Tina Friel

Adventures in restoration. I make old things beautiful.

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this is the first time

This is the first stained glass that Chris and I have made.  Not  bad for 

beginners, huh?

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Cane Seat Chair

Nice little floral trellis pattern on the seat and back for this chair.  Weaving is in great shape for as old as it is.  Trying to decide whether or not to put a little TLC into the back or keep it as-is, the scratches add a bit of character.

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White Oak Mirror

I didn't realize when I was taking these pictures that it was a wormhole to heaven.  Look at those clouds.  I guess a nice mirror is made more beautiful when it reflects something amazing.

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Desk and Student Chair

This little duo means a lot to me because it's the first thing we fixed up together.  The chair originally had no seat or back and it was the first experiment with upholstery too; it was the chair in the left photo.  If I told you how hard it was to get the varnish and paint off of that chair you wouldn't believe me.  Came out pretty damned good though, if I say so myself.  

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Oak Washboard

I can't imagine washing clothes with this.  I guess it makes sense when you think about it.  Thank god for washing machines.  But this looks cooler than a giant white box of metal.

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Two Student Chairs

I cleaned one of these up but not the other.  Not exactly twins but they're close friends.

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Hello

My name's Tina. I'm friendly. I like to make old furniture beautiful again. I gravitate to well-crafted solid wood pieces. My son and I both work on the restoration, so it's a chance to spend time together when we can.

My dream is to find a way to sell the pieces because I figure it's better to send good things into the world than keep them all for yourself. And I'm starting to get back into stained glass, it's been years!

There's a funny story behind my avatar image, bigger version below.

It's a 3d-printed wood brand.  It's actually from a piece of paper I signed, so it's my actual name written out, then converted into Adobe Illustrator, then into a 3d model, sent to Shapeways and printed in stainless steel.  Amazing, right?

Notice anything wrong with it, though?  I wanted to use it as a wood brand, which means I'd heat it up and press it against the wood to stamp it.  Not until I received it did I realized it's a mirror image of what it should be to stamp properly.  D'Oh.  It's still amazingly cool though, you can 3d print metal now.  From furniture hundreds of years old to today, so many things have changed in our lives.

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Antique Rocker

Neat unique original knitting on the seat bottom.  It's a little hard to see in the picture but there's a really nice pattern on the upper back.  This is a dark color, all original.

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Van Sciver Hutch

This Van Sciver hutch is one of my other favorites.  It's so well constructed.  Couldn't carry this one out of the garage for the pictures.  If you have or know of any other good old Van Sciver furniture, let me know!

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Magazine Rack

The most interesting thing about this magazine rack is that I have tons of National Geographic magazines and for some reason I never put them in here.  I should do that.

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Heart Chest

It stole my heart.  Get it?  So I stole it.  Well, I bought it, but it was a good deal anyway.

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Outdoor Bench

I actually found this in the trash and dragged it home.  It's pretty-much-perfect.  Picture me carrying this by myself though, it's bigger than I am.

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Spindle Leg Table

Spindle leg table.  I wonder how they carve out legs like that.  The color is a pretty deep reddish-brown.  About three feet tall.

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Oak Dresser

This might be my favorite.  The keyholes are wood, the whole piece is oak, and the hardware is on swinging hinges.  Reminds me of a dresser my husband and I found in upstate New York thirty years ago that I still have. 

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Antique Trunk

Trunks are cool, right?  This one still has a shipping address on it.  I figure this has seen a few miles.

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Kuehne Chair

Don't know a lot about this one.  The label at the bottom says "Kuehne Mfg. Co." from Trenton.  Popular priced furniture.  Think the design on the upper is kind of cute.

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Heywood Wakefield Chair

This is a little children's school chair.  Kind of grungy metal legs, solid wood seat and back.  Great goodwill find.