FURNITURE: BUY NEW OR RESTORE?
Back in the 1990s, Barney & Carey accidentally got into the furniture repair and refinishing business. Cindy and I were regulars at the highly esteemed Boston steakhouse, Grille 23 & Bar, and we became friends with the general manager, Tim. One day, he complained to us about the pile of damaged chairs they had amassed and that he couldn’t find anyone to repair them.
I immediately thought, “Why not us? We can build all sorts of furniture, so why not repair it?” I told him we would like to do it and suggested that the work be billed by time and materials (T&M), since quoting a fixed price would wind up being more expensive. In general, I have found that you can save a lot of money by using a trusted contractor (like us!) on a T&M, rather than a fixed-price basis. With a fixed price, contractors must protect themselves against the unknown, especially when dealing with repairs and restorations.
Tim agreed to a trial, handing us six chairs to be fixed. Upon inspecting them, I couldn’t get over the damage! These were heavy, well-built, and expensive chairs; how did they get so wrecked? They had broken legs, arms, spindles, and rails, not just loose parts that needed to be re-glued. I asked him if he had brawls taking place where patrons threw chairs at each other. He didn’t know how they got broken.
We repaired them, and he was satisfied with the price. There were lots more, so I suggested we barter our work for meals, to which he happily agreed! The smashed chairs kept coming, and we enjoyed many a great meal for restoring them! One evening, I saw Rob Reiner walking toward the restroom, and I called out, “Hey, Meathead!” He turned around with a big smile and shook my hand.
Since those days, Barney & Carey has gone much deeper into furniture restoration. We have handled just about every type of project one can imagine. (Check a previous blog, “History”, about the historical furniture restoration we did for the Thomas Crane Public Library in Quincy.) Sometimes, people bring us damaged furniture with worn-out finishes and are deciding whether to restore it or just buy new. The answer depends on a lot of things. Is it an heirloom that has important sentimental value? Is it too far gone to warrant the cost? Most importantly: what is its quality?
Have you gone to a high-end furniture company and priced out really well-built pieces? For the price of some dining room sets, one could buy a new car! Low- or even mid-priced new furniture at the “big box” stores is usually mass-produced and mediocre, or even junk. I am regularly amazed at the ways they cut corners on materials and construction practices to keep the price down. So, if you have an old piece of well-made furniture in need of serious repair, by having Barney & Carey restore it, you will wind up with a much higher quality example at a much lower price than if you bought new. Yes, new furniture of high quality is available, but be prepared to gasp at the quote!
The best thing to do is to bring your furniture piece in to us for inspection. We will be happy to give you an estimate as well as let you know whether we think it is worth restoring. Many of our customers buy old furniture at yard sales, etc., then bring it to us to restore. And while at our shop, there is usually restored furniture for you to inspect and lots of before/after photos.
Here are a few examples!
