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FrontRangeLiving.com -> Home Design -> Antique Restoration
 ANTIQUES RESTORATION: Returning Luster to the Worn and Familiar
By Niki Hayden
Most antiques suffer the rigors of time, although some suffer more than others.
Fragile glass and china sit high on a shelf, always in jeopardy of clumsy hands.
Others simply wear out from use—the faded sofa, a rickety rocking chair that soothed many babies, a table with scratched and marred top. Furniture sags
from the weight of years. But if it’s greatly loved, or highly prized, help is
available. Restoration can bring back faded luster.
Returning that luster is the work of Larry Gossman, a master craftsman who
specializes in restoration. Bring a dilapidated chair or tilting table into his
studio and with a critical eye, he’ll suggest possibilities based upon the
conventional wisdom for revitalizing antiques. He’ll tell you the
history of your chair or table in furniture lore, too.
"If it’s beyond my scope—such as an historical piece that’s very
valuable, I’d tell you to take it to a conservator. You could call a place
like Sotheby’s in New York and they would direct you to a person in your area.
But that’s for a museum piece," Larry says. Museum pieces would include
nearly any furniture from 1400 to 1699 or furniture made by famous makers.
 What would a conservator do that Larry doesn’t do? Well, one example, he
says, is a conservator who pasted paint chips that he had taken off a majestic
clock back onto the surface. It’s a time consuming and expensive endeavor, but
the right approach for extraordinary works of art.
For the rest of furniture, Larry gives a quick history. "Prior to 1832,
all furniture was handmade. And the finishes were handmade. After 1832, most
furniture was machine made and finishes were machine made. So that’s why they
say, ‘don’t strip the furniture.’ " While that’s a good rule to go by,
Larry says that nothing is so final. "There’s good furniture and bad
furniture, even today."
It’s possible to find poorly made handmade furniture and excellent machine
made. Some machine-made furniture from the Gustave Stickley factory in the early
20th century is stunning. "You wouldn’t want to refinish
that," Larry says. Even into the 1950s, the
furniture of Charles Eames is another example of machine-made furniture that is
treated like a prized antique.
 In general, chairs are the objects that are the least likely to survive time.
That’s why you might find one or two left from a set. Victorian Rococo
Revival, with rounded back and dainty legs, is among the most fragile. And the
frail Victorian couches, overstuffed, propped up on thin wooden legs, come in
bedraggled and forlorn, too. "The Victorians sat prim and proper. These
days, we are rough and casual with our furniture and the joints can’t take
it," he says.
"And then," he adds with a sigh, "there’s always damage from
animals." Perched on his worktable is a sturdy, serviceable carved
chair--one rung bracing two legs has been gnawed generously by a puppy.
Larry’s job is to first advise the owner. Is the piece worth saving? Many
are. Some are family heirlooms and beloved above and beyond their value. Others
should be preserved with the damage intact. Those are especially valuable pieces
where the hardship and condition of the table relates a history that collectors
prize. Occasionally, only the varnish has deteriorated and needs to be replaced.
Or poor quality stripping (removing the varnish) has chewed away at the wood.
 Given a chair that has fallen into pieces requires starting
from the
beginning. Larry reaches for sandpaper, beginning with the coarser grain and
gradually moving to finer. He’ll re-glue the chair, and then apply a
stain or Danish oil. "The Danish oil soaks into the wood. It is considered
a complete finish, but I don’t care for it. I find it always dries out and has
to be replaced. It’s easy to work with, but I prefer the built-up finish. I
think it stays looking nice forever," he says.
Danish oil was most popular in the 1950s and '60s on unfinished wood. It’s
casual and can be sanded down if there is damage. Generally, it was applied to
informal furniture. But it does show water stains and doesn’t protect the wood
as completely as a final finish.
In Victorian times, Larry says the carpenters and furniture makers followed a
few guidelines that might not apply today. "They tried to mix woods because
they thought that if one kind of wood might shrink, another would not shrink as
much. They also mixed green wood and seasoned wood because they understood that
all wood shrinks and swells but at different times." Larry has seen
evidence that using green wood for the backs of chairs did provide a terrific
seal when lodged in the seat of a chair made of seasoned wood. Over time, these
makeshift arrangements make less sense and the joints of furniture become
wobbly.
 Aside from a rickety chair, the second most common complaint is a scratched
and marred surface. Since Victorian carpenters used a mixture of linseed oil,
resins and mineral oil, the resins from tree sap never completely dried. The
finish remained tacky--collecting dust, fingerprints and debris. Finishes these
days come with added driers. Often a new finish will restore a
piece that might otherwise look unsightly forever. The old finish recipes also
darken the wood well beyond the original appearance.
With trends in lighter furniture today, collectors love the look of the past,
but not the dark color. In some cases, the wood can be restored to its original
color. Pine, maple and poplar are a few that respond to wood bleaches. But
walnut and mahogany are dark woods and will never be lightened. "The woods
were so different back then," Larry says, "they used old growth trees.
The woods look different and you can be tricked. For example, you might think
you are working with walnut and it turns out to be mahogany. That’s why I also
ask people if I can take a small scratch underneath so that I know what I’m
working with."
And while Larry says he knows his American woods, increasingly, the furniture
brought to him may be made from exotic, imported woods like rosewood. Or it may
be painted furniture from Italy. Each presents a new challenge to restore
without wiping away the authenticity. He believes that European pine was  painted
because pine is too soft to carve. Hardwoods would be preferable for carved
embellishments. If the carpenter wanted to present his customer with a more
ornamented pine chair, decorative painting was the answer.
Ask to name his favorite styles and time periods of furniture, Larry will
leave his small workshop and walk up a winding path to the back of his 1896
Victorian home. Inside, the house is filled with Eastlake, Grand Rapids,
Renaissance Revival and other American Victorian pieces that are large, well
made, gloriously finished and glowing with patina. "My favorite is
Renaissance Revival," Larry says. In the Victorian age of feminine fanciful
designs, the Renaissance Revival remains classic, geometric, and masculine.
But there is comfort in all. Each of the rocking chairs, carved bureaus,
tables and mirrors indicate the elaborate carving, rich wood tones and delicate
detailing that enthralls lovers of Victoriana. And in Larry’s house, many
arrived in pieces, hidden in a cellar or garage. Now they have regained a
prominence that the original cabinetmaker imagined.
 Despite the differences in styles, Victorian furniture companions
beautifully. Oak and walnut wood, overstuffed couches and slender carved
rockers--the shapely lines add rather than detract from the whole. "Of
course, I have a Victorian home," Larry says, and laments that it’s
harder now to find the good buys that once appeared around every corner.
That is all the more reason to prize heirlooms
that are handed down. With careful renovation and good care, a Victorian piece
will last for generations. And even if it looks beleaguered, it’s worthwhile
to at least have an experienced eye look it over. "You’d be
surprised," Larry says, "sometimes I can tell someone that it just
needs to be touched up, nothing more, and it will be just as good."
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