Grace Woodwork
Antique Furniture Restoration in East Texas
Grandmother's dresser, a pie safe from the old house, a pedestal table that has been in the family since the boom years. We repair antiques and heirlooms with methods that respect their age, and we keep the original finish whenever it can be saved.
Restoration starts with doing less
An antique carries its history in its finish, its tool marks and the way it was put together. Good restoration fixes what is broken and stops there. West Virginia University Extension puts it plainly: restoring an old finish should not take it down to bare wood.
That is how we approach older and family pieces. Loose joints are taken apart and reglued. Lifted veneer is laid back down. Missing moldings, feet and drawer parts are made from matching wood. The original finish is cleaned and revived wherever it is sound, and only replaced where it is truly gone.
Much of the furniture in East Texas homes came with the house or the family: dressers, chests, pie safes, wardrobes, pedestal tables and church pews built when Kilgore and its neighbors were growing fast. Those pieces are often the ones most worth keeping.
Before you strip an antique
Collectors generally pay more for an original finish than for a refinished one of similar quality, and on a rare piece the difference can be dramatic. A Woodshop News column notes that Antiques Roadshow appraisers often say a refinished piece would have been worth many times more with its original finish. The same column reports Roadshow's producer saying that well-done refinishing usually enhances the value of most old furniture, with rare original-condition pieces the exception.
The practical rule: if a piece might be rare or valuable, have it appraised first, and leave the finish alone until you know. If it is a family piece you want to use every day, a sound restoration and, where needed, a refinish are both reasonable choices. We will tell you which we would do and why.
- Keep loose pieces of veneer, molding or hardware and bring them with the piece
- Do not glue, nail or tape anything back yourself before we see it
- Keep the piece out of direct sun and away from heat and cooling vents
- Note any family history, labels or marks; they help date the piece
How we work on older pieces
Glue that can be undone. Older furniture was usually assembled with hide glue. Conservators still use it because it can be softened and reversed later, and fresh hide glue bonds to old hide glue. That is why the glue used on an antique matters, and why we ask about a piece's age and history before regluing it.
Original parts kept. A cracked drawer side is repaired rather than replaced. Old hardware is cleaned and refitted. Where something must be made new, it is made from a matching wood and finished to sit quietly beside the old.
Marks left alone. Initials scratched under a drawer, a maker's stamp, a pencil date on the back: these stay. Where a mark looks deliberate or personal, we ask before touching it.
Honest about cost. Some restorations cost more than the piece would sell for. If it matters to your family, that may not matter. We tell you the number either way.
Common questions
Is there antique furniture repair near me?
Grace Woodwork restores antique furniture in our Kilgore shop and takes work from across East Texas, including Longview, Tyler, Henderson and Marshall. Send a photo of the piece and the damage to start.
Will restoring my antique lower its value?
Careful repair of loose joints, lifted veneer and missing parts generally helps an antique. What can hurt value on a rare piece is stripping its original finish. If you think a piece could be valuable, have it appraised before any finish work.
How old does furniture have to be to count as an antique?
Definitions vary. U.S. Customs uses more than 100 years for its antiques tariff exemption, while dealers often use the word more loosely. For a repair, the age matters less than how the piece was built and finished.
What is the difference between restoring and refinishing an antique?
Restoration cleans and repairs the piece and keeps as much of the original wood and finish as possible. Refinishing removes the old finish and applies a new one. On an antique we try the first before considering the second.
Can you repair a family piece that is falling apart?
Usually. Loose joints, broken legs, split boards, lifted veneer and missing moldings are all repairable. We will tell you plainly if a piece is too far gone or the cost does not make sense.
Send a photo and we will tell you what it needs.
A phone picture is plenty. You will hear what the piece needs, what it will cost and roughly how long it will take before anything starts.
- HoursMonday to Friday, 9am to 5pm
- The shopKilgore, Texas, working across East Texas
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