one stomach-sinking morning last week, I went into my garage to find my 200-year-old, hand-painted, Hungarian chest blooming with green mold. I was ill. This lovely antique was now doomed for the funeral pyre because I'd stuck it in my hot, damp garage.
When I moved into my current home-staging project in July, for reasons of style or space, the rustic chest along with several other pieces of furniture didn't make the cut.
For those who've never been, Florida in the summer is hot as wax melting and muggier than an opera singer's armpits. Things grow here that wouldn't grow anywhere else. I am all for plant life. I just don't want it growing on my antiques.
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Blessedly, that very afternoon, as if delivered on angel wings, a review copy of "The Furniture Bible: Everything You Need to Know to Identify, Restore and Care for Furniture" arrived on my doorstep.
I picked it up. Kissed it. Flipped through enough to see that the encyclopedic book indeed lived up to its name, and took no time lining up an interview with the book's author Christophe Pourny, who I hoped would save my chest.
Pourny lives in New York City where he has a furniture restoration business. He learned his trade working alongside his antique-dealer parents in southern France.
After I congratulated him on his book, I got straight to what was on my chest, literally. I sent him photos of the green-covered box and braced myself for a big-ole scolding about never storing antiques in damp garages. (Yes, I know better).
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Instead, I got reassurance. "People here get so afraid of mold, but in France, we see it as a sign of a very good cheese." Pourny is telling me this in a French accent, which does me in every time.
"Do not be afraid," he said. "This is not a bad mold."
The reason the chest -- which he said dates back to the early 1800s, possibly the late 1700s -- and not the surrounding furniture had, uhh, ripened, was because in the early 1800s and before, furniture artisans used milk-based paint, which has proteins in it that mold like.
More things I never knew.
Pourny then gave me step-by-step instructions to restore my chest: "First, put it out in a dry place and get a little sun on it."
"Uhh, Christophe," I said, "This is Florida. It hasn't been dry here in six months." I opted instead to bring chest from the garage into the air-conditioned house, and set it in a sunny window.
"Second, brush it with a soft brush. You will be surprised how much mold you get rid of."
I put on a dust mask, and took old Hungary outside and brushed. He was right.
"Third, get a tack cloth, and wipe up the loose dust." A tack cloth is a gauze-like fabric coated with a sticky stuff that dust and particles cling to. This was brilliant.
"Fourth, rub some Marseille soap (which I happened to have because I love it) on a damp, not wet, rag and wipe all the surfaces. No need to rinse. Pourny also loves this olive-oil-based cleanser, which he uses to wash everything from himself to his clothes to his car.
Finally, Pourny suggested I use a soft cloth and wipe the chest with a coat of linseed oil or beeswax, and buff.
Et viola! She was good as old again. Even better!
From there, Pourny and I launched into a long, love-fest chat about furniture, during which I asked him what he wished more people know about caring for theirs. Here's what he said:
•People need to be less afraid of old furniture. If you have an heirloom, it is OK to use it and take care of it. Don't put it on a pedestal under glass and never touch it. Think of your furniture like a pet. Have a relationship with it, take care of it and enjoy it.
•Old furniture is OK to fix. Although it makes for dramatic television, it is not true that if you touch an antique it's ruined. Rather, it is important for the life of the piece that you keep it in good condition and working order. If the hinge is broken, or the drawer won't slide, fix it. If the finish has dulled, restore it.
•Antiques are not just for old ladies and people with a lot of money. Many are accessible, affordable and very chic.
•Furniture built before World War II requires different treatment. Pre-war furniture was likely finished with oil, water or alcohol-based products, which are a little more fragile than post-war furniture made after the invention of varnish and lacquer. To dust post-war pieces, use a feather duster or a dry cloth, and no product. For older pieces, dust the same way, but use a little light wax once or twice a year, no more.
•Use a lot less product. Almost everything can be cleaned or repaired with a little Marseille soap, some beeswax or shoe polish the color of the wood, a drop of oil in hinges (never in locks) and a soft toothbrush.
•Dirt is not patina. It's one thing to have a bronze statue outside that has turned black and green with age, which is intentional. But you would never put your good silver on the table covered in tarnish. Polishing your silver or brass is not a crime. However, people are afraid someone is going to say, "Yikes! That looks like it just came from the store!" Don't worry.
