Expert: Kirk Ryan - 9/9/2008

Question
QUESTION: Hi Kirk, I have the dining room set my grandmother had made in Philadelphia around 1925. Two end arm chairs, 7 side chairs. Solid mahogany, Chippendale style ball/claw feet, really wide can seats. The table has 8 leaves. It's huge when open. It's destroying my life. I love it, but I have to live in places with huge dining rooms. What can I do with this piece. It has a lot of wear, but when I polish it up, It's gorgeous. I also have 2 corner cabinets made at the same time. Can I refinish? Should I try to sell to someone who can? I'm in CA now, should I try to get it back to PA and sell or something there?

ANSWER: Hi Leslie,

Solid Mahogany from 1925! Wow! That's good stuff. Probably impossible to find anything like that these days. I'd say see if you can get someone do to any minor repair/refinishing it may need, and head to the antiques roadshow!! Just kidding. You may have luck with antique shops and antique buyers.

I am in the Boston area, and I know of 2 places that would sell the furniture for you, but they take a percentage of the sale.

There are also a few websites you might try. Like craigslist.org. Or "goantiques.com" or even "antiques-furniture-online.com" That way you could put pictures up on the web, and have people contact you by email, that way you don't get phone hassled.

8 leaves is really big, so you need to make sure you mention that. I don't think any regular old home owner is gonna be able to take it.

Solid Mahogany is quality, and a good wood, so I don't think you will have any issue there. New England is a tough crowd because Mahogany is so dark, but you may have a little luck. My store mostly sells Teak, Cherry, and a little Rosewood for dining rooms. I think solid Mahogany may do best down south, like in Texas.

I'd love to see pictures if you ever get a chance to email me some. My email address is     Jackal4215@hotmail.com

Good luck!

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I'll send you pictures. Is there anything I can do to spruce up worn areas to the finish and areas hit by a vacuum myself? Or would I just ruin it?
The cane seats, by the way, are in great condition. Les


Answer
They sell furniture oils specifically made for certain wood types. So you could try to find something for solid mahogany, but other than this I would leave any touch up work to professionals, speaking from experience, solid wood can be tricky. Sometimes you just wind up making it worse.

I got the pictures, the stuff looks amazing, wow they don't do anything like that anymore. A lot of hand craft and time was put in, and you can see the value right away. I hope you get a good amount for it.

Best of luck to you.