Scott Malatesta may be a competent woodworker, but he is not a trustworthy or responsible businessman. I inherited a beautiful mid-century modern dining set with table, chairs, and buffet. He refinished the table and chairs a few years ago, and this year (2022) I asked him to refinish the buffet. I'm the third generation to enjoy this set, and I was hoping to leave it to my heirs--but it's not a set anymore! The buffet is MUCH darker than the table, and Scott has not taken responsibility. He has blamed the wood (they are made from the same wood) and bleaching from the sun (the table isn't in the sun), and his constant refrain is "I used the same stain." He should have noticed as he was working that the results were much darker than the original or at least that the exterior was much darker than the interior. Scott eventually said that he would have to strip it back down and redo it. I agreed and offered to send a table leaf for reference, but now he's not even responding to email. I'm afraid my next step is small claims court. read more

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Fine woodwork refinishing. If anyone is looking to refinish/repair find woodwork, I'd highly recommend Malatesta Woodworks! Scott Malatesta is personable, knowledgeable, a craftsman and reasonably priced. Took our yellowed custom walnut coffee table and made it look like new! read more

Malatesta Woodworks - Solid walnut custom table with burled walnut veneer inlay - looks like new! - Cabinetry Near Me - Edmonds, Washington

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My father found an antique secretary in 1950 and spent the next decade refinishing it. I don't know a world that doesn't contain this beautiful thing. This is where the special holiday dishes were stored, important papers were kept and was a hugely important centerpiece of my childhood. My parents gave it to me about fifteen years ago. Time had taken its toll and the roll too had become unusable many other parts were not functioning well. I was extremely apprehensive about anyone attempting to repair this valued item. We were about to move and it felt like it might not make the move without some expert attention. I spent a lot of time searching for someone that I could entrust this with. I chose Scott purely on reviews. I contacted him and he asked for pictures and said that he had done work on similar pieces. He was willing to pick it up from our old house and deliver it to our new house. Was I nervous? Incredibly! Did I bug him for status? Definitely! What he delivered was much better than I hoped. The roll too and drawers were significantly smoother than I had every experienced. The new wood that was needed for one of the drawers was undetectable. Scott was communicative and easygoing. I am really grateful that I found someone that could bring new life to this 160 year old treasure. read more

Malatesta Woodworks - Precious family heirloom. - Cabinetry Near Me - Edmonds, Washington

A china hutch given to us from my grandparents was moved over the years from Oregon to Utah to Connecticut and then across country to Washington State this past summer. All the moving had taken a toll on this piece of furniture, but it was especially abused in its most recent move and needed to be either scrapped or saved! Hooray! It could be saved! Malatesta Woodworks not only mended (and even replaced some) the piece but also stained it to match our new dining room set. We LOVE it and will cherish it for many years to come! Thanks, Scott, for such a job exceptionally done! read more

Malatesta Woodworks - Beautiful china hutch once again - Cabinetry Near Me - Edmonds, Washington

