Monday, July 21, 2014

A Blue Federal Sideboard

It's always pleasant to work on a very fine piece of furniture. This Federal mahogany and mahogany veneer sideboard is what we call 'second period'. Some refer to this as 'Colonial Revival' but as this piece of furniture is Federal in style (i.e. after the forming of the United States) it's not Colonial at all. It probably dates to c.1910-1935 and what makes it quite special the the attention to detail of the form. From the bail brass drawer pulls to the dramatic serpentine swell of the front, it's a very very close copy to those made by Thomas Howard of Providence Rhode Island c.1790-1815.

I sanded, stained, and sealed the mahogany top, and painted the case in a custom mixed chalk paint with Behr's Sea Spray as a base. After the paint I distressed and applied a dark wax finish. I kept the original hardware because it's stunning. Before and afters below!












2 comments:

  1. Just have to ask, do you do this for a store, do you have a store?

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  2. To get that answer you'll have to stop by again tomorrow. :)!!!!! But otherwise, I mostly list these objects on my local craigslist page.

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