Cliff's Furniture Restoration - formerly Vermilion Furniture Renewal

Cliff's Furniture Restoration - formerly Vermilion Furniture Renewal I am passionate about bringing your furniture back to life.

My client loved the size of this table, so instead of replacing it decided to have it refinished. Made of largely venee...
02/22/2026

My client loved the size of this table, so instead of replacing it decided to have it refinished. Made of largely veneer pieces the challenge here is balancing how far you sand with the damage done by allowing the finish to wear off. After carefully sanding down within my comfort level, stained the piece, which consisted of oak and mahogany veneers, dark walnut to go with their chairs. I applied four coats of polyurethane protective finish. From where it was when I started to how it ended up, I am very pleased with how the table worked out.

Having a little time between jobs, I decided to take on this personally owned buffet. Purchased from an antique store i...
01/17/2026

Having a little time between jobs, I decided to take on this personally owned buffet. Purchased from an antique store in Elk Point, we had used it as a stereo stand and music storage in our living room in Vermilion. Stained dark to unify what I found to be a combination of walnut solids and quartersawn oak plywood panels, we decided to keep a similar look. After repairing some loose joinery went with a dark walnut semi-transparent stain. The old stain used to cover the piece previously was a gel-type stain which covers the graining of the wood. Semi-transparent stains along with polyurethane finishes enrich the grain. Returned to its new home position we are very pleased with the result.

I really enjoy it when clients desire to repurpose furniture. This buffet is going to be used as a vanity. When my cli...
01/17/2026

I really enjoy it when clients desire to repurpose furniture. This buffet is going to be used as a vanity. When my client first contacted me she was in the midst of refinishing this piece but had burned through the top’s veneer when sanding. If you look closely at the pictures you can tell it is a veneer because the different veneer panels look a lot alike in a process called book matching (imagine two veneer pieces sliced and opened side by side like you would a book). One of the options considered was to replace the veneer but given the cost was put aside. When discussing the piece on delivery we settled on placing a narrow plank at the back to cover the area damaged. The left side will house the sink with the pedestal and drawers remaining intact but for new handles. Looking forward to seeing the finished result.

Given the fact this table has, to this point, lasted through three generations, the hope of my client is it will last ma...
12/20/2025

Given the fact this table has, to this point, lasted through three generations, the hope of my client is it will last many more. Given the quality of this quarter-sawn oak table I believe it will. A little worse-for-wear coming into the workshop, the tabletop’s finish had worn through. Extra aggressive sanding was needed to eliminate that effect and unify the new finish. The “flecks” or “rays” are absolutely stupendous on this piece. It was a tremendous pleasure working on this century-old piece. Here is hoping this will prepare it for its second century!

This Art Deco style radio cabinet made of mahogany and mahogany veneers is going to be repurposed with new electronics. ...
12/07/2025

This Art Deco style radio cabinet made of mahogany and mahogany veneers is going to be repurposed with new electronics. In the meantime we finished it in a natural stain to highlight its underlying beauty. Looking forward to how it works out.

This suite was purchased in the 1950’s from Eatons. Made from walnut and walnut veneers, it is solidly built. We start...
12/06/2025

This suite was purchased in the 1950’s from Eatons. Made from walnut and walnut veneers, it is solidly built. We started by removing a previous gel finish and transitioned to a semi-transparent stain. The colour chosen was dark walnut. It really drew the graining out spectacularly. My clients are currently doing the chair seats to go with the update. I can hardly wait to see it altogether. Keep posted!

A household favourite, this side table had some beautiful marquetry worth preserving. The owner wanted a lighter finish...
11/10/2025

A household favourite, this side table had some beautiful marquetry worth preserving. The owner wanted a lighter finish. Made of solid red oak and oak veneers, I decided to use natural as my stain choice. Over time, this table will age and darken, but for now this lighter-coloured version of its old self is up to the task of being beautiful and functional.

Though the glides no longer worked the bones of this table were great. Firstly, the stops on the glides needed rebuildi...
11/10/2025

Though the glides no longer worked the bones of this table were great. Firstly, the stops on the glides needed rebuilding. I then applied many applications of candle wax to the glides. It is very durable and though, at times, it takes awhile to work, I have found it the best for smooth-working glides. The next challenge was matching the leaf colour with the tabletop. This wasn’t easy as the tabletop was maple and the leafs walnut. One trick I have learned is spritzing (spraying the wood with water). This opens up the wood pores and allows very hard (maple) woods to take the stain better and results in a darker finish. To make a long story short, I spritzed the tabletop (maple) but not the leafs (walnut). I was very pleased at how they matched up and how the table turned out overall!

Almost ready to move into their new home, this young couple had an heirloom table they wanted to grace their dining room...
11/10/2025

Almost ready to move into their new home, this young couple had an heirloom table they wanted to grace their dining room space with. Made from maple, they decided to have the base painted out and the top refinished and stained. So as to not be too “matchy” they chose special walnut as their stain. Though some pitting is evident the table is gorgeous and well representative of its age.

My client had this small cupboard modified to become her half-bath vanity. Over time, with water being water and doing ...
09/22/2025

My client had this small cupboard modified to become her half-bath vanity. Over time, with water being water and doing what water does, the finish started peeling and looked pretty rough. After taping the perimeter to prevent marking the walls, I stripped the old finish, sanded and stained the maple wood natural. The original patina on the wood remained and with the new stain we achieved a warm result. The polyurethane finish need only be wiped dry after each use to ensure no white water stains form. Let me know what you think.

In the family for a few generations, the owner of this suite desired to have it remain for many more. The old finish, c...
09/20/2025

In the family for a few generations, the owner of this suite desired to have it remain for many more. The old finish, common to pieces from this era, served to unify the wood variations beneath, but hid the beautiful graining. Though the same species, walnut, the chairs, on stripping them down, were a much lighter tone than the table. After some debate, dark walnut was the chosen stain. The semi-transparent stain revealed the rich graining common to walnut and though slightly different in tone brought the different parts of the suite together magnificently. The suite now stands in the new home of the owner and will host many a family affair.

This buffet and china cupboard were brought to me by my client to bring to completion the set (dining room suite) I had ...
08/30/2025

This buffet and china cupboard were brought to me by my client to bring to completion the set (dining room suite) I had done about 20 months ago. Made of a combination of mahogany and walnut, the dark walnut stain tied everything together nicely. Now back in their home, ready to display their beauty and utility once again!

Address

Sherwood Park, AB

Telephone

+17805813097

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