How To Restore Old Furniture

Today I would like to talk to you about refurbishing furniture, to keep or to sell, and how simple changes can make all the difference.

This is a solid wood Federal Empire style dresser that I got on Facebook Marketplace locally. I thought it would go well in our master bedroom and that was my plan for it.

Upon purchasing it and getting it out of the car onto the carport, hubby, who thinks we have way too much “stuff”, said it was not coming into the house!

So not wanting to stress my hubby, I said well, if I can’t keep it then I will try to sell it for more than I paid and make a profit to put into our kitchen countertop fund. So here is the simple but dramatic difference made in this piece before I put it up for sale.

Before: Federal Empire Dresser

Above is a photo of the dresser from Facebook Marketplace, looking in need of some TLC.

When I got it home I could tell that it needed a bit of work, but that is understandable since it is a very old piece. I do not always paint furniture…especially not a quality antique like this. I could tell the wood was dry, there was gunk on the top of the dresser and it had SQUARE nails in the top that were coming out. So I am not an expert, but I know square nails are usually a sign of age.

So what needed to be done? First off, the drawers would not close well so I got hubby to help with sanding them just a bit to make them easier to slide in and out.

Next there were some white drips of paint or something in several spots so I cleaned them off as best I could, then sanded finely where they needed extra help. Sometimes gluing the drawers needs to be done using wood glue and clamps. This is needed if there is any separation between the drawer parts. I honestly cannot remember if this was needed on this piece.

Next I got to work on the wood top. There was a sticky substance and something that also looked like candle wax. I lightly used a plastic scraper and got all this off.

Next I got hubby to use a nail set tool to work on the square nails and make them flush with the wood so they were no longer protruding on the top.

Notice how the bottom drawer is so much lighter than the other drawers. This is because the wood had gotten significantly more dried out.

So my solution was actually very simple. I took some linked (affiliate) here: Pledge Revive It Restoring Furniture Oil Spray and applied to drawers, top, sides, everything. Then I took a cloth and rubbed it in, resprayed as needed, especially on that bottom drawer, until it soaked into the wood.

Thankfully the handles were in pretty good shape!

To be honest, that was it!

Can you believe the difference it made?

After: The new and improved dresser

Square nails all even on the top. Still some imperfections, but that gives this piece some character.

All oiled up and looking better! This piece looked so different that the lady I bought it from asked me if it was the same piece, and couldn’t believe it! She said she was tempted to buy it back!

Just a few simple changes, fixes and a little elbow grease made for a great furniture flip.

Hope you enjoyed this project.

More to come on this journey.