how the magic happens
At Circa Antiques, care is taken to make sure each piece that makes it to the showroom floor is ready to go into a person’s home for immediate use, whether that’s means giving a piece a good cleaning or a full restoration. We take pride in our pieces looking and functioning as if they were just made even though most are decades old. Because, we believe the pieces and the people buying them deserve it.
the find
We obtain pieces from a variety of sources - online and in-person auctions, from other dealers and pickers, and a lot of word-of-mouth connections. Years of selling and buying goods has continually brought people and their discoveries to our doorstep.
But, we don’t buy everything we see. Each piece has to have a certain je ne sais quoi about it. Whether it’s really clean lines or the taper of a leg, angle of a drawer pull or detail on a lamp; the pieces we choose are functional, yes, but it’s more than that. To us, it’s art. So when a piece does catch our eye, as long as it is fixable and usable, we snatch it up!
the work
The work begins with a thorough inspection. We check all of the joints, legs, arms, panels, glides, drawers, doors, etc. Then we look and feel the entire surface for dents, scratches, repairs and stains. Finally we can determine how extensive the work is that’s needed. Some pieces only need a good cleaning and others need to be totally restored, refinished or reconstructed.
We’ve happily removed original surfaces to repair dents and scratches; replaced broken legs, drawer glides, drawer pulls, hand-carved inset details and entire back panels to larger furniture items; replaced wiring and other lighting elements; removed paint from cast iron furniture; re-welded outdoor items; and through repurposing, turned something into an entirely new usable item. And we'll happily continue to do all of the above and more.
the result:
When the mess is cleared from the work phase, and the drawer pulls match, legs are sturdy, screws are tightened, finishes are buffed, and paints and stains have dried, a totally restored item of beauty reveals itself. Each piece regardless of the amount of TLC that is needed, gets a thorough cleaning so that it’s ready to be placed in a beautiful home. And then it's off to the showroom floor. Because good, quality craftsmanship in all it's former glory is what it's all about.