By Warren Cobb - Community Editor - West Of (West Ashley's Independent Community Newspaper)

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

 

Antique furniture restoration is not for the faint of heart. With the cost of fine antiques soaring, you don't want to take your circa 1820 gaming table to just any monkey with a bucket of stain for restoration.

Even though he's only been in the business for a decade (he says this is his third career), West Ashley resident Paul Gabarini has quickly gained a reputation for top-quality work. His company, Heirloom Finishes, located on Dorchester Road, has repaired and restored antique furniture for nearly all of the major players in the King Street antiques district, as well as all of the antique pieces at the Mills House Hotel.

Garbarini came to Charleston in 1997, and has been a resident of South Windermere for three years. He learned everything he knows about furniture finishing on the job, while working for a downtown furniture maker/restorer. He hung up his shingle three years ago, and recently added another conservator, Craig Cianciolo, to his staff.

"I've always liked making wood look good," Garbarini says. "Not necessarily to make stuff look new, but to maintain the integrity of the original piece."

The integrity of the piece can also be translated as the dollar value. A few years ago, a late-18th century Charleston-made breakfast table rocked the antiques world when it fetched over $266,000 at auction, making it the record holder for the most expensive piece of American furniture ever sold.

"When I'm working for collectors, and they have a piece that's 200 years old, it's important to restore it properly," says Garbarini. "I use historically appropriate glue that's treatable and reversible."

Although many antique furniture conservators dabble in building reproduction furniture, Garbarini says that process takes too long. "There's an immediate gratification from making a repair," he says, "Much more than building an entire piece. And I like the look on my clients' faces when they get it back and it meets or exceeds their expectations."

However, depending on the value of the piece, he doesn't recommend people do their own refinishing. But if they do want to give it a go, he's ready to help. "I'm always willing to give out information and impart whatever I know," he says.

Recently, Garbarini began teaching a few classes on finishing at Woodcraft on Savannah Highway. Garbarini is in the middle of a three-part series on refinishing furniture at the West Ashley store. He's taught several classes on finishing and refinishing for the craft store, including the difficult art of the French polish.