Adam King Studio Fine Furniture & Antique Restoration

....that I will be addressing today!

I get this question a lot. As a restorer of antiques this is a constant subject of discussion with clients. The main question is always,

"Will the value decrease if I have my furniture refinished?"

Well, there is no one answer for every situation. It really all depends on the piece of furniture. Let's begin with the piece itself.

First, you have to know if what you have is truly an "antique" or not. The recognized definition of an antique has changed throughout America's history. It wasn't until the 1930's that the current definition came to be. That is, an antique is something that was made over 100 years ago. Now, before you start thinking, "Hey, I knew that," let's look at why.

In 1930, anything that was made before 100 ago was obviously from the 1820's or older. The reason they chose the 100 year mark was due to the fact that after the mid 1830's the majority of household items and furniture were being mass produced in factories. That's right, factories. So, the reason for the 100 year mark was to differentiate between handmade and mass produced. Now, here we are over 70 years later and we are still using the 100 year mark to define if something is an antique. So, if it's 100 years old or older, they say to consider it an antique. Well, now that we have the age established what about the value?

Being an antique DOES NOT make your furniture valuable. Again, being an antique DOES NOT make a piece valuable. This is the big consideration when deciding to refinish a piece or not. An antique that has real value is a piece with aesthetic, historical and collectible significance. What that means is that even though it's old it may not be a piece significant to the collector market. Think about it. If you have a piece of furniture nowadays, 100 years old or older, it was more than likely mass produced. There are many others just like it floating around the area. So, really there is no damage to the value of the piece by being refinished. In fact, its "sentimental value" may increase once you see it fresh and restored.

Now on the other hand, if you know your piece was made by hand, or made before things were mass produced say, from around the Revolutionary War until the early 1830’s, then the overall opinion and preference of antique appraisers and collectors would be to simply leave it alone. Do not remove the "patina" that has developed over the last 200 years or so. Then it WILL lose its value.

So, to answer the question of whether to refinish or not, first, look at the piece and decide if it has historical or collectible significance depending on its age. Is it an antique, and if so is it of any significance? If it is, then you better leave it alone and have an appraiser look at it. If not, then ask yourself if it's a piece with sentimental value. Is it a piece that you plan on keeping in the family? If that's the major concern, then, yes have it restored for your peace of mind.

Well, this subject could go on forever because opinions vary everywhere, but I hope I have helped shed some light on the subject. What do you think? Are there other guidelines to consider when making the decision to have a piece restored? I would love to hear from you. Just drop a note in the comment section below.