Blog – Erik G. Warner

American of Martinsville Accord dresser, before and after, April 2021.

Unshabbying the Chic Restoration Video on YouTube

Posted on April 24, 2021 by Erik W in furniture, furniture restoration, mid century, minnesota, vintage

Hey, all – It’s been almost two years to the day since we announced we were hanging up the spray gun and getting out of the furniture refinishing business. And, yes, we did indeed close our business. Erik’s back simply won’t allow him to do this sort of work on a full-time basis.

However, he has done a few refinishing projects as a hobby, taking the time he needs to work on each project, with breaks (sometimes days long) for letting his body rest in between.

One of the things Erik always wanted to do while running the business was to record a video of a project, but we never had time. Now that refinishing is a hobby, he had the time needed to tackle a video, which is very much its own project outside the refinishing part. (YouTubers have said that making videos IS the job, more so than the content.)

Erik’s first video is now available on YouTube. It’s called “Unshabbying the Chic: Mid Century Modern Dresser Restoration.” It is between 22 and 23 minutes long. In it, he goes through the process of removing paint, making repairs, and restoring the finish of an American of Martinsville lowboy dresser from the Accord line.

Have a look here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UB80sqSpriE

Erik is considering making additional videos. If there is some part of the restoration process you’d like more detail on, let us know.

Follow and subscribe to Erik’s channel in order to keep track of what he does next.

We’re Hanging Up the Spray Gun

Posted on April 27, 2019April 27, 2019 by Erik W in furniture, furniture restoration, mid century, mid-century furniture, midmodmen, minnesota, refinishing, vintage

An important announcement from Erik G. Warner Decorative Salvage:

We’re hanging up the spray guns, folks.

Calling it quits. Closing the doors. Givin’ it up. Shutting down our business.

We announce this with no small amount of sadness but we also announce it with a great deal of excitement and anticipation.

For the last 15 years Erik has been dealing with Degenerative Disc Disease and as the years have gone on, his spine has gone downhill. He is now at a point that it is no longer feasible to continue to move furniture for a living so we have decided to close Erik G. Warner Decorative Salvage, at least as a full-time venture.

Erik has taken a “regular” job and will now be riding a desk instead of restoring them. That is where the excitement and anticipation come in. He looks forward to new challenges as he transitions back into the world of employed work.

He plans to still restore a piece of beautiful Mid Century Modern furniture every now and then, but it will be on a very limited basis. Basically, we’ll be running the biz as more of a hobby than a going concern.

We have truly enjoyed the ride this business has taken us on and have so many people to thank for getting us where we are.

If you have followed us here or on Facebook, purchased our wares, or been a supporter in any way…thank you.

Our family has been an endless source of moral support, our children have helped us move more furniture than we are sure they ever cared to, and our parents have given us encouragement and financial assistance. (They have been our angel investors.) We simply cannot thank our family enough.

Our friends have been there for us every step of the way. They have promoted us via social media, and told their friends about us, and purchased our wares. Thank you!

There are two people who deserve a special thanks: Neal and Jon at MidModMen. It was back in 2012 that the plan to open MidModMen was hatched and we were in on the ground floor of that venture. Without Neal and Jon, we would not be where we are today. They have been partners, collaborators, counselors, mentors, and, most specially, friends. Thank you, Neal and Jon, for all you have done for us.

One more photo of the front of the refinished Lane Rhythm dresser. We love the way this project turned out. January 2019.

Lane Rhythm 6-Drawer Dresser

Posted on January 15, 2019 by Mary W in danish modern, furniture, furniture restoration, mid century, mid-century furniture, minnesota, refinishing, vintage

Back in September, we purchased a Lane Rhythm 6-drawer dresser that was in pretty tough shape with the intent to restore it.

Here are a number of photos showing the damage to the piece. We keep waiting to find a wad of money forgotten behind the drawers of a dresser we rescue, but this dresser just had lots of random papers and plenty of mouse droppings. Not quite the treasure we were hoping for.

