After several years under a plastic cover, ironically meant to protect it from damage, the finish of our dining table was badly damaged. The plastic had melted into the surface and left the table looking ruined. I reached out to Lou by email, and he responded quickly. He came over to evaluate the table, explained what could be done, and returned the following week to repair it. He did an excellent job restoring the table to its original finish. The wood tone and surface look beautiful again, and I honestly thought the table might be beyond saving. Highly recommend Lou for furniture repair and restoration. He was responsive, professional, careful, and clearly very skilled. I've included before and after photos because the difference speaks for itself. read more

Villar Restorations - After - Refinishing Services Near Me - San Mateo, California

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Highly recommend! Lou is friendly, fast and reasonably priced. BONUS! He's Mobile and able to make repairs from the convenience of your home. Not very many like him left. Very talented, he won't disappoint. He restored a handle on a very nice dining chair and left It sturdier than originally was. read more

Lou is simply amazing! He's FAST. His repairs are I INCREDIBLY GOOD. He's a great conversationalist. And on the side, he rescuers old ladies who've lost their cars! Lou calls you back THE SAME DAY you call him. Then he picks up the furniture at your place the NEXT day. Or comes to your house to make the repair, the NEXT day. Hard to imagine how he manages this. Frankly I'm used to waiting months for repairs. Lou solves the most difficult problems, a smashed broker rocker on a beloved antique. A broken leg on a Chippendale sofa, the wiggly table top of an 18th century tea table. He finishes his repairs so well you have to remember which leg or which rocker was broken or you won't see them. Lou is well-informed about furniture. And he loves antiques as much as you and I do. He knows a piece's age, knows woods, knows finishes. He feels the furniture. Only years and years of experience can bring such knowledge. Finally, Lou the old lady rescuer! I was several blocks from home when I was supposed to meet Lou back at the house. I had plenty of time to get back to him. UNTIL I couldn't find my car. So..I call Lou and he helps me find my car and we meet at my apartment. As if nothing had happened. Can you imagine how one of my children would have responded? Bless Lou. He's a gem. Call him right now. You'll be delighted! read more

Lou fills a huge niche. Say you've got a large piece of furniture that's got a ding in it. You either live with it (tacky), or you try to find a refinisher who's interested in the job (and good luck with that) and then hire someone at great expense to move it, or you call Lou. He patched up and reinforced a broken credenza that was missing a structural member, repaired and touched up a pair of shoji screens that a floor installer had played bumper cars with, touched up the top veneer of a desk that had been damaged by movers, and touched up the base of a lamp. It would have cost me hundreds of dollars to move the large pieces, even if I'd done it myself. Plus every time you move furniture there's an X percent chance it'll get damaged, no matter how reputable the mover. And from what I can tell, touching up furniture takes more finesse than a refinisher is capable of. I know the refinisher I work with wasn't enthusiastic about taking on any of these jobs. read more

Lou is super prompt in responding and taking care of your need. My bed frame got detached from the rails as part of the move and the movers just patched it so I don't notice. Painfully the bed frame broke mid-night while I was asleep and it felt like an earthquake. I called Lou in the morning and he showed up within an hour and got it fixed immediately at a nominal price. Highly recommend him! read more

Villar Restorations - Broken frame that Lou fixed - Refinishing Services Near Me - San Mateo, California

Luis responded quickly to my email request for help to repair a mahogany table with a bad chip out of the corner. He had to rebuild the corner, as the missing piece had been gone for decades. He came to our house today to make the repair. I didn't know chips like this could be fixed, but there you go! He even gave us a quote for refinishing our kitchen cabinets. Thanks! read more

Villar Restorations - Before... - Refinishing Services Near Me - San Mateo, California

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We had a family antique dining room table, showing it's age and many dinners since the late 1800s. Lou understood the unusual structure connections and refinished and restored it. It's been in storage, but moved recently to our daughter and son-in-law's home--it is beautiful, and we all appreciate being able to keep traditions with this nostalgic wonderful piece. Lou did an outstanding job! read more

