I have used Bay Area Restoration's services twice now and very pleased with all projects…read more The first project was a bit of remodeling of my parents' grandmother clock, which doesn't work any longer, but I am sentimental about it and wanted to keep it and make use of it in another way (storage). Al and his crew removed the glass front and replaced it with a solid panel of wood and perfectly matched it to the clock. You would never know that it had been something else before. The second project, just completed, was a perpetual trophy my son won and keeps for a year. It has been in sad condition for some time. The wood base was cracking at the seams and had warped so it was rocky. The "loving" cup which sits atop the base was dented and one of the handles had broken off (not by my son! ;-). It's 33 years old and has been through a lot of hands. First, Al recommended Biro and Sons silversmiths in San Francisco to repair the cup portion of the trophy. I brought it there and they fixed the poor trophy so it looks as if it never had a dent or broken handle. They were fantastic and very pleasant there. I brought the repaired cup back to Bay Area Restoration and they fixed the wood base and attached the cup in such a way that it will NEVER come loose and fall again! That is undoubtedly how the handle broke before and the cup was dented. It looks SO good now. They charged a reasonable fee for each project and finished the projects in a timely manner. They are very nice people and, as a bonus and if you are lucky, Stella the dog might be in the shop. She's a very sweet dog!

RUN! I'd give Bay Area Restoration zero starts if I could. To repair damages during a move the…read moremover's insurance company sent Val. During the intial visit he talked a good game, although it was difficult to be around him due to an overpowering cigarette stench. Then he came back with a co-worker to do repairs onsite. He did properly re-align molding on one piece that was displaced by the movers, but to repair scratches and gouges on other surfaces he indiscriminately sprayed tinted laquer that bonded to and damaged the otherwise pristine original surface. I was subsequently told by another refinisher that it would cost more than $2,000 to undo the damage that Val had done to the surface. On a different piece he reglued a spire that had broken off leaving a very visible crack line, but he considered the job finished by whipping out the spray lacquer again, this time leaving a huge overspray landing on the wall I had just painted the week before. He was messy and unprofessional. Maybe he was a different person when he earned the earlier reviews that sing his praises. Maybe he's lost his skills over the years. Regardless of the reason for the mess he made on my job, RUN!!!

Arsen Karapetyan I…read morehad a great experience with Arsen Karapetyan for furniture repair. He repaired two of our mechanical chairs, replacing the motor and switches quickly and efficiently. He was able to diagnose the problem right away, explained everything clearly, and got the job done without any hassle. He was very friendly, professional, and made sure everything was left clean and organized before he left. It's hard to find someone reliable for furniture repair, and I would absolutely recommend Arsen to anyone needing help with recliners or mechanical chairs.

Arsen, came to our home and was very professional in handling the repair of our recliner. He…read moreanswered and explained our questions to our satisfaction. The recliner is opening and closing great. If there's any other issues, I definitely will ask for Arsen.

Deserves 6 stars for restoration of solid oak dining room set! Provided detailed estimate of work…read moreneeded. Quote was accurate - no overruns. Furniture was ready ahead of schedule. Dining set was rather beaten and stained from at least 2 generations wih rambunctious children. When collecting set, they noticed some chairs were very rickety, and proved quote to fix. All chairs are now solid as a rock. The refinished furniture in now absolutely gorgeous.

Alvarez Furniture Restoration followed through on everything promised, and more. Great job, fast…read moredelivery, very competitive pricing, and tip top clean up. I will recommend them to everyone.