Top of the Lane Rhythm dresser. Note the scratches and loss of finish. September 2018.

There's a loss of finish on the front of the Lane Rhythm dresser, too. September 2018. — There’s a loss of finish on the front of the Lane Rhythm dresser, too. September 2018.

Miscellaneous garbage left behind in the Lane Rhythm dresser. September 2018.

Mouse midden pile and droppings in the dresser. September 2018.

As we cleaned the dresser, we wore gloves and masks due to the mouse droppings. Here Erik is using compressed air to blow the detritus out of a drawer. September 2018.

As we removed the drawers in order to clean the inside of the case, we numbered each one and its corresponding location using blue painter's tape and a Sharpie marker. September 2018. — As we removed the drawers in order to clean the inside of the case, we numbered each one and its corresponding location using blue painter’s tape and a Sharpie marker. September 2018.

We have refinished a couple of other Lane Rhythm lowboy dressers in the past. Each one has had the same design flaw - the dresser develops what we call a sway back. Due to the span and not enough support, the entire dresser droops in the center, so it is no longer level. September 2018. — We have refinished a couple of other Lane Rhythm lowboy dressers in the past. Each one has had the same design flaw – the dresser develops what we call a sway back. Due to the span and not enough support, the entire dresser droops in the center, so it is no longer level. September 2018.

Here is the dresser case without drawers after cleaning. Large dressers are much easier to move with the drawers taken out. September 2018.

Once we got the dresser case into the shop, we put it on the work table with its top down. This allowed us to see the droop more clearly. See the white line beneath the dresser? That's light showing through indicating how the entire piece has sagged over time. September 2018. — Once we got the dresser case into the shop, we put it on the work table with its top down. This allowed us to see the droop more clearly. See the white line beneath the dresser? That’s light showing through indicating how the entire piece has sagged over time. September 2018.

In order to try to fix the Lane Rhythm dresser droop, Erik first clamped it and attempted to attach a piece of angle iron to the bottom to pull the dresser into place. The hope was that the angle iron would both straighten the dresser and support it so it wouldn't sag again. No such luck. The droop was so ingrained in the piece that when it was unclamped, the angle iron bent. September 2018. — In order to try to fix the Lane Rhythm dresser droop, Erik first clamped it and attempted to attach a piece of angle iron to the bottom to pull the dresser into place. The hope was that the angle iron would both straighten the dresser and support it so it wouldn’t sag again. No such luck. The droop was so ingrained in the piece that when it was unclamped, the angle iron bent. September 2018.

In order to make the refinishing process easier, Erik will disassemble furniture. Here is in removing the back. He also removed the top of the Lane Rhythm dresser and refinished it separately from the rest of the case. September 2018.

Fast-forward a few months …

Notice the wall framing in the above photo. When we brought this dresser to the shop, we didn’t have our new shop space completed. As we let the Lane Rhythm dresser sit, we spent several months building out the shop. Once the shop was complete, we returned to the dresser this past week to finish it.

Lane Rhythm dresser stripped, sanded, and awaiting stain. January 2019.

The finished Lane Rhythm 6-drawer dresser. See the extra leg in the bottom middle? That was Erik's solution for the sway-back ... add an extra leg to provide more support. January 2019. — The finished Lane Rhythm 6-drawer dresser. See the extra leg in the bottom middle? That was Erik’s solution for the sway-back … add an extra leg to provide more support. See the wall behind the dresser? This was the same wall that was merely framing back in September. January 2019.

Top of the newly refinished Lane dresser. It's a far cry from what we started with, eh? January 2019. — Top of the newly refinished Lane dresser. It’s a far cry from what we started with, eh? January 2019.

All the drawers were scrubbed to within an inch of their lives, plus we add new drawer liners. January 2019.

Measurements on the Lane Rhythm 6-drawer dresser, in case you’re wondering are: 61″ long, 31″ high, 18″ deep.