Somewhere in the past 40 years, furniture repair and restoration got a bad name.  Repair and restoration got confused with shoddy efforts to fix and re-do.  In some cases, even to change the original appearance.  Brad Charles is emphatic, “That’s simply not restoration and repair!”

According to Brad Charles, “Unfortunately, even the Antiques Roadshow misled people to believe that doing nothing to a dilapidated antique was preferable to proper restoration.  This just isn’t true, as the producers of the show recently stated in an apologetic article to those in the refinishing businesses. After all, what is the value of a piece that is damaged beyond use or display?”

Brad Charles has spent the better part of 30 years now practicing the fine art of furniture restoration and repair.  For Brad professional restoration and repair is a minimalist effort.  “We fix only what is broken and we do it to bring it back to its naturally beauty, design and functionality,” said Brad. 

“99 percent of the time, professional restoration and repair increases the value of the antique.  Remember, an antique that truly needs restoration or repair has lost value because of the defect.  Naturally, no professional would change something that doesn’t need fixed.

“Much of the confusion surrounds efforts in the late 1960’s through the mid-1980’s where people were taking antique furniture and rebuilding it for new purposes or refinishing it for new looks never intended by the original builder.  Who would argue that nailing a crown back in place on an Eastlake headboard and painting rainbows on it doesn’t devalue the piece.  However, this is not restoration and repair,” added Brad.

Most furniture in Bradford’s Antiques has gone through The Woodstripper where each piece is cleaned and restored when necessary.  Even the oldest pieces, which predate the Civil War, have been restored to the original design and color originally intended when first manufactured more than 150 years ago. 

 The success of Brad’s efforts at The Woodstripper are recognized throughout the Kansas City area.  In addition to a very busy schedule with family heirlooms and pieces being restored for sale through Bradford’s Antiques, Brad has provided restoration services to many churches and courthouses.  Recently, The Woodstripper refinished the furniture in the judge’s chambers in the Kansas City Federal Courthouse and following a tornado, The Woodstripper was commissioned to repair the seats and furniture in the Clay County Courthouse.

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