Usually my commissions are for new looking furniture. Traditional or Modern in design but with fresh new surfaces and a finish straight from the hand and shop of the maker. This piece was a copy of an antique table recently sold at auction. The owner wanted the new table to mirror the aged condition of the antique.
Copying the table was fun. Getting the sweep of the leg right took three fine tuning revisions of the original drawing. Shopping for just the right marble was an adventure that led me to some new sources for both the stone and the fabrication. But the most fun was creating an old look. This involved finishing the table, removing most of the finish, crating signs of wear and refinishing over it all. My tool kit for that consisted of various "tools" for rubbing, nicking, scratching and denting the wood in just the right ways to replicate two hundred years of use. My favorite and most useful tool was an old rock I chose from the forest. The rock had many different textures and shapes that could be pushed, dragged, rolled or hit against the table "just so". Other "tools" were materials in the form of stains, glazes, dust, dirt and tar. Finally a selection of clear and colored shellacs applied by pad, spray and brush followed by dulling wax and steel wool sealed the deal.
I think the results are quite good. Have a look and see what you think.
