So your flea market purchase needs repairs? Here’s help.
You’ve brought home your perfect find from the flea market and suddenly noticed its imperfections. Now what? Here are some tips and advice for those inclined to fix their treasures.
LIGHTING
Perhaps you couldn’t resist the pair of ‘50s vanity lamps but neglected to note the fraying cords and the torn shade? Not to worry: New cords and plugs can be added and lamps rewired, says Marc Trabulus, owner of Fantasy Lighting in Los Angeles. The lighting specialist generally replaces the lamp’s interior socket — “the number one thing usually wrong with old lamps” — and keeps the original exterior metal casing to maintain its original appearance. New braided silk cords in gold, black and brown can help maintain a vintage look. In addition, custom shades in a variety of styles and materials are available, or shades can be covered in the customer’s own fabric.
Cost estimate:
New socket, $30; rewiring lamp with retro cord and plug, $35 to $55; plug only, $20; 10-inch custom shade, $70 and up.
Resources:
Fantasy Lighting, rewiring and custom shades, 7126 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, (323) 933-7244
Paul Ferrante, (rewiring and custom shades), 8464 Melrose Place, Los Angeles, (323) 653-4142
Etsy.com, vintage shades
Lamps Plus, new shades in vintage motifs, (800) 782-1967
TEXTILES
You had to buy one more vintage linen tablecloth, but it has a few stains. Is there any way to get them out? Edwina Pellikka of A Dyeing Art in Los Angeles says it all depends on how bad the stains are and what they are. She suggests a gentle hand-washing in ¼ cup of OxiClean Laundry Detergent and ¼ cup of dye-free All Free & Clear to start, followed by a dry spin on the delicate cycle. “If stains persist, you can contact a dry cleaner that specializes in antique linens or you can over-dye the fabric with a darker color,” says Pellikka. “Linen in particular gets better with age and dyes beautifully.”
Cost estimate: Dyeing rectangular tablecloth (88-by-130 inches): $290 and up; hand-wash at a specialty dry cleaners: $28 a foot.
Resources:
A Dyeing Art (call for appointment), 2658 Griffith Park Blvd., Los Angeles, (818) 246-5440; adyeingart.com
Brown’s Cleaners, (vintage linen hand-wash and mend), 1223 Montana Ave., Santa Monica, (310) 451-8531; brownscleaners.com
Peter’s Magnolia Cleaners, 8305 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, (323) 654-1383; petersmagnoliacleaners.com
Mama’s Miracle Linen Soak, (205) 575-2231; mamasmiraclelinensoak.com
FLATWARE
You’ve uncovered a Victorian serving spoon with the most beautiful shape and ornate detail, but it’s worn down to the nickel silver with an unfortunate dent. “We can reshape the bowl of the spoon if it’s bent, polish it down to the base metal and then electroplate it to restore its luster,” says Rick White, owner of a silver shop in Glendora. And if it’s a piece with lots of ornate detail, chemically darkening the entire spoon with a final buffing highlights the design. Caveat: “The cost of the process is often more than the value of the piece,” says White. “Mostly restoring an old piece has to do with sentimental value — people just want it to look pretty again, no matter the cost.”
Cost estimate: $15 to $50
Sources:
Vroman’s Silver Shop, 442-A Fleetwood Place, Glendora, (626) 963-0512
Royale Silver Co., 7930 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles, (323) 655-2437
Goldberg Restoration Co., 1484½ S. Robertson Blvd., Los Angeles, (310) 248-2608
WOOD FURNITURE
Fell in love with that old oak chair with the spindle back and turned legs but want a more modern sensibility? And is the seat missing as well? Recycling specialist Deborah Waltz suggests a coat of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. Developed in 1990 in England, the matte paint comes in 32 historical colors, including French Linen and Burgundy, and covers most surfaces — wood, metal, concrete, fabric — with one coat of paint. Better yet, it requires no prep, says the designer.
Cost estimate: Annie Sloan Chalk Paint: 4-ounce jar, $12.95; quart, $38.95; Annie Sloan Clear Wax; $28.50.
Sources:
Peinture Studios, 3323 Highland Ave., Suite E2, SOCO (South Coast Collection), Costa Mesa, (714) 427-0668
“Petite Peinture,” Country Roads Antiques & Gardens, 204 W. Chapman Ave., Orange, (714) 532-3041
Knot Too Shabby, 177 N. Glendora Ave., Glendora, (626) 914-1600
Batavia Furniture Refinishing, 1210 N. Batavia St., Orange, (714) 532-2288
UPHOLSTERY
The romantic Victorian swoon couch called to you, but the original horse-hair stuffing is sagging, not to mention giving you an asthma attack. And the old cut-velvet fabric is lovely but, alas, moth-eaten. Upholsterer Cesar Negrete says that when people bring him very old couches, he replaces the webbing and hand-ties the springs. He also uses nails and screws instead of staples to secure the webbing and fix the frame. The old horse-hair stuffing is removed and replaced with layers of raw cotton topped with foam. “Often older sofas have frames of solid walnut and mahogany and are much better than the birch-plywood ones made today,” says the upholsterer. “It’s not cheap to redo an antique sofa, but in the end you have something unique.”
Cost estimate: $1,200 and higher for sofa upholstering, plus the cost of fabric, pickup and delivery.
Sources:
Dynasty Upholstery, 3213 W. Washington Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 730-1556
Erika’s Custom Upholstery, 1338 W. Collins Ave., Orange, (714) 532-4454
Custom Craft Upholsterers Inc., 3401 W. Washington Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 937-9557
Etsy.com (vintage fabrics)
Fabric Planet, vintage-motif fabrics, 423 Lincoln Blvd., Venice, (310) 310-3049
Michael Levine Inc., vintage-motif fabrics, 920 Maple Ave., Los Angeles, (213) 622-6259
