "Well, then I have to pay the woman back and I already spent the money. She gave me $700 for the hutch. You'll have to pay her back."
"Me? Oh, I don't think so. Your problem, Mother; this is mine and I'm taking it home where it belongs." We brought it home, put it in the kitchen, and it looks like it's been there forever...that is where it's supposed to be. I would assume she found the money somewhere because I never heard another word about it.
But she was furious and scratched the heck out of the top of the hutch while we were still arguing (before we got it on the truck). I'm talking really long scratches all over. It's ugly. And I don't know how to fix it. It's definitely an antique, well over 100 years old, and, even though, it's only hand-made by my Grandpa, I'm still afraid that if I try to fix it, I'll ruin the thing. Rick suggested that we get somebody who specializes in refinishing to take a look at it, so I'm going to take some pictures and see if the man might be interested in tackling it. I don't know what else to do. I keep a runner on the hutch all the time, so you really can't see the scratches. There used to be a plate runner (you know, to help plates stand up) along the back of the hutch, but that came off years ago....I could have that replaced, too.
Has anybody ever had an antique refinished? How did it turn out? I know you're really not supposed to do it, that it takes some of the value away from the piece. But I'm not even remotely interested in selling my hutch, so does it really matter? We have no choice with Rick's secretary's desk....like I said, it was in pieces and Rick wanted it repaired and he's willing to pay whatever the cost. I'm just not sure about the hutch, though.
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