Classic Furniture Works

We were very relaxed regarding the time frame -- it was more important to us that the job be done right rather than quickly. Mike kept us informed, stuck to his original quote (though I have a feeling this took more work than he let on)

Their work is excellent. It was done quickly and satisfactorily, and was reasonably priced.

They did an awesome job restoring and rebuilding our antique bed. I highly recommend them. They were so pleasant to deal with and picked it up and returned it to me in a month, even rebuilt missing pieces and turned a double bed into a queen size bed. Since it was my grandparents and parents bed, quality was what I was looking for since it is a family heirloom.

About six months after the job was done, the veneer on the tabletop developed large bubbles. It also cracked in several places. The upper half of the tabletop warped and, as a result, there was a 3/4" gap between between the two halves of the folding tabletop. A company representative wrote: "We are 100% confident that the new damage to your table has been caused by a combination of moisture and temperature change(s)/variation(s)" and that this is a "case of a natural material acting in the arbitrary ways it sometimes does." I could only wonder why this particular damage occurred only after the table was handled by Lauer Furniture Restoration but never before during the 16 years the item had been in my possession. Since the table was delivered, there have not been any out-of-the-ordinary fluctuations in the seasonal climatic patterns of Washington, D.C. Nor were there any unusual changes in moisture and temperature conditions at my apartment building. If Lauer Furniture Restoration could not guarantee that their workmanship could not withstand these normal moisture and temperature conditions you should have so advised the customer before undertaking to do the repair. The company offered to re-do the job - for an additional fee on top of $785 that it had received six months earlier. I preferred not to throw good money after bad.

I've used Mike Dowell's services before and this was another great job. This time my young son had accidentally broken an arm off one of our dining room chairs. Mike fixed it quickly and at a fair price. I dropped off the chair and picked it up at his shop. I don't know anything about wood working or carpentry, but the place was neat, clean, and very well organized. It's an unassuming place and easy to miss -- it's actually a unit within a corrugated metal mobile container in a corner of a recently developed townhouse/ condo development in a corner of Bel Aire on an edge with a state park (state forest?). If you go up some of the back roads coming from Baltimore it's actually a quite pretty drive for some of it - it follows a stream through park and farm land. In any case, I anticipate calling on Lauer Furniture Restoration again in the future.

Mike was great to work with. The job took longer than expected but that was due to the chairs needing a bit more attention than initially thought. The cost should have been more but even tho I offered Mike addt'l $ he refused. Said a deal was a deal. He was great and we will go to him again for any furniture repair needs!!

Very easy to communicate with. I sent a picture and my wants/ their suggestions went back and forth. The finished product is very well done. Very professional job.

I?m so happy that I found Lauer Furniture Restoration via Angie?s list. I purchased a big deal coupon in hopes of cleaning up an old, hardwood, sentimental table that had seen better days. I spoke with Mike regarding my table and sent him photos of the table?s cracked legs and damaged top. We discussed what he thought would be his approach from the photos and Mike performed a more detailed review upon seeing the table in person. The table had multiple wood types and Mike explained how he was going to remove the damage from the top of the table and match the most prominent coloring. I was just delighted that this old table could be saved. The work was completed well in advance of the targeted due date and Mike was super accommodating as to my schedule and when I could come pick up the table. The table looks amazing and better than I anticipated! This old table has new life and will now be proudly displayed rather than sitting covered up in my basement. I had lots of questions as to how to care for the table going forward and in regards other old furniture pieces that I have. Mike was super helpful and patiently answered all of my questions. The Bel Air, MD location is easy to access with plenty of parking. I wish I could post photos to show the before and after, truly amazing. A top notch operation- Mike is personal, professional and a very talented craftsman!

We were not able to get there during their normal open hours but Mike was more than accommodating by coming into the shop on his day off . He listened carefully to what we wanted and did a beautiful restoration of our game table.

I originally contacted Lauer to have the wooden feet and hand rests on my 60-year old channel-back chair repaired. One of the feet was broken and I was able to provide the piece that had come off. After speaking with them, and learning that they also could do re-caning, I added the two Windsor chairs to the project. I wasn't aware initially that I would have to bring the chairs to their shop, which was about an hour away, but I was able to get a neighbor with a truck to make the trip with me. They do offer pick-up and deliery for an additional charge. Mike Dowell, a member of the Lauer family, was very easy and pleasant to work with. I was immediately impressed with the work that I saw in progress in his shop. He estimated the cost for the jobs and told me about how long it would take to get them done. The caning work was done at another location by another member of the Lauer family. When I returned to pick up the chairs I was delighted with the quality of the work and will definitely have them do some other projects that I have in mind.

Most of paint/varnish was removed, excellent job gluing and making new rocker. Finish was a little darker than sample I was shown. They were professional and finished the project on time.

Mike did a great job. The work was done with quality and craftsmanship. Mike was clear and up front with what could be done and what could not be done to correct the issues I had with this piece of furniture.

It went well. Mike was very nice to work with. No one would know any damage had been done to the table. I think there is a difference between the repair and restoration of an antique. The restoration I believe is more expensive. I miss the variation and character of the old veneer. But I would have had to pay much more for the restoration for that kind of detail. Right now the surface looks more like a new ethan allen deep red mahogany piece. To sum it up he did exactly what he said he would do and it looks good and we're very happy with it.

