Preventing Wood Shrinkage and Splitting

Much like our skin gets dry and split with extreme heat or cold, wood is succeptible to the extremes in temperature, too.

The problem? The lack of moisture!

Proper care for solid wood furniture is critical. The reason for this is humidity... moisture content... water, the all-necessary elxir of life for all.

When humidity drops below 30 to 35%, solid wood furniture beings to dry out, shrink and be prone to splitting. There are two key ways to prevent moisture loss...

1. The best way is to use a humidifier... preferably a warm air humidifier which doesn’t grow mold and present other potential health hazards as with cold water humidifiers.

Not only will your skin benefit the added moisture, so will your furniture, offering you a lifetime of beauty and wood health. Many furnaces have built in humidifiers today and while many people believe that it is enough, unfortunately it is not, especially when it’s extremely cold or you have solid wood furniture in your home.

2. Another way to infuse moisture into your fine wood furniture is to apply a coat of natural oil (such as Tung (MinWax or other), lemon or orange oil) once a month. Wipe on a heavy coat, let it sit for 10 or 15 minutes and then wipe off the excess. Check it the following day for seepage and wipe again if necessary. The furniture will drink up the oil and replace lost moisture making it less prone to splitting and cracking.

Prevention! By following these few, inexpensive treatments, you will never have a humidity problem with your furniture. Working with wood is a warmly rewarding task you'll likely really enjoy.

Thanks for visiting,

Carolyn Clarke

the Furniture Rejuvenator

604-885-8885

The Silverware Cabinet Alive Again

Hi and welcome!

How honoured I feel to have been asked to strip and refinish a lovely 100-year old family heirloom silverware cabinet recently. It was great-grandmother's pride and joy and had spent many years on the top of the diningroom cabinet. Over time, it began showing its age with a tired and patchy finish.

The once black feet were now mostly chipped and a chunk of wood was gouged out of the left front foot of the case. Inside the cabinet, the fuschia felt was dusty dirty and full of grit. "She'd" definitely seen better days!

Knowing that this family heirloom was destined to become the wedding gift for the granddaughter's wedding this summer was impetice for me to take exception care in restoring it to like new condition. The trickiest part of the entire job was making sure that none of the messy stripper or staining products I had to use got inside the box and stained the felt! Needless to say, I worked VERY carefully.

Several hours of TLC work later, "she" is completely transformed!

Take a look at the transformation inside the cabinet...

As I always take before and after photographs of each furniture piece, it was a tickle to first show the owners the before images, reminding them of the condition it was in when I received it from them.

THEN, what fun I had lifting off the cloth cover that had been keeping it hidden to that point... SEEING THEIR EXPRESSIONS was priceless! Obviously, they loved the transformation.

I know that they will gift this cherished box (along with all of its antique silverware) with exceptional pride. What a gift for me to have been able to make it lovely enough to be passed down in the family.

If you have a cherished piece that you would like transformed, please call me...

Carolyn Clarke at 604-885-8885

I LOVE working with special pieces like this!

Transformation

Thanks for visiting Furniture Rejuvenation.

Every aspect of my work, whether it's related to my wood finishing profession or the counselling business I share with husband Richard, transformation is at the root of it all.

Transformation, especially of the visible kind, simply fascinates me. What IS transformation? A few words that come to mind include...

Metamorphosis...

Shape Shifting...

... meaning the change of an identity into an other.

In our counselling work, we help individuals change their limiting beliefs and held-in emotions to "unclutter" and align with new self and life positives.

In my furniture work, there is nothing quite as satisfying as seeing a tired, old piece of furniture be brought back to life using refinishing or rejuvenation techniques... seeing the dings disappear and the beautiful depth of colour and grain leap out before my eyes again.

Here's an example of a rejuvenation job I completed recently... an older table troubled by shoes having been put on the surface, as well as normal wear and tear to the legs. Table and chair legs are especially susceptible to dings.

BEFORE

AFTER

“I never realized how tired and worn the coffee table I had been gifted with years before was getting until Carolyn worked on it. As you can see by the before and after pictures, the difference is dramatic and I am proud once more to have this piece front and center in my livingroom.”

Testimonial by Rob T. from Vancouver, B.C.

