I picked up this lovely 1963 Brazilian Walnut (Imbuia) sideboard a little while ago. I loved the shape, but couldn't stand nor understand the handles and the keyway escutcheons it had. Not too uprising then to find that these were not the original handles and that at some point (probably during the 80's) the sideboard had been 'pimped'.
The poor thing looked a little sad. I got him home and the second he was sat back on his feet I removed the offending items. He started to look better already and I was breathing a little easier.
I decided to give him a full birthday. I took the base off and reset a couple of the joints that were coming loose. All the drawers & doors were removed and everything was taken back to the bare wood. I haven't had a piece with this timber before so I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. It was lovely to work with (sort of like Rimu) & very fragrant when sanding.
Once he was all cleaned I popped him back together. I took the design hint from the center of the front strut for the new handles and simple keyway escutcheons were placed. A few coats of oil later and he is looking like a new man and feeling much more like himself.