My wife and I have had great experiences with two other woodworkers in San Francisco, but they were…read moreunavailable for this project, so we hired SF Custom Woodworks to: 1. build a windowbox which would also function as a headboard for a bed, with built-in drawers and hinged openings for storage, made of ash veneer on plywood 2. cut a large slab desk which previously filled that window into two smaller desk slabs, to be installed elsewhere Our main contact was Alex, who was great to work with: rapidly responsive at all hours, friendly, accommodating. We were quoted $7,850. Remarkably, the windowbox was built and installed in less than a week. Unfortunately, the attention to detail in execution was poor: * the seams between the four main pieces aren't properly aligned, producing unsightly and rough-feeling edges * many of the edges were cut in a way which badly chipped the veneer * one of the hinged openings is badly misaligned, resting several mm above the surface * a drawer face was delivered with a stray drill hole * one of the main front faces was delivered with a large gouge * one of the drawers was designed to hold a CPAP machine; Alex carefully measured it, but delivered a drawer which didn't fit it * the drawer faces were attached with finishing nails rather than hidden joinery; the nail holes were then covered with poorly matching filler * the desk slabs were returned to us with gouges in the main surface, a 2" divot taken out of an edge face, and unfinished sides Alex told us that the misalignments are because our floor isn't level--which is fine, but the other two woodworkers we've worked with carefully shimmed their bases into place on-site so that everything would be level. Alex told us that finishing nails were necessary to attach the drawer faces, but another woodworker who built ash veneer cabinets for us produced beautiful results with hidden joinery. We sent Alex a list of 13 issues with photos; Alex gamely told us that he'd send one of his woodworkers to fix all but one issue. After a month delay with several reschedulings on both sides, the woodworker came. He fixed the two issues with the desk slabs, but in the process he also partially removed its surface finish, without comment and without offering to refinish it. He said he didn't know how to fix the other issues, and we were left with unfinished desks we still couldn't install. At this point, Alex stopped responding to messages. I gave up and refinished the desk slabs myself, which took about five hours. We planned to put a cushion on half the windowbox and leave the other half exposed, to enjoy the wood tone, but because the execution quality on the windowbox was poor, we decided to cover the whole thing with cushions instead. They meant well, I think, and they really did try. They did deliver roughly the windowbox we wanted, though with a low level of craftsmanship. I think they just don't have the skills/experience needed to execute this project well, and we didn't realize that before hiring them.

We had two projects: 1. Replacement of table legs (to a midcentury modern teak table) that were…read morelost by the moving company during a recent move, and 2. Replacement of six worn dining chair seat cushions and making the chairs more stable and safe. Alex and his crew did a great job with both, using solid teak legs for the table and dissembling and reglueing the dining chairs and fixing the seat cushions. The mohair chair backs were in good shape, and glued to the frame, so we wanted to keep them, though the seats had no cushion left and needed replacement. Alex closely matched the mohair backs- as he said, "a little different style but you'll like it!" We do! The cost was very reasonable and both projects were done in less than a week, with pickup and delivery. It was a pleasure working with him: great communicator, knowledgeable, and honest. Highly recommend.

Louis and his team are true craftsmen. Beautifully repaired furniture that had been in the family…read moresince the 1800s, and at a fair price. They handled the pick up and drop off, and worked closely with me to ensure I was thrilled with the end result -- and I definitely was.

Luis, you are a miracle worker, and a truly talented furniture repair and restoration specialist!…read moreThank you for the great care you took in repairing my great grandparents' 100 year old dining room chairs. They look great, and are finally sturdy! You have been friendly, informative, courteous, responsive, communicative and on time! And, prices can't be beat. We will return!

The mark of a professional is that they do a careful review of a project and give you a detailed…read moreassessment of the scope regardless of whether it generates revenue for them. That's how I roll as an Architect and it's what i expect. Max and Company are professionals. They assessed my project, a dining table and chairs, and told me that we could do a cleaning and waxing on my own. That's the ultimate value. What a great resource and value.

I have a wooden office chair that I love. The left arm separated from the back of the chair, which…read moreis upholstered and I didn't dare cause any more damage by trying to repair the chair myself. I called around and Max, the owner of Geppetto's in downtown Point Richmond, responded quickly to my voice mail message. He initially thought that the job would cost more than the value of the chair, but invited me to bring the chair to his shop. He examined it closely and thought he could reattach the arm to the back without having to take apart the whole chair. Max alerted me to the possibility that there might be a few scratches, which I was willing to accept. He quoted me a fair price and told me he could complete the repair in a day, which he did. Not only this, he tightened up other parts of the chair; touched up a few nicks the chair had incurred over the years; and and even gently oiled the wood trim to make it look better than new. I was startled when I stopped by to pick up the chair. Max was professional and friendly from beginning to end. I would not hesitate for a NY minute to return, if I ever I need additional help with restoration. I highly recommend Geppetto's.

I reached out to Chairman and Sons for help with some Brown Jordan patio chairs that needed…read morereslinging which requires expert knowledge and experience. The chairs were delivered yesterday and they are beautiful. Frank is a true craftsman.

I reached out to a few companies because my 10 patio sling chairs were in desperate need of new…read moreseating. Franks prices were the most reasonable and included pickup and delivery. The best part - I had them back in 10 days!