BEFORE

AFTER

Do you have a tired piece of furniture "with good bones" that needs a little "shape-shifting" transformation? More than likely, I can help out... and I'll be excited all over again at the thought of transformation through the magic of TLC.

Warmly, Carolyn Clarke
Furniture Rejuvenation Artist
604-885-8885

P.S. I appreciate being shared around, thanks.

Avoiding Fisheye

Oh no... not the dreaded "fisheye!"

What on earth is fisheye, you ask?

To a furniture refinisher, fisheye simply means TROUBLE!

Take a close look at the bubbling on this oriental table surface...

... THIS is fisheye... typically caused by many of the furniture paste and spray waxes available in the stores today. Little do most people know that the use of many of these spray waxes comes with a cost... because they contain SILICONE (plastic!) which penetrates the finish, fills the pores and gradually builds up without you even being aware of the problem it will present at a later date!

Fisheye is becoming a bigger problem today than in years past because of the availability and ease of using these spray waxes and paste products. Many homeowners able to afford professional cleaning companies have no idea that they may be subjecting their furniture to unhealthy waxing products... as many cleaning companies LOVE these products because they're fast and (seemingly) effective in creating a good shine.

Spray waxes used frequently (those containing silicone) will eventually cloud your furniture surface, causing you to wonder what happened... this is silicone building up. Trouble is, once you're at the point of wanting to restore or refinish your piece of furniture, the silicone will reveal itself when the professional tries to apply the new finish... showing up in unsightly circles (fisheye) of uneven finish. And, try as your furniture professional might, often times it is virtually impossible to correct or hide.

What to do about it?

If you hire a professional cleaning service, I highly recommend that you ask them what products they are using on your furniture and, if they are using "the Pledges" or other products containing silicone, ask them to stop immediately! Find a healthier alternate.

If YOU are using any of these products, you are unknowingly hampering your wood furniture and I recommend that you stop and find an alternate product with more natural ingredients... such as Minwax paste wax.

Caring for your furniture need not unwittingly doom it to a fisheye future.

Loving your furniture,
Carolyn
604-885-8885

Welcome to Furniture Rejuvenation

A warm welcome to my new Furniture Rejuvenation blog... web-log!

My name is Carolyn Clarke and I am a long-time resident of Sechelt on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia.

As a young adult, I trained as a Professional Furniture Refinisher by Lew Nilsson of Pioneer Furniture Refinishing in Surrey, B.C. For over 30 years, Pioneer has offered exceptional quality in the refinishing and restoration of furniture and antiques.

I worked in that family business applying my craft of taking cleanly stripped furniture pieces and transforming them into “like new” condition. Over all these subsequent years, I've kept my refinishing craft alive, evolving and current. Advancement of my skills now include furniture touch-up, making my work even more transformative today.

With an artistic touch and ability for incredible detail, I enjoy the process of working with fine pieces of wood furniture, and especially love seeing the visual results of my labor.

My strength is taking a piece of furniture with an existing finish that is in decent structural shape but looks worn and tired… then making it come alive in colour and sheen again!

Without stripping your furniture I will rejuvenate it using tested touch-up techniques, stains and finishes… making the scuffs and tiredness virtually disappear. Most of my jobs can be completed within a few to several hours, making it more affordable than the expensive job of completely stripping and refinishing it. Rejuvenation is my specialty!

Have a look through some of the before and after photographs of my work.

This little table was very dull, the feet very worn... this is the BEFORE photo...

After approximately 3 hours of my professional attention, it transformed into THIS...

Here's a close-up of the fluted edging BEFORE rejuvenation... dull and colorless...

... and what it transformed into AFTER sprucing up the stain and sheen...

Here's a wing-back chair leg, scuffed and very dirty... BEFORE my work...

... and the very same chair leg AFTER my touch-up attention...

Remember, this is WITHOUT first stripping then refinishing! These examples show how I am able to work with the existing finish, clean it up with proven methods and quality materials... to "like new" condition.

If you have a piece of furniture that has “good bones” but looks dull or scuffed and is in need of some tender loving care, I can happily help you.

Please visit this Blog often for smart tips on how to best care for your furniture!

Carolyn Clarke
604-885-8885

terraimages@dccnet.com