I have to laugh, because I have that same sideboard, but I believe I still have the original bakelite handles (looks like you have two of the original handles on your bottom drawer). Mine was "well loved" when we got it. Personally, I don't mind the nicks and dings. Part of its charm.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sideboard

*smiles*

I don't have a clue how much to fix it up. If this one weren't important to you, I would just suggest hitting Craigslist for another vintage sideboard. With termite damage, It doesn't seem worth fussing over to me.

Red

If you only hate the legs and hardware, it's a simple fix. The legs will be the more expensive item that you have to buy just because those types of pieces usually are. I know they have a section with those things at Lowe's and probably Home Depot, too (ours isn't open yet, but we've had Lowe's for a good ten years.) Cut them off and attach new ones. Then head over to the the hardware and pick up some new handles.

Do you hate the color of it? I think it looks pretty good as is but you could always paint if you like the style but not the real wood veneer look. Or if it just needs polished good, I use Pledge Orange Oil to rejuvinate old pieces that we have around here.

BTW~My DH has a dresser that is the same style. For years he whined about the day he would get rid of that thing and how much he hated veneer. Yes, it's veneer but REAL wood veneer, not like the crap we have today. His dresser is still in great shape structually and he wouldn't find something today that was built quite like it. He's grown to love it! LOL

I'm not for tossing perfectly good pieces. I find ways to make them work in our home and keep them. It's a lot cheaper that way!

You say it has sentimental meaning to you - then I'd keep it. I love pieces that have been in the family. I don't think it'd be hard to fix it and it doesn't look in that bad shape to need to be refinished. Rather than having it stripped and completely redone, you may be able to do it yourself. I can't think of what the stuff is called, but you wipe it on and it fills in scratches, etc.

tina

I would keep it, but I LOVE old stuff. How bad is the termite damage? If it isn't too bad you could fill it with wood filler and stain the filler it to match. Then watch ebay and craigslist for the drawer pulls.

If the only major thing is cutting the legs down, how much has to go? You could turn it around and use as a sofa table since it appears there is room behind your couch. DH wouldn't have to see it in full view every day. Adding antique wheels to the bottom of legs cut off would bring it back up to height. There are some simple restoration products out that are easy to use and make major difference in looks. Check with an antique store, they use easy wipedown products to do this. Obviously I'd keep it too if it were me.

i like it...but more importantly, your cat likes it.
a little old english scratch cover and you're good, IMO. i think new legs are a possibility. as long as they are wood and a similar shape. kren

I was thinking what mom2 was; if termite damage isn't bad, just fill the holes with wood filler or putty. You can even get it in colors to closely match the existing stain so it might not even be noticeable. (Take a drawer to HD and check the flooring section, they have some pretty good tinted fillers made for hardwood flooring. Or check your local independent paint dealer or hardware.)

I've refinished a lot of furniture, and honestly from what I see in the photo that piece does not warrant stripping and refinishing. Working with antique laminates can get tricky, some are more delicate or fragile from age, storage, etc.

I use Restore-A-Finish for pieces that don't warrant a full refinish job. For that piece I'd suggest Walnut tint or Mahogany. (Cherry is too red, imho). Sears Hardware has the best selection of tints I've found, my Ace carries it too. Clean the wood well first. I like Formby's Deep Cleansing Build-Up Remover, or if not terribly dirty just a mild dishwashing liquid in water. (No Murphy's Oil soap, it can gunk up the finish on wood.) If you opt for detergent/water, don't saturate the rag with water, wring it out well.

Once clean and dry go on to the RAF. This stuff is really potent smelling and if you can do it outside in the garage, better. I've done stuff inside in winter, but had to use a fan in the window set as exhaust, pulling the odor out of the room. You can either wipe RAH on with a rag or super fine (Grade #0000) steel wool. Wipe only in the direction of the wood grain with steel wool and test first, underside or inconspicuous area would be good. Let the RAF sit for a bit, it will give the color a boost, then wipe per instructions on can. There are further instructions at Howard's web site. Protect the floor too. I cut up contractor (thick) garbage bags if I don't have a painter's tarp on hand, then layer with lots of newspaper.

Follow up with a good paste wax (only need to do that once a year or so). Don't use polishes in the mean time, just dust it. ;) I like Howard's Beeswax or Trewax, although if you search the furniture forum for "paste wax" in recent months another good one was recommended. (Meant to save that post, darn it!)

At the risk of showing this again, this is a vintage Penn House hutch (40's -early 50's) I got on eBay. Seller's original photo and my photo after I did my cleaning & RAF routine on it.

Seller's Before Photo:

My After (I started out with Cherry RAF, too much red, so switched to Mahogany)

If it's sentimental to you, I'd definitely keep it. I'd love to have some old furniture from one of my Grandmothers' houses. Moonshadow's hutch looks great and I'd give her suggestions a try.

Moonshadow, did you fill nicks and dings before you did your refinishing? That hutch looks beautiful. One issue with the sideboard (since I have the same one minus the termite damage) is that it has different grains and colors (doors have a walnut look while the trim pieces are lighter, with a different grain), which I believe may be veneers. Does this change the process at all?