Over 1 year ago we gave Scott a deposit on kitchen cabinets. 1st 1/3rd of the order to be delivered Dec 29th 2016. The rest to be delivered within the following weeks, to be finished by Jan 31, 2017. This is 2 months to complete the job. A reasonable request by any metric. After 6 months, countless screw ups, and immense patience on my part I insisted that he finish. Scott took offense at this and simply quit with a ton of work left to do. A partial itemized list of what went wrong with Scott's work: -Scott said before we started that his shop might be overwhelmed by all the cabinets. (This should have been a warning that Scott wasn't prepared to deliver) I went right out and got a storage unit near our houses. Rented it for 2 months. He never used it as the work barely trickled out over 6 months. -After I specifically asked for the simple, inexpensive drawer slides, Scott installed self closing drawer slides. He either left too little allowance or bought the cheapest ones possible because half the medium to small drawers are a pain in the ass to open and close. -3 or 4 times I explained to Scott what I wanted while he measured and took notes in my kitchen. Only to return later with cabinets built the wrong size. Somehow in Scott's mind this is my fault. -Scott claims that I kept changing my mind. In fact my finished kitchen is awfully close to the drawings I gave him a year ago and he had a tape measure and notebook in my kitchen a dozen times. -We had at least 3 conversations about why I didn't want to push my old fridge against the wall. The new fridge we were buying was much deeper and would protrude from the counter and I wanted Scott to take that into account and measure to where the fridge sat for the divider, not back 4+" flush with the counter. Scott cut the divider counter depth then went ahead and installed it anyway with a huge gap in the back. -One evening, months into the job, while my wife was WORKING at home I asked Scott to switch to a normal drill from the very loud impact driver (overkill) he was using to install cabinet doors. He took that opportunity to mock 1st the request then the drill he had to borrow from me. -I was a woodworker for 15 years and I knew what I wanted and how to ask for it. When Scott heard I was planning on going to Ikea he just about begged for this gig. Contrary to what Scott led me to believe it's now obvious Scott had never done a kitchen before. He even seemed stunned when I expected the cabinets to have trim. -A hallmark of an inexperienced cabinet maker is not leaving enough tolerance. Almost all my doors and half the drawers rub because Scott didn't leave enough tolerance. Doors don't hang straight and don't line up, the tight allowance making the irregularities very obvious. -I specifically asked for extra finish on the 3 cabinets around the sink/trash/dishwasher. Not only did they not get extra finish they're barely finished at all. Also I've got 8 internal drawers and several cabinets with no finish whatsoever. Every other cabinet maker I talked to would build kitchen cabinets with pre finished plywood. Because water. -stack of 3 cabinets for wall oven: top cabinet 1/4" narrower than others. Needs to be rebuilt. -One of the cabinets hides a hot water heater. Only 8" deep I wanted 2 narrow cabinets hinged to swing out like French doors. Scott said he couldn't find hinges to do that (what?) and talked me into making 1 cabinet that slides out on drawer slides on one side. I agreed to it with the caveat that the side with the slides be built with a 24" deep piece to stiffen it. Scott ignored this and built the whole thing 8" deep which caused the slides to torque badly as I knew they would. Scott took it back and added a half assed brace to try to stiffen it after the fact. Now it's really hard to pull out because it torques, slides are visible because of poor design, and it doesn't come out far enough to get behind anyway. It needs to be rebuilt. -ignored order for dividers in cabinet for cutting boards/cookie sheets. -My house smelled like cigarette smoke for hours after every time Scott was there. -also paid in full for a desk to be refinished. After abandoning kitchen Scott left the desk untouched in my driveway. -I paid for changes and additions after work was started. Approximately $1200 on top of the initial bid. This isn't good enough for Scott and he just walked away from the job, insulted that I asked him to finish after 6 months. To complete unfinished work and re-do all of Scott's mistakes is going to cost thousands. If Scott had simply taken my $4000 deposit and drawings and used the month lead time to build my cabinets this would be a much different review. Hell, if he'd have just finished at ANY point I at least wouldn't be writing a bad review. I hate writing this but Scott walked away and left me no choice. Craftspeople have a saying: Cheap, fast, good, pick 2. I got none from Scott, not even finished. read more

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I inherited an arts and crafts style rocking chair from my grandmother. The chair had also been her father's and she had moved it from Iowa long before I was born. I loved sitting in that chair as child in her home for years. After she passed, I shipped it back to Seattle, and the rocker broke in transit. Disappointment does not come close to describing my emotional state at the time. I found Scott on Yelp, and am extremely glad that I did. He masterfully reattached the broken leg, secured it from the bottom with new wood, and restained the piece beautifully. I recommend his work without any reservations. He is truly a master of his art. Thanks again! read more

Malatesta Woodworks - Before - Cabinetry Near Me - Edmonds, Washington

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STOP! Don't search any further. What Scott crafted for me out of a family heirloom is priceless. I believe any wood working project you trust with Scott will be delivered with the same caliber of craftsmanship! Here's the scoop: We have a oak table top with delft tiles. It was made by my wife's father. The delft tiles are fragile and valuable to the family. Shortly after WWII, my wife's family immigrated to the United States from the Netherlands. The family would send back to their homeland desperately needed supplies, like clothes. In return, these delft tiles were sent back as a Thank You. In 1950, my father-in-law built this table top using the tiles. When I came into the picture there were two such table tops. The larger of the two was given to my wife shortly after we married. I restored it and painstakingly removed, then re-mortared the tiles - then attached some table legs. This table served as our family dining table for ten years. When we moved to New York we placed this table in storage. When we returned to the Seattle area, we were heartbroken to learn it disappeared in the warehouse. We were paid pennies per pound as compensation. So sad. Later, my father-in-law, who is in failing health, gave us the second, smaller delft table top. It was in far worse shape than the one I had restored and it sat in our garage for years. A month or so ago, my wife hinted strongly she's like it restored as her birthday present to be a coffee table. Knowing this time I needed help (most of my wood-working gear was sold before our move to NYC), I jumped on Yelp and Scott's business surfaced to the top. I reached out, sent him pictures, and begged him to do the impossible and restore this in a matter of a few weeks. He took the challenge! He finished more than a few days before my wife's birthday, and he even stored it until the big day. What I picked up that day was fantastic! It looked perfect! I was amazed to hear the table legs were even crafted out of the original table top's backing boards (solid oak). Take a look at the before and after shots and tell me you are hesitant to trust Scott, I dare you! No way! Don't hesitate! We are so satisfied with the work, we are interested in commissioning him to help us finish our living room fireplace with some extra delft tiles. read more

