Antiques & Furniture Restoration Inc — Local services in Sterling

I needed to have my grandfather's inlaid desk refinished. This piece has a lot of sentiment to me and I wanted to be sure it would be taken care of before I handed it off to my kids. I got quotes from AFR and 2 other are companies and though AFR was about 10% more expensive, I was super impressed by photos of their work and reviews. They also said they did not use a dipping tank for stripping and this was really important to me because the desk had a veneer and fragile inlays. Of the 2 other places, I got quotes from, one of the places was not very inviting when I asked if I could stop by on a Saturday to see their work. I did schedule an appointment with the 2nd shop but even though they said they did all stripping by hand, I saw a dipping tank being used during my visit. AFR gave a detailed explanation of their process via email and allowed me to come in on a Saturday in early November and Yasser walked me through their refinishing process in person as well. I was able to see pieces that were in every step of the process and I was sold. The son, Cahleed, scheduled a pickup from my apartment in DC for the following Wednesday evening. He gave me a call when he was on the way and him and Bruno arrived within the 30 minute window they had told me. They were courteous, took their shoes off without my request and were quickly in and out. About a week later, I got an email with a picture of my desk after stripping. About 2 weeks later, I got another picture and they called me and told me the desk was down to the bare wood and they were ready to stain. They gave me the choice of sending pictures to me of the different stains or for me to stop by. Even though they sent pictures of the piece in the bare wood, I was really excited to see how things turned out so I decided to stop by. My desk looked completely rejuvenated! They had even replaced a small area of missing veneer. It was so close I couldn't even tell until they pointed it out. The years of build-up were hiding the beautiful grain of the Flame Mahogany were now gone and it was super interesting to see the piece down to the bare wood in it's true beauty. Yasser recommended 2 stain options and Bruno hand wiped the stain right on the piece. I wanted something with less red so they ended up showing me a total of 5 different stain options right on drawer. I ended up being really happy with the Brown Walnut. Cahleed also told me that the brass hardware may look really good if it was cleaned and showed me what it would look like by polishing the backside of it in a hidden area. I chose to leave the hardware with the aged look but it was nice of him to offer. This was overall an amazing experience and I was really impressed with everyone at the shop. Their passion and pride for their work was obvious. Another 2 weeks later, I got an email with pictures of the desk all finished and asking me when would be a good time for delivery. We scheduled a time for delivery and Cahleed came back with a different helper to drop off the desk. When I saw it, I found myself getting a little emotional. It brought back so many memories of seeing my grandfather use it. It really turned out wonderful and will continue to be a family heirloom that I will proudly pass on to my kids. I don't typically leave long or detailed reviews but I couldn't be happier with this whole experience. It's rare to find a business that is such a pleasure to deal with and I'm thankful I found them. I will continue to refer them to all my friends and family. Everything was done ahead of schedule and within the price of the original quote. I hadn't realized that AFR also does upholstery so they are now also upholstering a wing back chair for me which I'm very excited to...

Mr. Haridi's recently completed restoration of our 19th century English Davenport desk was close to miraculous. The piece had been badly damaged from wear and several long-distance moves. A previous restorer had obscured the original wood with a darker, orangish stain. The burl wood veneer and decorative inlaid wood parts were cracked and chipped off in many places, and the embossed leather top was marred by scratches and a dark ink splotch. Much of the structure was weakened by cracks and/or deteriorated hinges, and some of the drawers did not close properly. Mr. Haridi painstakingly stripped the wood and replaced lost veneer and inlays, repaired the broken parts of the desk, sanded and reinforced the drawers, and re-stained the entire piece so that the original wood shines through. He replaced the delicate leather top and had it beautifully embossed in gold to resemble the original. We are so pleased to have our desk in working order, good as new, but with all its antique charm!

Yasser Haridi and his upholsterer, Humberto, did a beautiful job repairing, refinishing, and reupholstering a classical carved mahogany rocking chair for us. Mr. Haridi and his sons were very responsive to our questions and communications, and told us upfront that this project would take at least six to eight weeks. The end result was stunning and well worth the wait. The finish glows warmly with different hues depending on the light, and Humberto's attention to detail with the fabric pattern and piping is remarkable. They have rejuvenated a precious family heirloom, and we are...

It was the middle of July 2021. The celebration of the 175th anniversary of the church was going to be the first weekend in October. The baptismal font created by a grieving father upon the loss of his son in world war II was in pretty bad shape. It apparently had been broken and very poorly re-glued, not to mention the laminate that had fallen off. We had no idea where we could go to get it re-glued, refurbished, and revitalized between then and the October festivities. I sent pictures to Mr Haridi, who estimated a very fair price. He told us he could have it refurbished by mid-September. He commenced with disassembling the font to the tiniest pieces, cleaning off all the old glue, varnish and embedded dust before reassembling and re-staining. It looks magnificent, and he was finished two weeks early!! I would greatly recommend this establishment for any furniture repair/refurbishing needs. I would also recommend having a look at the many pieces that I would hardly have given a second glance that were restored to great value shown in his YouTube videos. Truly amazing! I turned around and brought in my father's teak bedside table (which he had fallen on many times in his unstable later years) in pieces in a box. It is now completely restored and looks like nothing...