We delivered the chairs to his shop and Mike gave me a very detailed quote to repair them. I had to think about it but there was no pressure to make a decision. Once I decided, they were finished very quickly and the quality of the repairs is great. You cannot even tell where they were broken. It is so nice to have solid chairs to sit on again. Mike was also very accommodating about his schedule, allowing me to pick them up on Saturday morning.

Incredibly responsive to email queries and provided fair pricing, including pick-up and delivery of the piece. The work was beautiful and perfectly done. Work was completed in a timely manner. I will definitely be using this business again.

It went very well. He did a very good job. He charged me another $100. It was pretty expensive but he did a great job. Everything was good. He's a nice guy and he's flexible. He really knew what he was doing.

Mike did a great job. My grandmother's mirror had fallen and pieces of the woodwork were chipped off. I had used her bedroom furniture since I was a child and loved its connection to her. When the mirror fell and broke I was completely devastated. Mike was able to restore it to its original beauty. I know my grandmother would just be thrilled to see it hanging in my house looking like the day she bought it. My Mom was so impressed she started making a list of what she wanted to fix next.

The desk looks like it belongs in a museum! I was not able to pick up the desk, as I did not have a hatchback, but for a reasonable fee the treasure was brought to my house. I had Mike leave it in the living room for people to see before taking it to the basement. The cost was more than I thought, but I had no recent experience with furniture restoration. The total price was $650. I used the coupon as the deposit, with the final cost being $450. Yes, I could have bought a "new" desk, but this was a special and sentimental piece of furniture. It was hand done-not dipped. It took a couple months, and the wait was well worth it. Lauer Furniture Restoration is a family-owned business. The shop had furniture in various stages that made me want to start saving for another piece. (One customer has had rooms of furniture restored.) You just don't have to repair a piece of furniture. There was an indoor wooden bench that was totally changed to be used outdoors. You can take an antique looking piece, and make it look modern. I cannot say enough about Lauer Furniture Restoration. You have to pay by cash or check, but you have time because of the incredibly detailed work that is devoted to your special piece of furniture. The only negative is that their website does not convey their excellent work.

It went fine. I did not get the work done due to extra costs.

We love these guys! Started by getting bids from 4 different companies on the dining room set because we knew it needed work but had no idea what that really meant. Lauer's prices are reasonable, they know their trade and perfectly described their approach. They are very professional and respect people relationships with their things. It was like having family work on the pieces - but better since Mike and Jim really know what they are doing, stay on schedule and are great communicators. They even stored the dining room pieces for us for months while we had some home remodeling going on. That was such a great experience that we've had Mike back several times to work on other pieces - even repaired a chest without taking it out of the house! The breakfront was a piece that had seen far better days a hundred or so years ago. They did amazing things to bring it back to glory not only on the wood which is now gleaming and beautiful but matching or crafting new hardware to match missing bits, changing out a broken wood top for soapstone, etc. Amazing. My only regret is running out of furniture for them to work on. Every bit of the experience on every piece has been wonderful.

Lauer Furniture did a beautiful job refinishing several pieces of furniture , some of which had been in storage due to wear or damage. The refinished pieces look like new! An added plus is that Lauer is very accommodating and easy to work with. I highly recommend this company!

Mike Dowell at Lauer did a really good job and is a real pro. Good craftsmanship and attention to details. It's hard to tell which handle is original and which is the new one. My only complaint is that Lauer is far from me and so a little inconvenient. And it's not cheap. But if you have those pieces that you want well-restored, Lauer is a go-to place.

Mike said he could do both repairs under the Big Deal that we purchased and he also gave us an estimate for refinishing and reupholstering the chair. We dropped the items off on Monday and they were ready that Friday, much sooner than we expected. We are very pleased with the work and have asked him to estimate reupholstering a sofa.

We had a fantastic experience with Mike at Lauer Furniture and would strong recommend him. He was incredibly responsive over email and prompt in providing a good faith estimate based upon photographs. We easily arranged pick up and drop off of the piece from our home. Mike fixed up the piece perfectly and within the estimated cost / time that he quoted. He was in good communication while working on the piece. There were a few pieces that he could not estimate until he had the piece in his shop, and was immediately in touch once he found those prices to enable us to customize the repair within our budget.

Mike Dowell is extraordinary. If anyone has a piece of furniture they love, this is the place to go. The service was exemplary in every way. Mike not only knows and loves wood, he knows and loves craftmanship. When he emailed me to say my table was ready, he referred to it as your "wonderful" table and described it as fun to work with because of the history of how it was made. My table is now a museum piece, but it is beautiful and more important, I remember it in my family's home for decades and in mine for decades more. It has been well and lovingly used in both places by children, parents in law school, friends, grandchildren and sun streaming in through living room windows. all which had taken their toll. A supper table, a work table, a play table, a place for a home made gingerbread house. When I picked the table up Thursday, its beauty took me by surprise.Best of all, it does not look new - it looks like my table. just healthier. And when I asked what he said it was fun to work with, Mike explained how it was made and put together. He also told me it had to be at least a 100 years old (though I suspect older knowing how my mother got it) because it had been made entirely by hand. I had never had furniture worked on before and did not know the right words to let Mike know what I wanted. So I told him the table's story and that I did not want it to look like it just came out of a store or be all shiny. I never dreamed it would look this beautiful. As to cost, I have nothing to compare with, but I know I got extraordinary value. That is why before the table went into my car, I made arrangements to have Mike work on my Sheraton gate leg dining room table. My house could stand painting, but first I had rather spend my money on repairing the wounds life has made in my much loved pieces, all handed down by my mother. Mike is a true artist. January 10, 2015