What do I need to know about having an item of wooden furniture restored?

Your best bet, honestly, is to take it to a local independent furniture shop. Pick someone you know, or with a good reputation. Any furniture store worth anything has a repair staff either on staff or on call.

I would be prepared to spend $250–300 for restoring a rocking chair. However, it may cost more because it’s so old. You may be best off seeking out a dealer of antique-styled furniture. Brands you can look for include Grange, Felix Monge, Starbay. If you have a local stockist of one of these brands, you can definitely expect they’ll have someone on staff who can address your chair.

Good luck, and feel free to message me if you have questions about the quote. I spend my whole life working with repro furniture.

Is there an Amish or Mennonite colony near you? If so, they may be able to help you.

Your link isn’t working properly.

Primitives lose value if they are restored in any way beyond tightening hardware.

The differences between refinishing and restoring are notable. Refinishing simply concerns the outer appearance. Restoring involves structural integrity. It is extremely important to have chairs restored, rather than just refinished. If the chair is to be used in any way, it better get a pro who can take things beyond simple glue reinforcement.

Furniture refinishers are like sushi bars. If they’re busy and the wait is long, then they are probably very good at what they do. If they get you in immediately, then they probably don’t get much business, and for very good reasons.

As far as pay, that will vary depending upon the degree of service you wish to pursue. A total strip down and restore will cost more than a new quality rocker. A simple sanding and stain under a hundred.

Yes @WestRiverrat has a great idea.

What’s wrong with my link? Doesn’t it go to my previous question about moving two family heirlooms across country?

Oh I’m sorry I was expecting photos of the furniture. I didn’t even look at the question. My bad.

Restoring is more about gently bringing it back to its original condition, like cleaning, maybe oiling, and restrengthening the joints. Refinishing will strip/sand the existing finish and a completely new finish (which could be similar or entirely different, depending on your wishes) will be applied. If you’re at all handy, you can refinish it yourself. If not, there should be a repair shop in your area that can handle it. Restoration is best done by a pro. I’d ask antique store owners who they use.

Refinishing is not always a do-it-yourself project. If you are patient and follow the instructions a refinishing project can turn out beautifully.
If you are not patient, it may be a waste of time and look worse than it did before.
I am right now in the process of re-doing, and trying to clean up the mess that my sister made of a family heirloom.

The one on the right is the chair I have. The one on the left is the valuable one. I have the one that means the most to me.

For what it’s worth, this chair has been in use right along, as a piece of furniture in my mother’s living room, and it looks and feels as solid as ever. The repairs it needs are just tiny bits of surface touch-up from wear.

@Jeruba Love it! It looks like it’s in great shape, too. If it’s very sturdy, and you’re not worried about devaluing it’s worth as a collectable, I’d go the refinishing route. They can strip it, fill in any gouges with wood putty, and put a new finish on it.

@Jeruba What a beautiful heirloom!
Your chair could certainly be refinished and used for years.
If it was mine, I would refinish, but perhaps not fill in any nicks or gouges. I think they show age and you know who used the chair to make those nicks and dents. The old varnish should be fairly easy to remove and then a new finish put on.
Good luck and if you do it yourself, remember to be patient, it will be a labor of love and respect.

I love the look of it but not the dark stain. I would have it stripped and oiled not varnished again. That would give it a patina, not gloss and show the nicks and marks of age which to me add to its character and desirability.

It didn’t used to be so dark. That’s one thing. And I’m not bothered about the nicks and dings, some of which I probably helped with. I used to like to stand on the rockers when I was about 3 and ride along when my grandfather was rocking.

But there is some splintering in the seat and a nick that guarantees snagging on your clothes. Those things can’t be left as they are.

Unless it is really deep splintering, which might need to have a piece cut out and replaced, sanding should take care of the roughness. I would not necessarily go to amish, I would find someone who makes furniture or refinishes. Most towns and cities have woodworking clubs which are manned by older folks who have worlds of experience. They can either do it for you or tell you where to take it. It is a beautiful old rocking chair. I too like it much better than the caned one.

more good advice from @rooeytoo