Furniture Restoration and Wood Refinishing in New York City
The fear with furniture restoration is simple: a shop takes your furniture and you are ghosted for months, calls and texts ignored, no communication and no piece. Here you deal with Marcos and the workshop by name, you get a timeframe before pickup, and customers describe consistent updates and photos along the way. NYC Reupholstery restores and refinishes tables, desks, dressers, cabinets, beds and chairs: old finish stripped by hand, veneer and molding repaired, stain matched to your sample, new finish built up in coats. Water rings from an upstairs leak, sun fading and radiator heat marks are the usual New York problems, and all three are fixable. Pickup and delivery in the five boroughs, more than 25 years here. Text photos to (914) 449-4334 for a price.
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If this sounds familiar
"Once he got my furniture, I was ghosted for months"
The worst stories in this trade are about silence: a deposit paid, a piece picked up, and then calls, texts and emails ignored. You should know who has your furniture and when it is coming back. Here that is Marcos and the workshop team, a timeframe given before pickup, and a text line that is answered.
"Someone left a glass on it"
A white ring on the dining table, or veneer lifting after a leak from upstairs. White rings are moisture in the finish and usually come out without stripping the whole top. Lifted veneer can be reglued, and missing veneer patched and colored to match. Send a photo and we will tell you which repair you are looking at.
"The quotes are as high as buying something new"
Sticker shock is fair. Refinishing done properly is slow hand work. The comparison that matters is not a flat-pack table. It is what a new piece of the same build quality costs, and that is far more. A solid wood piece is worth it. Thin veneer over particleboard often is not, and we will tell you that.
What people worry about, answered straight
Will they take my furniture and go quiet?
You get a timeframe before anything leaves your apartment, and you deal with the same people by name from quote to delivery. One customer wrote that she was given consistent updates about the progress of the job and photos along the way.
From a customer review: "I was given consistent updates about the progress of the job and photos along the way." Shelly Highland, couch and loveseat.
Is it worth restoring, or is this just sticker shock?
Worth it: solid wood, a good maker, mid-century pieces where the finish matters as much as the form, and anything made for someone in your family. Often not worth it: mass produced veneer over particleboard. We say which one you have when we see the photos, and whether the surface can be revived or needs a full strip, because a revive costs far less.
What moves the price: revive or full strip, veneer and molding repair, the size of the piece, and the finish it calls for.
Will refinishing ruin it?
It can, in the wrong hands. Sanding through veneer and stripping a finish that only needed cleaning are the two classic mistakes. We strip by hand with chemical strippers, never a belt sander on veneer, and we do not strip what can be revived. We guarantee the job will be done right, or we will make it right. For true antiques, see our antique restoration page, where keeping the original surface is the whole point.
Damage that restoration fixes
- The finish is cloudy, sticky, crazed or worn through to bare wood
- Water rings, heat marks or a leak from the apartment above have stained the top
- One side of the piece faded next to a window and no longer matches
- Veneer has lifted, bubbled or chipped along an edge
- The color is right for a previous apartment and wrong for this one
- The piece is worth keeping but looks like it should be on the curb
Furniture Restoration in New York City, done properly
Restoration is different from repair. Repair makes a piece sound. Restoration brings back how it looks: the color, the sheen, the grain you have not seen under twenty years of wax and water rings. Most of the restoration work we do in New York City is on pieces that have real value, either because they were made well or because they were made for someone in the family. Dining tables from a grandmother's apartment in Forest Hills, a teak credenza bought on Atlantic Avenue in the seventies, a dresser that came with a Riverside Drive apartment and has never left.
Our shop strips old finish by hand with chemical strippers rather than sanding through the veneer, repairs lifted veneer and missing molding, fills and colors damaged spots, then applies the finish the piece calls for: hand rubbed oil, lacquer, conversion varnish for a kitchen table that will see daily use, or shellac and French polish on formal pieces. Re-staining to a new color is common when a piece is moving from one apartment's palette to another.