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Scott fixed a damaged, wooden bed frame for us. He is a joy to work with -- responsive, professional, thoughtful and accommodating. Not only did Scott patiently reply to all of my questions and emails, but he came to the house himself to inspect the damage -- and disassemble/reassemble the bed. He was communicative through the entire process, which was quick, and delivered high quality work. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Scott's services to anyone (everyone!) and will surely work with him again. Thank you! read more

Wow! So we have a dining room table that's about 13 years old that we've schlepped from Cincinnati to Boston to Philly to Seattle. Along the way, it's accumulated a ton of cat claw scratches, a couple of pizza box scorches, and other battle scars. We decided to have it refinished, and after looking around on Yelp, we settled on Scott Malatesta to help us out. We sent him photos and he came back with a very fair estimate that included pick-up and delivery. He worked with us to schedule the table to be refinished while we were away on vacation, and the day after we got back, he showed up with our now beautifully restored table. The quality of the work is simply outstanding, and the table is once again the proud centerpiece of our dining room. Scott was knowledgeable, friendly, extremely responsible, very reasonably priced, and he is clearly talented at his craft. I highly recommend him, and he'll be first on our list for any furniture restoration or woodwork needs that we might have in the future. read more

I had Scott completely refinish and restore a late 1800's Kimball Baby Grand Piano. I cannot believe how great of job he did! Not only does it look perfect, but probably better than when it was new. This piano had some major damage from cats and dogs which entail rutting, scratches, and small holes. These were completely fixed. The final product is amazing. I would HIGHLY recommend him to anyone looking for any type of wood to be refinished. He went down to polishing every screw head on the whole piano. I can't say enough how happy I am. He's a good guy and easy to work with. He communicates well to make sure you're happy and it's done to your liking. One of the best experience I've had working with a contractor. read more

Scott is honestly amazing. He built the stations for my salon. I looked everywhere for stations and they were crazy expensive and ugly. I went to Scott with some ideas of what I liked and he was able to take my vague description and turn it into beautiful furniture. His work is priced so well and truly gorgeous unique pieces of furniture. I am soo happy. read more

Malatesta Woodworks - Stations and rollabouts by Scott Malatesta - Cabinetry Near Me - Edmonds, Washington

Scott was very responsive to my email with pictures of the dining room chair that needed repair for my daughter in Seattle. He provided a quote that seemed reasonable and I had the chair to him within two hours of my first email. When I got there he looked at the chair, confirmed what he saw in the pictures, and and described how he was going to fix it. Scott indicated he would have it done in two days, well in time for Christmas meals. The next morning I received an email from Scott indicating the work was done. He said I could pick it up anytime after noon. So instead of 48 hours, the work was done in less than 24. When I arrived to get the chair Scott showed me the work and again explained what he did and why. I appreciate Scott's work. It was of high quality. He is also service oriented and responsive to customer needs read more

I cannot say enough good things about Malatesta Woodworks! We recently purchased an expensive dining room table and within the first month my mother accidentally spilled fingernail polish remover on it. We got multiple quotes that were all approximately $1400. Malatesta came in at less than half that amount and had better reviews than several of the other companies who sent us a quote. The table was picked up on Saturday, and we were told we'd have it back in a week (the other companies quoted us 2-4 weeks). Not only did we receive the table back on time but 3 days early! The owner gave us great feedback on products to use to help keep our table looking great for years to come. The table looks brand new and matches the extensions perfectly! Fantastic company to work with, and we'll be taking all of our work here from now on! read more

Malatesta Woodworks - Cabinetry Near Me - Edmonds, Washington

First and foremost, I knew that I wanted Scott to take on my project simply because he took the time to respond to my request to repair a dining chair. It is rare to even get a response from professionals. Upon meeting Scott, he was very friendly and approachable. I was happy to have him repair my chair as his quote was very fair. He took exactly the amount of time promised and I picked up my repaired chair just a few days after dropping it off. The work Scott did for me was great and I will definitely be back in touch him if I have other woodwork repairs. Thanks, Scott!! read more

I had an office desk for 27 years, which was a beautiful piece of wood with wood inlay on the top. It got a lot of use, and had gotten worn looking.Scott repaired it, including replacing some small pieces on the top. It is now gorgeous again! He did the work within the agreed upon time frame, and at the cost estimated. Will use him again without hesitation. read more

The front door on our 1923 house was in awful need of refinishing. I wasn't even sure if it was salvageable, because the inside had many layers of paint on it, and there were some structural problems with the door itself. Scott came to the rescue. He came over, removed the door, replaced it temporarily with a respectable-looking piece of plywood, and within a week he had magically transformed the front entry to our house. He did extra work: structural repairs on the door, cleaned the beveled glass, made the hinges sparkle, and installed the new hardware. He re-installed the door, and it looks amazing. Scott did everything right: great communication, totally prompt, and a super friendly guy. Highly, highly recommended. This is a guy who takes pride in his work. read more

