Restorers Without Borders — Attraction in Brookline

We’ve had our mid century modern teak bedroom set for 40+ years. Along the way it took some hard knocks, stains, and dings and needed a lot of TLC. On top of all that, it was a queen and we tried to make it fit a king bed. It was sad but we couldn’t part with it, as it was so well made. We searched for years for someone who could fix it.

Every time I drove by Restorers Without Borders in Brookline, MA, I would say…”I wonder if they would look at our set.” One day, I called and that started my love affair with Restorers Without Borders! Jeff and Afonso came to the house and absolutely felt the set was worth restoring. They were confident they could not only bring it back to its original beauty but also convert the headboard/attached night tables into a king unit. They gave us options to save money on the work too and didn’t push. We said yes and were beyond excited!

The work took exactly the time they quoted (be prepared to wait a few months) and when it arrived, we were overwhelmed by the quality of their work and the attention to every detail. The set was simply, stunning! We couldn’t have asked for anything more. Jeff, Afonso and the entire team went above and beyond at every step.

If you have any piece of furniture that you love and care about, trust the amazingly talented professionals at Restorers Without Borders to bring it back to its full beauty.

Lastly, I want to add that Restorers Without Borders are outstanding communicators and the nicest, nicest people! We’ve already picked our next piece of furniture to have them work their magic. I’m convinced there are very few people on the planet that can perform this high quality work. Trust them, you will be astounded at...

Five stars are not really sufficient! Trying to be as brief as possible: We had a serious house fire last May. No one was physically hurt, and for that, we are grateful. We truly wanted to try to salvage our dining room table and a two-part media cabinet, which were among the more valuable items in the house. The table and chairs (six) held incredible memories of family get-togethers, Christmas dinners, and countless other great times. Jeff and Alfonso came to the house in September. The wood of the table had split from the water damage; some of the chairs were broken, cracked, and charred. The media cabinet was charred, rusted and all pieces were so sad-looking! They looked at all the woodwork, then at each other, and said, "We can do this." They neatly and carefully carted away these parts of our family! A couple of weeks ago, Restorers called us to say the work was completed. My wife and I were incredulous (and in tears) at seeing the pieces in the shop. The work involved using two of the leaves of the table to re-create parts of the table top itself (the pieces that had split); they then created two new leaves, with the necessary pegs to fit them together. They had to fashion replacement rungs for the backs of some of the chairs, and the work is perfect. We cannot determine which rungs are original and which are replacements. The color, the grain, the finish, all are perfect! The pieces were delivered in two trips to our temporary home, covered in padding and plastic, and with some much attention and care. We are beyond grateful to Jeff, Alfonso, Dan, Juan, Roberto, and everyone who worked on our tasks. We recommend Restorers Without Borders...

It's been a while, but after reading all the rave reviews, I felt I needed to post, particularly after seeing the owner's response to one negative review... (look for the two-star). In terms of the actual upholstering, they did a marvelous job. That is the absolute truth. But there appeared to be no meaning behind the quote given at pick-up. Surprise price increases kept happening, such as "adding tacks" when the original had tacks and I said I wanted them in the new piece as well. Despite the fact that the cushions clearly needed to be replaced (they were literally unsittable), that was a later price increase. Then there was a "repair" that they did not know about. Obviously things can surprise you, but after two obvious upcharges, the third (and only potentially reasonable one) seemed questionable. The price more than doubled, but what could we do but pay if we wanted it back? And when we complained to say that we did not think it very professional, the owner lit into us, defending his upholsterers' honor (which we hadn't really questioned - just the general business practices). It became clear we could not go back. It's too bad, because I think they do nice work. Just make sure you have a very very explicit and binding quote. And don't...