I’ve been working on restoring an antique Silvertone phonograph for a few months. I got into painting furniture, because stripping, refinishing and restoring is so tedious and takes forever. Just give me a brush and a couple of hours and let it be done! But, sometimes it’s worth it and I’ve found a labor of love is good for my patience every now and then.
I have wanted a photograph for several years and finally got one in a furniture lot I purchased shortly before the Lucketts Spring Market this year. It had good bones and still worked (yay!), but it had been neglected and showed some pretty nasty water damage.
I cleaned, stripped, sanded, stained and refinished the piece and, I must say, I am super proud of myself and how it turned out. We do still need to replace the veneer on the bottom of the sides and back, but I felt like it was finished enough to bring it up into the house. I was nervous about getting paint on it as it hung out in the basement and I wanted to be able to enjoy it. I tried it by the piano, but it was too dark and heavy there, so I moved it into a corner of the dining room. It fits perfectly…
So, I listened to old 78’s as I cleaned yesterday. “If you were the only girl in the world”, “It might as well be spring” and “Dream a little dream of me” crackled out of the old speaker. Yes, I had to stop cleaning after each song to change the record and turn the crank again, but some things are worth the extra effort. I even had a song in French that was fun to listen to. No clue what the lady is singing about, but everything sounds good in French to Francophiles.
I also still need to replace the speaker fabric, but I’m a little nervous about taking everything apart to do that. I’ll get up the nerve one of these days…
And I got a huge stack of records in the mail a couple of days ago, so I listened to some of those as well. My blog buddy, Breida with a B, scored about 70 phonograph records at an estate sale for $12 and snapped them up, knowing I would want them. She even shipped them to me from New York! What a friend, right?
And, my neighbor collects records, so he’s given me a few also. I’m on the hunt for a few specific songs. I’ve seen them on eBay, but they are pretty pricey, so I’m going to hunt for them when I’m out shopping.
The hunt, after all, is part of the fun.
(If anyone happens to have Bei Mir Bist Du Schon on a 78 hanging around, I’ll take it off your hands! That’s at the top of my list.)
And, remember these chairs?
They look different from the last time you saw them. They were a greenish/gold when I purchased them a couple of years ago. I painted over that with Shutter Gray and an Ironstone wash. They didn’t seem to look their best in gray, so I painted one of them in Ironstone, but at this point they were so gummed with paint, it just wasn’t working for me.
I started stripping one of them with the heat gun and the paint was coming off pretty easily, but it was going to take me hours of not-so-fun work. Plus that cane was a bear to strip.
A few months ago, I had four caned dining chairs stripped for $50/each and they turned out great. So, I decided to pass these chairs along to the pros as well. For $60/each, they were stripped down to the bare wood and they look beautiful. These are nice antiques with carved details and all of the caning is done by hand, so they were worth the extra investment.
So, where do I go from here? Should I just stain and finish them? Keep them in a natural wood? Or perhaps paint the frames white and just stain and oil the cane? Maybe an all-over white wash? I’m not sure what I’m going to do, yet, so I’m just going to let them be until I’m 100% sure what I want to do with them.
Decisions, decisions…
56 Responses
Those chairs are gorgeous as they are right now. The color of the stripped wood is really pretty and I’d be inclined to just seal them.
Are the cane chairs for sale?
No right now, but you know how I am! 🙂
Loving how the bare wood looks. I would just seal them to protect them and add a cushion.
Wow, the phonograph came out great! It is a lot of work to refinish a piece of furniture especially the ones with intricate details, but it was worth it! Gorgeous! And those french chairs? I die!
I think I’d leave the chairs au naturel, they’re absolutely gorgeous!
I agree that the bare wood is lovely. For me each piece speaks what it is if I have time to listen. You are miss mustard seed the furniture whisperer I’m sure the chairs will speak to you and will be great.
Marian – the phonograph looks amazing! When the caption said it found a new home – I thought there is no way she gave that up – glad to see you didn’t, it is an amazing piece! Hope all is well!
I am usually not a light wood fan–or real dark anymore. In the middle I guess. Anyway, I am loving the light wood. It is just so beautiful. I think keeping it in a lighter tone with a white wash (at the most) would be prettiest. Those are beauties!
I also have an old phonograph (Victrola) and just learned something you might not know. Playing 78’s made after 1935 on a Victrola will cause the record to wear very quickly, as these records were designed for the lighter tonearms that were used on later electric phonographs. So, it is not a good idea to play “big band” or Frank Sinatra 78’s on any pre-1929 acoustic phonograph. 78 RPM records were produced up until 1958, so many that you come across are too new for your Victor phonograph. My Victrola came with a hugh amount of records and I’m not sure how old they are so I may be ruining them too.
