Furniture Refinishing

Furniture dresser The Furniture Physicians Company is a family refinishing business operating in the Columbus Ohio area for its’ 30th year. Darrel and Annette Kestner with their daughter Lora and staff offer you over 100 years of combined stripping, repair, and refinishing expertise. Wooden Furniture Restoration is our specialty although we also offer Metal Stripping, Brass & Copper Stripping, Polishing, & Lacquering and Refinishing & Repair Supplies. Our in-home and on-site services include repair and touch-up. We are also available nationally for restoration consulting and planning. Furniture Physicians is the largest restoration shop in central Ohio and 3rd largest in the United States. If you need help immediately call us at (614) 855-9720 or Fax us at (614)855-2758.

         “We can restore the irreplaceable.”

Why Restore??? The furniture you own, just inherited, or are thinking about refinishing or repairing is an important part of history. It’s probably made of better material (real woods and wood veneers) and was crafted to be durable and serviceable for many years. If you have bought new furniture in the last 20 years you have seen this is usually not the case. Most new furniture is made from ground paper and wood pulp with an ever thinning wood veneer and construction techniques that are questionable at best. Use of plastics is at an all time high. Although newer furniture is somewhat serviceable it can be more expensive to repair than your older quality constructed pieces. Good refinishing brings back vibrant original colors and showcases the wood under modern more durable coatings that offer beauty and protection. Quality structural and cosmetic repair can economically put a piece back in service that may have been otherwise discarded. Restoring makes since environmentally too since the furniture restoration process uses less than 10% of the energy and natural resources that are required in new manufacturing. Sound interesting??? Find out more about our exclusive services, restoration process, and FREE ESTIMATES.
Why go with Furniture Physicians???... If you are shopping for these restortation and conservation services you'll find few companies that have both an A+ rating with the Columbus Better Business Bureau and a top rating with Angies' List. You will also find us listed with The American Institute for Conservation of Historic & Artistic Works. Our ability to do conservation work means we have a higher skill set and more information to help us with your project.

IMPORTANT- If you are dropping off or picking anything up at our shop you MUST call ahead and make an appointment with one of us. We are all working on flex schedules and also are on the road now to reduce labor and handling costs within our company. By doing this we have kept our pricing at 2006 levels to help you in this rocky economy. Just call Lora at 614-855-9720 if you need to see us.

Summer is in the air...

Well, summer heat is getting here early and we are already seeing some problems. One thing to watch out for is your furniture that is in non-climate controlled storage. We checked these storage units in the past and found temperature swings of more than 100 degrees in a single day. Add tremendous humidity swings to that and you've got a sure recipe for failing joints and finishes. What's the answer? Most storage businesses now offer climate controlled units. They will cost extra but you could prevent thousands of dollars of damge to your cherished pieces.

Local economy improving, houses selling, movers moving...
My wife and I have been on the road working in homes, offices, etc. almost every day lately. What have we been doing? First, we've been going in and touching-up woodwork, doors, and kitchen cabinets in many homes. Seems that the realtors have found that our "magic" can make the houses more saleable without spending the big bucks or total wood refinishing or worse, replacement. And then there's the moving damage. I get more questions about moving than most any other subject. Are movers really that careless? Sure, accidents happen but think about this... Homes have increased markedly in size since just the 1950's. Guess what? So is the furniture you are buying. Have you ever picked up an 18 drawer batchelor's chest? I have, in fact I've weighed some of this furniture. That chest went over 470 pounds. Modern beds weigh 3 to 4 times what a bed did just 20 years ago and they are usually wider and taller. Sofas are loaded down with heavy mechanisms, tables, etc and most times are simply stapled together. Multi tower entertainment systems can weigh well over 1000 pounds. And desks??? Some of these "wooden" (actually compressed paper) desks weigh more than the steel case office desks that were popular in the 50's and 60's. So what can make your move better? First, buy as much insurance as you can afford, things will get damaged. Second, communication is key.  Right down every detail of how you want things moved. Special pieces should get special padding or wrapping. And finally, keep a happy face with those moving guys and offer them bottled water and do tip them for handling your furniture with extra care.
--- Darrel

Going green and recycling...
We hear so many companies telling us they are turning "green" now. Most people never think too much about the effect their furniture has on our earth. Here are some facts...

It takes an 80 year old tree to make just 4 “T’ back chairs; another to make the table. An average tree will yield 161 board feet of lumber and only ¼ will be furniture grade. On the average, there will be about 12 trees per acre that are ready to harvest. When you think of all the labor, processes, waste, pollution, energy, destruction of wildlife habit, transportation cost and packaging to make, sell and deliver a new piece of furniture, companies like us have a very positive impact on the environment by recycling furniture. The paint removers, the finishes, the labor to refinish easily have a 97% less environmental “foot print” when compared to new.
Furniture Refinishers-  We aren't just going "green," we've been green for centuries,
we are
THE ORIGINAL RECYCLERS.

More bad news on the new furniture front...
It seems that overseas manufacturing concerns are trying to "improve" their coatings. Problem is this is leading to new problems. Oh, and what looks like wood, feels like wood but whoop!s, it's HOLLOW!!!??? Find out more in the Restoration News section...

Furniture Physicians Company
10087 Johnstown Rd.
New Albany, Ohio 43054
E-mail: woodoctr@aol.com