I am so very happy that I called Daren to restore the damage I caused to my Ethan Allen dining room table. I had accidently left a cleaning cloth soaked in an ink remover on the surface of the table. The next morning I discovered that the chemicals had disolved the finish and some of the stain on my beautiful table. I was so upset, and thought I would have to have the entire table refinished. I was also worried about the cost and weeks I would be without a table while it was being repaired. I had resigned myself to the thought that I would always have to have a tablecloth on the table. A friend of mine at a local furniture store had heard of Da Vinci Restoration and advised me to to call. I was so glad I did. Daren promptly answered my phone message and through emails, we set up a time for him to come out to my home and survey "the damage." He was so professional and expressed a keen interest in helping me. I was so impressed with his background in furniture repair and education in that area that I decided to hire him. He was also very happy to give me a list of references of former customers who were pleased with his work. Needless to say, he came back to my house, collected the table top, an extra table leaf, and one table leg to make sure the color and table finish all matched. (that is a great service because I didn't have to bring the table to his shop). Less than 10 days later, I had my table top back (plus table leaf and leg), and the results were so amazing. He not only repaired the areas where the ink remover had melted the varnish on top, but lightly sanded the entire table top and put a very nice varnish on it. I was so pleased as he had done everything he said he would to restore my table. Also, he was even able to incorporate the small scratches and dents from past wear into the final finish. I had my lovely table back, and it look just great! I want you all to know I am a very picky person and very hard to please (my poor husband will vow to that). Daren restored my beautiful maple table, and even told me he so enjoyed doing it. He now has a new customer in me and we have already discussed repair of some of my other Ethan Allen furniture...none of which I had personally damaged! I highly recommend him, and if you want a peek at my restored table, it's on his Web page. Thanks again Daren! read more

Superb work! I came in with several different items for repair. All but one of the items were purchased 35-plus years ago while with the U.S. Army in Germany. The items, while intrinsically not expensive, represented memories for my wife and I. And what's a memory worth? The first item was a Bosson Bush-Baby figurine that fell about 5 feet, with significant damage. While I could have replaced it for $39,99 from E-Bay, that would not have been the same memory. The repair was excellent! No trace of the damage remains! The next item was a Hummel plate, with a chipped edge. Again, the repair makes the damage impossible to see. We had a plaster plate (painted to look like a wood-carving) from Neuschwannstein, in Bavaria (the white castle that Walt Disney patterned his castle after). Again, the repair totally eliminated any evidence of damage. (Much less expensive than a trip to Germany to buy a new one.) One item was not from my wife and my time in Germany 35 years ago; this item was a Japanese Geisha-Lady Salt Shaker, a part of a set with the other shaker a Japanese gentleman. It was a gift to my wife from her only aunt--a memento of the aunt's tour of duty with U.S. Forces after WWII (her aunt was a civilian in intelligence activities). Again, this was completely restored. The final item was a real tour de force. Ny wife had a Hummel wall ornament--a piece of about 3" x 4" x 1/4" wood on which a Hummel painting (boy reading with dog below) had been placed. This piece had been chewed up by a hungry 115-pound Alaskan Malamute had many years ago. Large junks of wood were missing, teeth marks covered the surface, the force of the dog's chewing had lifted and bent the wood well out of its formerly flat surface. It looked like it had been dropped in a garbage disposal and recovered. Da Vinci has before and after pictures and they can show them to anyone. The restoration was excellent. It did not restore the piece to its out-of-the-factory pristine appearance; but is still remarkable just how well and how much of the piece is back! Excellent work! I was also surprised at how quickly the repairs were made, too! I have two more items that I will be bringing in this week. (I'd forgotten them, they had been damaged so long ago. I strongly recommend Da Vinci Restoration to everyone! Chuck read more

I had an excellent experience, and I highly recommend Da Vinci Restoration. Daren answered emails promptly and professionally, and he also kept me updated by phone. I brought in my great-grandmother's rocking chair, which is at least 100 years old. It had damage to some of the load-bearing pieces of wood and was rickety and probably unsafe (for the chair!) to sit in. The wood had also accumulated various bits of paint and glue over the years that I wanted removed and to have the wood conditioned. My goal for any repair work was to be able to use the rocking chair again on a daily basis and to pass it down to my children. When I brought it into the shop for an estimate, I could immediately tell from how Daren tested the strength of the chair that he knew his craft. He was friendly and professional. He carefully explained the work that needed to be done on the chair and, importantly, the work that did not NEED to be done (i.e., would be purely cosmetic, not structural). His estimate seemed reasonable for the amount of work and he said the turnaround time would be 4 to 6 weeks. In 4 weeks, the rocking chair was done. Daren was flexible on the pick-up date, which I appreciated since I was having some health issues. The chair looks beautiful. The finish is shiny and smooth. The chair is as solid as a rock; it doesn't squeak a bit. The broken pieces, which were missing wood, look lovely. It'll definitely last for another hundred years, just as Daren promised. If you have a family heirloom that needs to be restored, you can absolutely trust Daren with it. I would absolutely use Da Vinci again, and I have already recommended Daren to others. read more

Daren, Thanks for the picture, I love my "new" old table and shoemaker/cobbler shoe anvil sculpture! And thank you also for gluing the bottom back on my Grandmother's love letter box. It's hard to believe it's almost 100 years old. It's nice to see someone who has such a passion for their work, and really enjoys what they do. You did a wonderful job on Grandfather's table. It had been sitting in pieces n our various garages over the past 31 years, painted with several layers of white paint. Now it is back to its original beautiful finish - great job - I love it! If we ever need this kind of work again, we will certainly keep you in mind. Warm Regards, Diane Tapper read more

We had purchased a dining table from Macy's and placed a clear plastic cover over it for a few months which marred the finish. The finish that Da Vinci applied to the table was damn near bulletproof. We were going to put a glass top on the table to protect the finish, but Darren claimed it would not be necessary. We were skeptical, but after looking at the price of glass tops we went without. It has been over a year later and the table top looks just as good as the day we got it back from Da Vinci; it has survived our six year old, two teenagers, dog, cat, parties...Very impressive. read more

Wow, fantastic work on the bed, Daren! The footboard on our four-poster mahogany bed was badly damaged with shattered wood around the connecting brackets---we actually thought the bed was done for. Da Vinci Restoration not only repaired the damage, but did so in a way that we can't even tell it was EVER damaged at all! And it actually seems more solid now than it ever was! We'll definitely be back if we need any other work done. Many thanks! read more

Terrific job refinishing our walnut mid-century dining table - Daren is a skilled craftsman and a pleasure to work with. My wife and I couldn't be more pleased and would certainly recommend him to anyone looking for a professional to do furniture refinishing or repair work, he's the best - Patrick read more