Scott did a great job on reproducing pieces of an antique bookcase. They fit together perfectly, he even matched the original stain spot on!! Thanks Scott, we will be calling on your services again. read more

I own a business that relocated into the new South Building at University Village. I had custom-made tables and reception desks that were 10 years old. I wanted to refinish them so that they would look great in my new space. I found Scott on yelp and hired him to do the job. I'm so glad I did! He was very easy to work with. He picked up my furniture when I needed him to, did a fantastic job of cleaning and restoring everything, had it all done and delivered when I needed it, and helped me put everything back together. His rates are super reasonable for the level of care and craftsmanship he offers. I recommend Scott and Malatesta Woodworks with the greatest enthusiasm! He is a true craftsman, runs a really good shop and is a super-nice guy. I am SO glad I found him. He absolutely deserves 5 stars. read more

Scott came to our house, picked up our table top, and returned it within a week completely refinished and beautiful. We would definitely use him and again and recommend him to others. read more

Scott did a great job repairing, stripping and waxing my old cherry desk. I highly recommend him and his business.

Scott did a great job refinishing and repairing my oak clawfoot table and it's six original leaves. For a small of additional fee he picked it up and delivered it. It was clear that he appreciated the table and seemed to the excited about the fact that it had all of its original pieces. When he delivered it, he quickly reassembled it, the told me how other customers had admired it. I enjoyed his willingness to share more information about my family heirloom. Scott truly loves woodworking and will do a great job. I would use him again in a heartbeat. read more

Scott made a Mid-Century Modern bookcase for me. It turned out exactly as I wanted it. Great workmanship and he's a nice guy to boot.

I cannot believe the transformation of my coffee table. The top was very scratched and worn looking when I brought it into Malatesta Woodworks. It looks like a brand new, absolutely gorgeous coffee table now. Scott does amazing work! You won't be disappointed. read more

I don't write many reviews, probably because well built products and good service seem to be a dying breed these days. I subscribe to the philosophy that if you don't have anything good to say, don't say anything at all. I remodeled my home in a mid-century modern style. The house came with hollow core cheapo doors. I ordered new solid core doors unfinished. I then asked Scott if he could turn our vision to reality by inlaying brushed metal strips into the wood and staining the doors in a gray wood stain. I think he might have actually been a bit concerned with how the final product was going to look, but they came out exactly the way we wanted and really tie all our mid century style together. Thanks Scott! read more

Read some of the reviews so decided to go out and see what Scott could do on a very old Art Deco Side table that I inherited from a Aunt.The Side table was in very poor condition. Scott said he could refinish it for me. Well when I picked it up,it was just beautiful what a nice job he did,very very pleased. Not only is Scott very personable ,his prices are reasonable and his workmanship is great. read more

Scott did an incredible job restoring a pool table and getting the exact wood tone we needed. Could not be happier.

Scott refinished our bedroom set and did a great job! We love how it looks, he was professional, the work was completed on time and at a very reasonable price. Highly recommend him! read more

We recently moved out of my parent's house and I brought home four pieces of lovely old furniture that had been moldering away for many years in dusty old corners of the attic and garage. I took the first piece (a small bookcase) to Scott and was amazed by the result of his work. It was so renewed and beautiful that I very happily took the other three pieces to him for repair/rejuvenation. Scott is a true artist! He repaired water stains and broken/wobbly pieces, cut and stained a perfect matching veneer for one surface, and even fabricated an edge to a burl wood piece that initially appeared questionably salvageable - to my mind that is, but not to Scott. He is a kind person, his prices are very reasonable and the care and attention he pays to his work speaks for itself. I will recommend him to anyone who needs a beloved piece of wood furniture refinished or returned to its original beauty and function. Thanks again, Scott! read more

I had an Ikea sofa with broken parts to the frame. I wanted to get that fixed and update the look of the sofa. Scott did an awesome job - he's knowledgeable about wood & stains and has an eye for the right color. He fixed the broken parts, made the frame very strong and made a blended stain for the frame that goes so well with the new upholstery fabric I picked. Doesn't look like an Ikea sofa now! It looks wonderful. I also had a table--pale blonde pine with stains & 2 chairs that my office gave me when they moved that had an awful purple-red stain to them. I wanted the chairs and table to match. Turns out the wood under that weird stain was walnut and beautiful when it was revealed. The grain is amazing. Scott matched the table to the chair frames. It was hard to get the cushions off to be reupholstered but he was creative and did it. Now I have a lovely table-chair set. His prices are good. He does all the work by hand and I couldn't be happier with what he did. They turned out as beautiful as I had hoped for. Thanks, Scott. read more