Hi all,
Have a new credenza on the way. Thought I'd put it up on DA for some expert opinions. Any ideas as to the maker? Is it Danish?
Thanks,
Eric
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There was a Canadian company called Imperial Furniture who manufactured Jan Kuypers designs.
A few years ago I passed on a dresser that was very similar to a Nelson thin edge dresser...right down to the legs, from the same Imperial Furniture Company.
Your sideboard reminds me a little of both...maybe helpful?
I would not do anything to the wood.
Ebonizing will still let some of the grain pattern through but it will be black. If it were my home, I'd figure out where to place this and the chair so they don't clash. (Or just get used to the differences next to each other---it's surprising how your feelings can change even over a short period.)
That is a really good looking piece of furniture
If you don't know what it is now, I wouldn't be surprised to discover that it gets discovered in the near future. And even if that never happens it should be worth a decent amount just because it has "class."
The second you ebonize it, it's value approaches 0.
And to ebonize it tastefully would be very expensive, and challenging. And maybe impossible.
First you would have to strip it. And to strip it well enough for ebonizing you'd probably have to disassemble it to get into all the corners Does it disassemble?
And then you get to the ebonizing. The most tasteful way is with tannin and iron, as it is a chemical change in the wood that doesn't obscure the wood. And it is tricky to do and get uniform black. And it raises the grain, so you'd need to sand it. Is it veneer? (Yes) What if you sand through? Or it could be dyed with aniline dyes, which would look relatively classy, but is tricky and tricky to finish. And again would raise the grain. Anything else (a stain) is basically paint, which isn't tasteful at all, as it can be best understood as a layer on top of the wood obscuring the grain, and the thicker it is the blacker you get and the less grain you see.
I am very fond of encouraging "amateurs" to undertake crazy projects, but I think the level of difficulty above is way over the top. And I doubt you can find a refinishing shop crazy enough to try tannin and iron. Or aniline dye. They would probably be happy to spray a paint, ahem stain, right over the top. And it would look worse than you would guess.
Walnut's closed grain, as opposed to say oak, is not helping you here either, as the grain has much less "texture" and is more easily lost. This is why much ebonized furniture is oak.
Then you have to refinish it.
Can you tell I think this idea is ill advised.?Let me re-cap: destroys all value, will require paying a professional, and a very good one at that, and a lot, if you can even find one willing to try. And assuming all that it is likely not to come out very well anyway since this is walnut.
Please don't do this.
Thanks everyone. Thanks...
Thanks everyone. Thanks especially to you Leif, for your thoughtful reply. I think you've convinced me. The chair (the Plycraft 'space age' chair I posted in another thread) is the one that will be near the credenza. I wonder if a stain might be better suited for the chair, as it has a much less attractive grain...
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