I found Villar restoration on Yelp. And i'm glad that I found him. He did a great job for my sink base cabinet water damaged. His price is very reasonable. We communicated thru email and he can explain briefly on what he will be doing. He also went to the job site to discuss things over before he do the job. He is very punctual with his appointments even though he is very busy. He tells you how many hours will he need to finish his job. Just a tip... Need to book ahead, I waited for 2 weeks to get an appointment. read more

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Moving across the country (from North Carolina to the Bay Area), I struggled to find a reputable furniture repairman who was willing to do on-site repairs. Finally, I was referred to Villar Restorations. I had multiple pieces of furniture that needed fixing (drawers and tables with acetone stains, pot stains, detached rods). Lou came on site and exceeded my (already high) expectations! He is nice, professional, and easy to talk to. My furniture now looks brand new:) Really glad I was referred to Lou, and will certainly come back in the future:) read more

Lou saved me today!!! I had a dresser that didn't belong to me with a stain. I didn't know what to do or who to go to, but needed professional help. He came over and lifted the stain and made the piece look beautiful in about 30 minutes. He was Very professional and made me feel at ease. Also he was very reasonably priced. I would use him again in a heartbeat! read more

Lou did a great job repairing our couch frame! He was a great communicator, friendly, and reliable. He came to our house to do the repair which saved us the trip of transporting the couch to a shop. Definitely recommend Villar Restorations! read more

Very impressed! I have a hope chest that my puppy chewed the corner off years ago. I finally got around to having it repaired. Lou asked for pictures, gave me a quote over email and arrived the day and time he said he would. If you didn't know, you'd never see the area he worked on. He also fixed up some scratches and put a varnish on the whole thing to protect it. It almost looks new. Great customer service, reasonable price, quality work. What more could you want? I recommend him and would use him again in a heartbeat! read more

Lou did an amazing job restoring our dining table and chairs and our headboard. He worked on site, which was very convenient, and we are grateful for his expertise. Lou was easy to communicate with and fit us into his schedule promptly. I highly recommend him. read more

We contacted Lou to help with a Barca Lounger that disengaged from the base. We tried a couple of solutions on our own and decided that we needed an expert. From the first phone call, Lou was helpful and made some suggestions as to what he believed was needed for the fix and asked if he could drop by when he was in the neighborhood the following week. When he arrived, he determined that he could make the repair and would even do a minor leather cleanup on two chairs that had become soiled from body oils over time. Lou was able to fix the base and get us back in business for Christmas as we are having family visits. The leather has been conditioned and looks very good given the applications that he chose. We recommend Lou and appreciate his willingness to come up with a very good and cost effective solution. read more

Lou was fantastic and very nice. Came to my apartment to look at my couch which was broken, gave me a very fair price, and repaired the couch on the spot. It looks brand new. I'm very particular with my furniture and I would highly recommend Lou anytime. Thank you! read more

Louis Villar is a dying breed of craftsman/furniture restorer. He has done a number of different jobs for us on our antique furniture and we are 100% satisfied with his service and workmanship. read more

I've been waiting for over 2 yeasr for Lou to finish a job he has been paid for. Whenever I e-mail him he doesn't respond. I am jiust about ready to go to small claims court. I woudn't give him 1 star rating at this point! read more

Amazing work - came to my house twice to repair the same daybed after Flat Rate movers broke first the left and then the right arms. Also a very nice man and very professional! read more

Villar Restorations - Repaired!! - Refinishing Services Near Me - San Mateo, California

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We needed a repair to a burned kitchen cabinet and door. This can be hard to get done because the big cabinet makers just want to put in new cabinets and the typical general handyman does not necessarily have great woodworking skills. We found Lou Villar through Yelp and were very glad we did. We e-mailed a photo of the damage and he quickly e-mailed back with a reasonable estimate and a date he could stop by the house. Yes, he makes house calls! Lou was right on time, professional and did the same kind of high quality work seen in the amazing pictures on his web-site. The cabinet looks as good as new and we were very impressed by Lou's "old world" skills. We plan to have him come back to work on a dining room table that needs some help. Highly recommended! read more

