Kindel Furniture launches ReNew program

The folks at Kindel Furniture wrote to let me know that they have launched a service nationwide, Kindel ReNew, where it will refurbish any of the 250,000 pieces of furniture it has made over the past 100 years at the same plant and using many of the same techniques as when they were manufactured.

Known worldwide for its fine furniture based on classic American designs, Kindel hand crafts its luxury furniture entirely in Grand Rapids, Mich. The refurbished furniture is certified as being redone at Kindel, which may also be able to provide information on the history of the piece.

This crib is the first piece refurbished as part of this unique program. Appropriately, the first piece of furniture completed under ReNew was a baby crib that former Kindel President Charles Kindel gave more than 80 years ago to the president of Baker Furniture, which once manufactured its products in Grand Rapids when the city was the nation’s fine furniture capital.

before

The crib’s current owner, Susan Rea, said ReNew did more than reclaim a fine piece of furniture that sat forgotten in her basement. The unique program allowed her to rediscover an integral part of her family’s history that she hopes to pass along for generations to come. Her mother, Rea herself, and Rea’s children had slept in the crib when they were infants. “This is exactly how I remember it,” said Rea, 56, as she examined the crib and ran her fingers over its newly restored satin finish. “I only wish I had done this a couple of years ago while my mother was still alive. She would have loved to see this.”Kindel is know worldwide for its authentic reproductions and historically based designs of the 18th and 19th centuries, its original designs from the legendary interior designer, Dorothy Draper, and furniture based on designs from a licensed program with Mount Vernon, the ancestral home of George Washington. The company has exclusive rights to reproduce the furniture for The Winterthur Museum, which is the estate of Henry Francis du Pont in Winterthur, Del., and the premier museum of decorative arts in the nation.

If you have a Kindel piece languishing in your basement or attic and are interested in learning more about this program, visit their website for contact information.

Green design and environmental awareness are all the rage right now. What better way to keep the landfills empty than to refurbish furniture made in classic ways, rather than just throw it out. Kindel may be the first company to do this, let’s hope they are not the last!