We restore tables, desks, dressers, cabinets, bookcases, beds and headboards, chairs and bar stools, and mid-century modern pieces where the finish matters as much as the form. Water damage from a leak upstairs, sun fading from a south facing window, and heat rings from radiators are the three most common New York problems, and all three are fixable.
How it works
- 1Text photos to (914) 449-4334, including close-ups of the damage and one of the whole piece.
- 2We quote the restoration and tell you whether the surface can be revived or needs a full strip.
- 3Pickup in the five boroughs, blanket wrapped. Large tables come apart at the leaves and base.
- 4Old finish is removed by hand. Veneer, molding and carving are repaired. Dents and gouges are filled and colored.
- 5Stain is matched to your sample or to the original, then the finish is built up in coats and rubbed out.
- 6Hardware is cleaned or replaced, felt added, and the piece is delivered and set up.
What you can hold us to
- You deal with a person: Marcos and the workshop team, by name, at (914) 449-4334
- A timeframe before pickup, and updates with photos while the piece is with us
- If we find hidden damage once the old cover is off, you hear about it and approve the price before any extra work is done
- We guarantee the job will be done right, or we will make it right
- A quote from your photos, usually the same day, that says what is being done
- Hand stripping and finishing. No belt sanders through the veneer
- Veneer, molding and carving repair done in house
- Pickup and delivery across the five boroughs
- 25+ years of finishing work for New York apartments
From a New York customer
More reviews“Marcos is as professional as it gets and truly a hard worker. I was given consistent updates about the progress of the job and photos along the way. I was so nervous to see the final product for no reason at all. My couch and loveseat turned out spectacular.”
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Questions about furniture restoration
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Furniture Restoration questions from New York customers
Is furniture restoration worth it?
For solid wood furniture, yes. Refinishing is expensive because it is slow hand work, and it still costs substantially less than replacing the piece with something modern of the same build quality. For mass produced veneer over particleboard it usually is not worth it, and we will tell you so from the photos.
Does refinishing destroy the value of a piece?
On a true antique, stripping the original finish can lower resale value, which is why we clean and revive original surfaces wherever we can and only strip when the finish is past saving. On a well made twentieth century table, dresser or credenza, a proper refinish brings the piece back and costs far less than replacing it.
Is veneer repair worth the time and money?
Usually, when the veneer is over solid wood or good plywood. Lifted edges are reglued, bubbles are flattened, and missing sections are patched with matching veneer and colored in. When the veneer sits on swollen particleboard after water damage, the core is the problem and the repair rarely lasts.
How much does it cost to refinish furniture in NYC?
It depends on the size of the piece, whether the finish can be revived or needs a full strip, and how much veneer or carving repair is involved. Tables with leaves and dressers with drawers take longer than a chair or side table. Text photos to (914) 449-4334 and we quote it in writing, usually the same day.
Can water damage on a wood table be fixed?
Yes. White rings are moisture trapped in the finish and can often be lifted without a full strip. Dark rings and raised grain from a leak mean the water reached the wood, so the top gets stripped, bleached where needed, re-stained and refinished.
What is the difference between restoration, refinishing and repair?
Repair fixes structure, such as a broken leg or loose joint. Refinishing replaces the surface finish. Restoration is the whole job: structure, surface, color, hardware, and any missing parts, done so the piece looks as it was meant to.
Can you change the color of my furniture?
Yes. Re-staining a piece to a lighter or darker color is common when furniture moves between apartments. We strip to bare wood, then match a stain sample you approve before finishing.
Do you restore mid-century modern furniture?
Often. Teak and walnut credenzas, Danish chairs and Eames era pieces respond well to oil finishes and careful veneer work. We keep the original character rather than over-glossing them.
Find out if it can be revived or needs a full strip
Text photos for a same day quote. Pickup and delivery in all five boroughs, 25+ years of upholstery in New York.