Love the french chairs! You have given me a newfound love of caning. Lol. I like the natural wood of these. The grain is gorgeous. I wouldn’t do more than a light white wash if anything.
Would you be willing to share the name of the place that does your furniture stripping? Thanks!
Beautiful! But get crazy and paint them Tricycle!
I am glad you didn’t paint the old phonograph. Some pieces just look better with the natural wood and it turned out great.
BTW…. The old record you showed “Carry Me Back To Old Virginny” was Virginia’s State song for many years. The Va senate voted to retire the song back in the late 90’s and adopt a new state song that reflected a more modern day Virginia. The old song was sung by an African American singer in the voice of a former slave recounting his days in Virginia. However, to my knowledge an official state song has still not been officially adopted.
I’d consider liming the wood and cane backs with liming wax. And it’s just my opinion, but I prefer cane backs to be finished in the same manner as wood. They will be pretty chairs no matter how you finish them. Great job on the phonograph!
I think they would be beautiful in a soft yellow with a white wash over them.
I’d say…just seal those babies or add some hemp oil and let their natural grain shine!! They’re beautiful as is!!
Hugs,
Gail
I would leave the chairs in their current state! Gorgeous!
Oh those chairs are soooo gorgeous as-is! I’d say protect the wood (hemp oil I believe?) and be done. Bare finish is so very “in” these days for French antiques….. but a classic for sure. They’ve got that certain “it” and I don’t think they should be painted (like a beautiful woman who doesn’t need make-up….. okay now I’m jealous of the chairs! ;).
They are so beautiful in their current state. I would definitely not rush into painting them without thinking about it long and hard!
I love the natural look of the chairs as is! I would just make some sort of a really natural looking white seat cushion for them. I wouldn’t go with a pattern as there is so much pattern in the chair design. They are beautiful and neutral and masculine and feminine at the same time.
Beautiful chairs. It pretty much depends on the decor of the room if you leave them as is. The lines and intricacies of the caning make this a win win, no matter which way you go.
Love the record player. I think Downton Abby had a sceen with a record player? I think it had a horn. Are you going to replace the fabric behind the filagree?
Love the chairs as is. My only concern is that the caining might be very dry from the dipping.
Maybe they need some oil?
There used to be stripper place over in Mystic, Ct. called “Jack the Stripper.” Long gone.
Evrything you touch turns to gold. Good for you.
I love them in their current state — maybe just some hemp oil or a little poly?
I agree with Amy–they are very beautiful now, largely because the natural color is so soft. Take your time with these!
Stripping furniture dries the wood, so I would put some hemp oil on them and perhaps add cushions and/or pillows to protect the cane from wear. The phonograph is beautiful.
Love the chairs as is. Some wax or a sealer should do it. Love the old phonograph !!
Those chairs are lovely as they are! I think they have found their calling.
Please tell us what process they use to stip your chairs. I once dipped some chairs and they were so dried out they were ruined. These look smooth and beautiful. do they soda blast? Do they dip in chemicals? Good to know what chemical they use if I ever dip my furniture.
Lovely work. Thank you.
Oh, both the phonograph and the chairs are gorgeous!
I am sure you would come up with a perfect solution for the chairs. Somehow, I keep thinking it might be painted frames (a light color) and stained cane… In any case, whatever you come up with would be perfect.
I’m actually loving the look of the raw wood! Some pretty seat covers a little oil and you might be set.
Interesting because I just redid some cane chairs and before that I redid a gorgeous cabinet that has a Heintzman phonograph from 1922 McLagan Fletcher tone arm, which is the last word in tone arm construction, it is made of solid die cast metal and is solid and substantial and artistic in appearance and has a crank arm that plays 78s and the sound from the speakers is phenomenal!!
The cane chairs are old and beautifully shaped. When the customer brought them to me, they were half sanded and looked like dalmation chairs. I refinished them (including the cane) with chalk van gogh fossil paints and protected the finish with clear and french caffeine wax.
Let me know if you are interested in seeing the pictures.
Cheryl
The phonograph came out great! I really love the fretwork on the front.
I like the chairs as is, too. 🙂
I have many old records of my mothers that I’m trying to find a good home for. Lots are classical, but I also have Broadway Shows such as “Oklahoma” and “The Sound of Music.” Please email if you are interested.
As I look for Louis chairs I’m amazed at what some describe as “antiques”. I turned 79 in May so even I’m not yet an antique. During my lifetime I’ve seen a lot of chairs and a lot of them that are referred to as “antiques” are not, they’re reproduction albeit….good ones.
