Why do I paint antique furniture?

This piece is a stunning, unique piece and I can appreciate that!  I understand that people think I devalue the piece when I paint it but here is the scoop.

There are so many discarded solid wood pieces of furniture out there because they are not trending right now. The finish has been compromised on them from lack of care or there is damage that make a full, flawless restore impossible. There is also the time factor. It is hours and hours to restore a piece and that is costly.  A few years back my family decided to have a family hope chest restored for me.  I had stripped about 50% already, so they finished stripping it, clear coated and added some legs. It was well over $500. For that price I expect perfection....I was very disappointed and I had to send it back for repairs to the feet that were added. This was a highly recommended business.

There are some people that can love them in the flawed state and live with those flaws but there are those who can not. I personally can live with the flaws and have pieces like that in my home but I also want to invite people who don't want those flaws into the world of antiques. The world where a solid wood piece of furniture can stand the test of time if they are cared for.

So I paint them.  If my memory serve me well, I have never fully painted an antique piece of furniture.  Just for the record, an piece of furniture earns the title antique when it is 100 years old. I use paint to highlight the beauty of the piece by leaving natural wood elements for a peek into its past. The materials I use will be easy to remove if in the future someone want to return to the natural state.

So I will continue doing what I do and leaving little reminders of the history of the piece!