I am also in favor of keeping and refurbishing vintage items if they have sentimental value to you. However, I did want to bring up the termite damage issue as we had out house tented last year. Do you know for sure whether or not this is a live infestation? I guess at this point it would've already happened, but I would hate to see the little buggers get in your house. Can you use some type of fogger spray on it to make sure they are dead?

sarschlos: thank you ;) There were no nicks or dings, it was in near perfect condition except for a light ring on the horizontal surface and years of polishes and crud build up. I, however, managed to put a nice ding smack dab in the middle of the front when I pulled a piece of my pewter out of the upper cabinet and it slipped out of my hand, bounced off the hardwood floor (dinged that too), then bounced against the hutch. :(

I like to be careful with veneers, since they are a layer of wood applied rather than solid wood. Especially vintage or antique. So I treat them with extra TLC just to be safe. Steps would be the same except try the RAF without the steel wool first, just on a rag. If there's some tougher spots, gently use the steel wool. (I should have added above that steel wool is used more gently, with a 'wiping' pressure rather than a harder rubbing pressure like when using sandpaper. IOW, more pressure than when you're dusting but less pressure than when you're trying to get some ick off the stove, if that helps. ;) Otherwise you could well get 'swirl' marks in the finish. Steel wool might leave some 'dulled' areas if you've got say a water ring to rub out, but the Beeswax will shine it right back up again.

The RAF does come in a clear, which just gives the wood a fresher look. Then there's oak, which really doesn't impact shade much. The antique dealer who introduced me to is uses Walnut shade on just about every color stain/type of wood he comes across. Just my humble .02: any woods/stain with earthy brown hues, use walnut shade. Any woods/stain with a bit of red hues, use Mahogany (a brownish red tone). Any light, nearly 'bare' natural, go for either Oak or Natural RAF.

I have my MIL's waterfall cedar chest in the garage (on the To Do list). Beautiful piece but after being stored in her attic with something sitting on it for years there was an area about 3" diameter where the finish was nearly (but not completely) rubbed off the veneer. I really didn't want to strip/refinish it, the veneer is weakening from that attic storage. Didn't want to put stain on that spot, I'd never safely sand it off without damaging the good parts. So with a what-the-heck attitude rubbed some Walnut RAF on the damaged spot and holy cow, it nearly matched the good finished areas. If we ever get warm temps back I might try some Minwax Wipe on Poly (good stuff for small jobs) to get the shine back and see if I can't make that little patch blend back in to where it's barely noticeable.

Oh, that's wonderful! I can't wait to try it! i bought that sideboard 3 years ago and never got around to refinishing it.

Moonshadow, the other good wax is called "Bri-wax" I believe. I use it exclusively on antiques and hand made furniture...it's great!

Thank you for all the responses! Sarah, I can't believe you have the same piece. Do you have any info on it? My mom recalled that my grandfather would always write the year they bought a piece inside it somewhere, but we can't find anything.

And moonshadow, thanks so much for the detailed explanations. I will try that. I think the termite infestation must be long dead, or DH would have put it out of the house (he saw the damage some 8 years ago, and he's good about that stuff. Just picky about furniture.) Looks like we may be moving to a bigger house, so that gives me a little more ammunition for keeping it, too.

Debbie

Hi debbie -- I don't have any info. I bought ours off of ebay as part of a dining room set that included 6 chairs, a table and the sideboard. All of the other pieces were trash, but the sideboard was very cool and in generally very good condition (except for nicks and dings -- could use finish refresher). The PO said it was in her mother's house when she was a kid -- I think she thought it was from 1942ish, and that looks about right to me.

A note about pulls and handles on eBay: I found out the hard way that many of them look very, very similar to the nice ones (brand name) that you saw at the Cabinet Hardware store or Home Depot or Lowes. But when you get them, you will see immediately that they are not made of nickel, brass or anything you hoped. They are made of chrome or tin. The photos are taken/altered so that the finishes are deceiving.

The photos are taken/altered so that the finishes are deceiving.
Wow, that stinks! (Ever wonder if some people even have a conscience?)

Does the seller's feedback at least reflect the deception, so others don't fall into that trap? Or do they just circumvent that by conveniently omitting words like "brass", etc. in the description?

Nothing is 100%. I'm sure that the occasional seller who is not in the *business* of selling cabinet hardware is more honest and I surely have not purchased from every vendor. But I ordered from a few. I should post pictures comparing their photo with an unretouched photo of what I actually got! You would laugh!

I like the lines your sideboard has waaaaaay more than mine. I had posted previously about my DH's great grandmother's buffet that I'd been carting around for over 10 years. I hated this piece. I hated the spindly legs, I hated the curly-que scrolly stuff, and I hated the hardware.

I painted it, and now we all like it again! I figured I'd rather try painting it to something more my style and possibly get some use out of it than letting it just sit in my garage or attic for another 10 years. I would have taken yours in a heartbeat. It has great bones.

Here is a link that might be useful: My eerily similar thread....