As a little girl I would sing along and dance to music played on my Grandma’s Victrola which looked a lot like yours. There were recordings by the Mills Brothers and Rudy Vallee among others. I would take the advice of the gal who wrote you regarding the weight of the arm when playing the later ’70’s records, sounds like she know what she’s talking about. My late aunt got the Victrola, wouldn’t it be amazing if that was the same one.
I just bought some Louis (fakes) off of Craigslist. Their finish was what sold me, they look like the ones you’ve pictured. Leave them alone, especially if you have the remotest idea of selling them, then someone else can make that decision for themselves. Love your daily blog.
I vote for white wash all over. As soon as I saw them that’s what I thought of. Can’t wait to see them – whatever you choose.
Well, as you know by now, we who follow your blog always have an opinion. What you’ve done with these cane back chairs is wonderful. When I see the original wood with a hint of the colors from it’s many coats of stains and paints from it’s past I simply love it “as is.” A coat of cream wax would protect it and then all it would need is one of your seat cushions.
I’ll wait and see what you decide.
Funny record story: when I was helping clean out my husband’s grandmother’s home, we found several records with a perfect extra round hole in the same section of each. Turns out, the record shelf was against a wall and his late grandpop drilled a little too far when installing something on the opposite wall. He never told grandmom and she was surprised as we were.
As for the chairs, I think they are lovely as is, so just a sealer is my vote. =)
I am generally for painting but I love these chairs as they are. At first u had thought they had a light white wash on them. They look perfect to me!
I love them in the natural wood.
Such a beautiful silvertone…it brings history alive! The chairs are quite special too!
The phonograph is so pretty! Who knew? You did a wonderful job. I have seen vintage phonographs (or parts for) on other websites. Perhaps you might find some inspiration or be able to purchase some fabric for the speaker there.
If your chairs were mine…I’d wait until I was pretty certain (can we ever be 100% certain?) what I wanted to do with them. Too many times I have rushed to finish an item, only to wish I’d either waited or considered other finishes before jumping in. They are beautiful “as is”.
Love the chairs as they are now, bare wood at least till you move. The photograph is awesome! Could you possibly video it playing so we all can hear it!!!
Those are great chairs and I would guess that they are true antiques (because of the hand-caning) or else they were produced by a high-end company in Europe. Sheet cane pretty much brought an end to hand caning. I’ve hand-caned old chair seats and it takes forever, though I’ve read that an expert can do a chair a day. I do know that part of owning caned chairs, if one wants them to last, is to take them outside in the shade once a year and sponge water on the cane. It helps the cane last and reduces the time before the cane dries out and breaks. Its another beautiful lost art. One way that I research how to take care of antiques or restore them is by going to conservation websites. There are so many fabulous sites out in the Internet world where one can learn how to get the musty smell out of an old book, clean delicate textiles or restore the shine of a gilt frame.
They sure are pretty the way they are. Maybe some hemp oil and call it a day. Almost too pretty for paint.
Bare with liming wax for sure!
Once again you have inspired, I am going to get an old iron bed I have had in basement for 10 years “soda blasted”. It is worth the expense.
Leave them like they are!!! They look absolutely beautiful. A pretty cushion is all they need 🙂
How about applying a coat of white wax and call it a day. They would look great!
I love what you did with the phonograph! I’ve stripped and refinished quite a few pieces, but never anything that intricate. I had to smile at the line “everything in French sounds good to Francophiles.” I totally get that! Lovely work, as usual!
I love the idea of having a restored phonograph in a house. Yours looks so pretty! With regards to the chairs, the raw wood looks very nice. I have a question about caning. I have a wing chair with caning, the frame is very dark wood but the cane is light natural colour. I wanted to stain the cane to make it a little darker and was going to apply a varnish to seal it so cleaning would be easier but then I read somewhere that if you apply varnish on cane, it could crack. Any comments on this? Thanks in advance.
I LOVE them with their natural finish!!!!! So beautiful as is!!!
An old phonograph! How lucky to find one is such good condition. My parents had an old one in the sun porch. I used to love putting the records on, and we especially love to turn the crank. They were big band fans, so they had many albums.
Leave them natural…they are so beautiful!
Absolutely leave them natural!
I just did a set of barrel caned chairs in grain sack and I am in the same place you are. I am not sure if I love them! I would say with your beauties leave them natural. I might go back to that with these! HA I have learned along my painting journey, when all else fails and your stumped, go back to the beginning. Sometime thats is exactly how pieces are meant to exist. (However, not all of them, or us furniture painters would be out of business!!) 🙂
I love the natural color of them since they have been stripped down. Sometimes less is more,especially when it brings out the beauty in a piece as it has in these chairs!