I found Carlos through a friend for whom he built an entertainment center…read more I liked that design so much that I wanted that person to design my bookshelf. Carlos is an artist. I asked him to design a bookshelf for a corner space in our house family room and he came out with a master piece. His prices are reasonable and he keeps you informed every step of the way. Rafael

Carlos Recavarren is a very good worker and professional. I'm very please to say that his work is…read morewonderful. I'll recommend to everyone who would like to have a costumer furniture or furniture repair or have hard with floors to change the look . I'll recommend Carlos for any kind of work that has to do with wood and also uphlostery. You will be very happy with his work. This is his e-mail: recavarrenc@yahoo.com and this is his phone #: 415-519-3154

Can't really say I recommend it. I had some scratches on my front and rear seat and wasn't happy…read morewith the color match and I did not expect a spray paint job that I could have done myself. On the blue section, and there was some over-spray and it has a yellowish green tint. It took him a few quick minutes to mix some dye and he didn't really spot check for match. I asked if he could match it better but he said it could make it worse. There was also over-spray. Frankie just blocks off the untouched spot by holding a piece of cardboard. It wasn't precision and care. Also, deep scratches could be sanded, smoothed and polished to match, but he doesn't go to this level of service. He just applies putty over it and lets you know it will leave a lump. However, the match on black was very good, almost perfect. But it felt rough due to the over-spray. Overall, I had expected a more precise hand polishing process and care for matching, but it was just quick spray paint. Deep scratches really didn't get resolved. The car is now a collectors item. I was hoping for a level of quality that matches the prestige. EDIT In response to the owner; I do not use Yelp much and do not write many reviews. But they are bad experiences that are memorable enough to share and I provided evidence (invoices and pictures) to support it. The owner's lack of accountability in his response should be a concern. I've had someone asking about his work the past few weeks (2025: 9 years later) and it prompted me to help this person and update the review and even tone it down a tad for the owner's benefit. 1 and 2. The pictures uploaded appear the same quality as the original but resized. Don't believe otherwise as the owner leads you to believe. Many of you have uploaded pictures and know this is is a lie. I believe Yelp will also dispute the owner on the quality of their site. 3. As for repairing scratches, I had no issues and mearly shared the level of service ($350 - in 2016 dollars) for the community, but the owner has a problem with me sharing it. 4. The car was just as pristine in 2016 as today 2025, 1,500 miles later. I have the invoices on the work, dated before Frankie's job. In fact, I should probably write a review on it since the owner seems to have a problem with me not writing good reviews, especially if it is redundant to many other good reviews. 5. The owner is lying about the date of the job and timing of my review. The job was done on 2/6/2016. My review was dated 5/7/2016. I moved away from the area June 2016 and was very busy with preparing for the move and finishing up my life there. 6. The owner claimed he could make it right, but as he mentioned during the job, he did not want to fix the mismatch. I had no reason to contact him further. I moved to a different area a few months later and had more important concerns than the owner's job and was fine with just writing a review. The owner needs to own it.

Frankie came out today to repair a ghastly tear in the driver's seat of a 2011 Acura. He…read moreimmediately shared that the issue had been the driver using a seat warmer. Frankie was friendly, professional and efficient. The repair looks good and I'll save this vendor for any future needs.

I'll be honest-we were pretty overwhelmed at the thought of doing a full makeover for our home. We…read moreknew we wanted a total makeover for our place, but trying to find a team that actually handles the 'boots on the ground' construction side and the high-end design is way harder than it looks. After talking to a few different firms, Kanika Design just felt like the right fit. Kanika really listened to what we wanted. I've always been a bit nervous about using bold colors, but she pushed us (in a good way!) for a deeper color palette in the main living areas. It looks incredible. Kanika found us so many unique, high-quality furniture pieces that you just won't find at a big-box store. The biggest thing for us was logistics. Once the design process completed, their team handled everything - architectural, permit headache, and construction. Anyone who has done a remodel knows things never go 100% perfectly, but whenever an issue popped up, they were on top of it immediately. They kept the contractors moving and kept us updated on the budget and what was happening next. It's a relief to finally be done after 2 years and have a home that feels like us but way better. I can't recommend Kanika and her team enough. We're still obsessed with how everything turned out.

I had the opportunity to work with Kanika Design as their contractor. I have a wonderful experience…read morewith them. I love the way they work. They are super clean and dedicated so much time at the job side. I recommended them 100%. You cannot go wrong with them.