Falk Schönfeld
They say one should write about things you do, things you know and enjoy doing. Well, currently I'm in the process of moving in with my girlfriend. Due to work her parents had to move. We got lucky and took over their apartment, now empty except for the kitchen, bath and her childhood room. As it was now as empty as it was ever going to be, this made it the perfect opportunity for renovation. New tiles in some rooms, repolished and refinished parquet in others. While this was a strenuous and costly process, we outsourced it to professionals and were able to stay at my parents' place in the meantime. So when we are not moving existing furniture out of the way, we try to figure out what we want to put in there once the floors are done. Of course, we started with what we already had.
Shortly before we started the renovation, my grandma had to move into a higher care level in her senior living home. This included moving from a two-room apartment into a single room, which is much easier for her to navigate. Some old furniture of hers had to go, so it was handed down to interested family members where possible.
Among other things, I am now the proud owner of a large teak dinner table, seating 6 in normal configuration and 12 when extended. It is probably more than twice my age and would be way out of my price range if I bought it new. I got it and 6 matching chairs, with a few signs of use. Totally acceptable after the decades my grandparents had it.
I feared the table surface might be scratched or have some water damage as my grandma left some plant pots on it, but it was in good enough shape that I refrained from sanding it. To restore it I just spread teak oil on it and it restored the patina nicely, even the spots I had worried about.
The chairs got the same treatment as well as new felt feet to avoid scratching the freshly restored floor. My girlfriend also found some fitting cushions so they are even more comfortable.
The table has already been used by my D&D round a few times, and having the option to extend it definitely helps when you need space for character sheets, drinks, snacks, maps and heaps of dice.
Another treasure I got was a Pfaff 130 sewing machine table. The sewing machine still works. It is the kind with a foot pedal to work the machine. The leather pulley broke it. Since it had stretched out over time, I was able to bend open the wire connecting the ends, cut off the frayed ends and bend the connector back in shape to reconnect everything. To fix up the dents in the table, I sanded the top down a bit with an excenter grinder, and applied a 1:1 wood sealer to EV-thinner combo, which worked nicely. I also applied that to the (less worn, but slightly more dented) side boards of the sewing table, which also worked wonders. I did not want to sand those down as they have decorative grooves and other nooks and crannies hard to reach with a sander. The other thing I had to 'repair' was the blocked keyhole. The sewing machine table can be folded closed and locked in place to save space and for transportation. Some dumb kid (unfortunately I'm 99% it was me) stuffed in a folded and rolled up post it into the keyhole. The sins of the past thus came back to haunt me, and I spend some 15 minutes to get it out.
I've sewn things before (tool rolls and a boulder chalk bag) and I'll definitely try how the old school human powered sewing machine compares to a modern electric one as soon as inspiration for the next project strikes.
I now have two great new old pieces of furniture. Not only do they remind me of childhood memories with my grandparents everyday, I also saved money since I did not have to buy a new table (even if I did have to rent a van to get everything home).
If someone you know has to throw out furniture, take a good look if it might be worth fixing up, it often is really easy. It is especially nice if it means you can to save a piece which is connected to good memories. And it is much easier to tell your grandma her table is used and loved by her grandchildren than that you chucked it in the trash last week.
In this case, the repair was rather easy: All I needed was a brush, some sealant and thinner and oil. I used stuff I had, but I doubt I would have paid more than 30€ for the supplies if I bought them new. I used a grinder, since I had one lying around anyway, but it would have probably worked very well without one, judging from the sides of the sewing machine table. Of course, you also need a bit of time and space: I was lucky that I could take over my parents' garden and garage for a weekend for the actual repair (and some more until I could actually move the stuff to my place).
Of course it could go wrong and you mess up. But if it is old furniture that had to go anyway, I don't see that as a loss. If you tried your best and failed is still better than never trying it in the first place!