5 Questions to Ask About Refinishing Furniture

Refinishing furniture can be a great DIY project for handy homeowners, but it comes with a caveat: Don’t expect it to be perfect. While fixing up garage sale finds can be a fun weekend project, refinishing antiques and valuable pieces is best left to a pro. Read on and get familiar with some of the furniture refinishing questions you can expect to come across during an initial quotation. 

1. When do you need this work done?

Furniture refinishing is a passion project for most and shouldn’t be rushed. This is doubly so if you need to work with a specialized pro, which is often the case with antiques. Depending on the type of refinishing work you’ll be doing, you need to consider that not everything can be done at once. There will be drying time and curing time that can make the process last weeks instead of days, so patience is key, not to mention you’ll pay a premium for a rush job. Talk to your local furniture refinishing pro to get a detailed estimate of your project’s timeline.

2. What item or items need to be refinished?

Some of the most common items that get refinished are couches, benches, chairs, lamps, and tables. If the items came in a collection, they will likely match, which brings down the cost if you decide to refinish them all at once. In fact, we recommend this, as multiple visits (or even multiple pros) will find difficulty matching stains and possible upholstery—a process much more difficult than doing it a single time.  

3. Will the item or items need new upholstery?

If you have an upholstered item, it will likely need refinishing or replacing much sooner than its structure. The good news is that a skilled furniture reupholstery pro can bring incredible life back into older fabric. The bad news is that it isn’t exactly cheap. If you have upholstered furniture and are open to ideas, consider refinishing the structure and using cushions instead of formal upholstery. 

4. What type of wood finish do you want?

Wood stain isn’t an exact science and can be difficult to match, especially if the existing piece has developed a patina over time. Workers with many years of expertise are the ones you want to hire to match finishes. You don’t want to refinish the leg of a table only for it to look different than the rest. 

5. What state is the furniture in?

Refinishing furniture can be a cost-effective way to bring life back into an older piece, but it can become very expensive and time-consuming if the furniture is in a bad state. Upholstering has less of a price range, as older material is often removed entirely, but wood can become pricey if it’s rotting, warping, or stained. Insects are another factor that could seriously damage your item.