Insight from furniture restoration specialist - Förnya
Do you find that you don’t spend as much time as you used to in your outdoor space? Whether it’s eating alfresco, having a dip in the pool or celebrating, your backyard should always be a special place to unwind and spend time with family and friends.
Over the years is your outdoor wooden dining set (you spent a lot of money on) now appearing weathered, worn or even mouldy? Does your pool deck look ugly and old?
It is not ideal when the place that was once ambient and serene, now appears discoloured and aged.
Par Arnoldson from Förnya (formerly known as Sydney Staining Services) knows all too well what impact this has on homeowners in Sydney - “We come out to people's personal spaces- like their entertainment area, and they almost feel a little bit leaning into depressed about that area. There is a strong emotional connection there - they have had so many good memories over the years, so the furniture really deserves to be looked after and not neglected.”
Should you throw out the outdoor furniture set and buy a new one? Throwing out furniture is wasteful and adds to the ongoing issue of unsustainable landfill.
Restoring damaged or weathered furniture could be the right answer for you, especially if you have spent a lot of money on it. With a little bit of maintenance, your outdoor wooden furniture can continue to last in your outdoor space.
Förnya has been operating for 6 years in Sydney, restoring mainly teak outdoor and indoor pieces and decking, bringing them back to life. Par says “We come out in one day and we sand everything back to make it beautiful and stain it to look like new again, or better.”
Förnya is the Swedish word for ‘Renew’, and Förnya’s motto is “Don’t discard. Renew”. This speaks volumes to our increased awareness about sustainability. If we can maintain, look after and fix our furniture pieces, we can help reduce landfill, helping our environment be cleaner. It is an important aspect to keep in mind when considering your options.
Renewing worn wooden furniture can also save you money. Furniture, decking and anything wood can be very expensive to purchase new, and lets face it - cheaper furniture pieces just don’t have the “je ne sais quoi” that makes your space distinctive.
You may have a historic piece in your home, a family heirloom that has significant meaning in your life. Antique furniture with unique craftsmanship is something that you may not easily find nowadays. Would you throw a piece like this in the trash?
We asked Par about his most memorable job, and he told us about this antique door he restored that was brought in from overseas - “There was this really old ancient teak door with this surreal carpentry carved into it, we got the privilege to restore it. The intricate carpentry was very detailed and very memorable to me”.
From the way Par spoke about this job, we could tell that it was something spectacular and something to be appreciated. We understood the impact certain pieces can have on a space and to people. This is something that should not ever be discarded.
Par has faced his share of struggles in his business over the years, and is now very happy with his ensemble of professional equipment. “I have faced a lot of challenges and a lot of them Mirka has actually helped me to solve. It has been great to have that support from Mirka too, to fix all these problems that we used to have with sawdust everywhere, with too much vibrations in the hands…”.
"It has been great to have that support from Mirka too, to fix all these problems that we used to have"
If you are a keen woodworker, you could very well maintain your own furniture, and may benefit from Mirka’s lightweight and low vibration sanders which should be used with a dust extractor for dust free and safe sanding.
But even if you already have your own sander, you may get decent results from a budget sander if Mirka abrasives are used. Mirka’s abrasives are a leader in the market because of their ability to outlast other brands. They have been so well designed that you will notice the difference if you try them. Best Abrasives now offer 10 packs of Galaxy and Abranet Ace, allowing you to try them for yourself.
“We are blown away by the new Galaxy range. Self sharpening abrasives, who would have thought? Great return on investment, since staff spend less time sanding. Pure genius move from Mirka.”
Alternatively, you could also find professionals like the Förnya team who do a superb job on wooden furniture and decks. Par is very passionate about his work and his customers are always happy with the end result.
Par expressed this to us when we spoke with him - “It's an extremely rewarding space to be in because we get to go out to site and we see a massive transformation every day. We take your teak outdoor setting from looking mouldy, dirty and grubby and when the customer comes back home, they see the massive transformation of a brand new or better-looking setting stained to highlight the timber grain”.
