Hi...I have a beautiful little end table in my living room made by Hekman. I love it and it seems really well made/good quality. I bought it from my local Stickley Furniture store, and they sell mostly high end quality furniture, so I'd say they're a reputable brand. I can't vouch for the upholstered pieces they make, though ....

How much it costs is a function of the work that needs to be done. Is the finish clean and sound? Will it just need a scuff sanding or total strip and refinish? The best place to take it is a finishing / refinishing shop that is familiar with the products on there and what you want added. While a body shop ("car painter") knows how to spray, it might be outside their expertise of finishes. The most likely finish of a piece of production furniture is nitrocellulose or pre-catalyzed lacquer. I don't think a "conversion varnish" would be the best thing to jump in and start on your own. Some can be quite noxious or toxic without the proper equipment and environment. If you decide to do it yourself, be sure to practice on some scrap wood or cardboard to check your results before starting top and center on your new dresser. You could quickly double or triple the effort to undo what you did and recover from it.

We purchased furniture for a breakfast area earlier this year and looked at collections from both Hekman and Hooker. We ended up choosing a table, six chairs, and a credenza with a baker's rack from Hekman's Maison de Provence line. We have been very pleased with it so far and in our un-expert opinion it was superior to what we saw from Hooker. Obviously it is not the quality that you would find in furniture from Century and some of the other high end companies, but we had a whole house to furnish and wanted to keep costs down for this room. I feel that Hekman offers a reasonably good product for the price.

I am happy with my Shermag set. Looks like they are offering much more contemporary styles than when I purchased my shaker-inspired set. Oh, wait, I see that they were acquired by Bermex !