After years of furniture abuse wreaked by house cleaners, I finally went in search of a restorer on Yelp. The reviews of Louis Villar are not wrong. He deserves a 5+. He responded on email immediately, even though he was on vacation. He came out promptly after his return, and fixed the dents and scratches on an antique chest, a coffee table, a dining table and chairs, bedroom pieces, wood pieces in the master bath and even a large dent on the stairs (the cleaner had taken out a little chunk). I am so happy! Guess I will have to clean the house myself from now on to preserve his fine work. read more

Lou did a great job restoring our dining table which was very neglected.. I would highly recommend him to anyone needing restoration work on an old piece. Only negative feedback is that he is really hard to reach and you need to be patient when emailing or phone him, he does get back to you...eventually. read more

I had a fantastic experience with Villar Restorations. I have a big, heavy dresser that's had a busted leg for years. I dreaded loading this big and unwieldy piece of furniture to take it somewhere to get it repaired, and then I saw Villar Restorations listing on Yelp, saying they can do repairs on site. I gave Lou a call and he promptly called me back and we worked out a time within a few days for him to come and see the damage. Lou showed up right on time and was great to deal with. He fixed the leg on the dresser (it is now the most solid leg on the dresser) within an hour, and then fixed an ottoman with a busted hinge top for no extra charge. This was all about as hassle free as it gets. Lou is a great guy to do business with and I will absolutely use him again for any furniture repair/refinishing job. read more

Exceptional service!! Two pieces of our pottery barn furniture - side table and the leg of a leather arm chair, were broken during our move. I'm pretty particular, but Lou's was able to fix both items to the point that I can't even tell where it was broken in the first place!! A really flawless job! And fair prices too. Lou was very quick to respond to my messages which I always appreciate. He's a friendly guy, which was nice since he came to our home to do the repair. I would definitely use him again in the future if I have any furniture in need of repairs. read more

I don't know how he did it. The break in the chair arm has disappeared.. well done! Thanks Lou. Highly recommend. read more

Okay, but not great. A drawer that Luis "fixed" still doesn't open easily or close all the way. He also fixed the legs on a chest of drawers that were scratched However, he didn't polish the rest of it, and the two finish/color effect looks worse than the small scratches did. read more

Lou did a brilliant job refinishing our kitchen and bathroom cabinets. They look better than factory new, and I've been told the new finish will last for many many years. The care and pride he takes in his work is second to none and he's been very accommodating and easy to work with. read more

So happy! We hired Lou primarily to clean up a handed down china cabinet with lots of sentimental value. Since he does restorations on site, we added more pieces that we wouldn't necessarily hauled to a business, but did since he was at our house. Lou did a wonderful job. My husband and I were both speechless at how good all four pieces looked. He was very professional and finished all four in one day. The convenience, clear craftsmanship, and professionalism was well worth the investment. read more

I had two recliners that needed fixing. Talked to Lou on phone, explained situation, he came out that day, repaired it on the spot at a great price. Saved me from having to purchase a new sectional couch. Thanks Lou. read more

I bought a piece of furniture from an online source and was having issues with balancing it. They referred Luis Villar out to the house to fix the issue. Mr. Villar was prompt, friendly and quickly fixed the issue. Extremely professional. Would seek him out for any furniture job. read more

We bought a used coffee table from a friend of ours and 6 months after owning it, the leg broke. Lou was able to repair the leg and it looks awesome! He always replied to our inquires quickly and even came out to my work to quote, pick-up, and drop off the leg when it was finished. He was very accommodating. We are extremely happy with his work and hope that the repaired leg holds up and that the table lasts us a long time =) read more

Lou can't be beat! One of our dining room chairs had a complicated fracture. Lou picked it up and delivered it repaired like new in 3 days at a fair price. A real lifesaver and a very nice guy also. read more

I have a 6 year old couch that continued to sag over the years despite trying to have it fixed previously. I sent Lou an email to get a basic quote and inquire about his availability after finding him through yelp. He was very quick with his responses, provided a reasonable quote and was able to come out on the day I requested. On the scheduled day, Lou came early and easily assessed the problem. He was very friendly and honest. I would totally call him again if I have a problem. read more

I was looking for someone to wax an antique chest. I called Lou and he was professional from the first call. We emailed photos and arranged a time for him to come to my home. He ended up waxing 5 pieces that now look beautiful. He also repaired a breakfast room chair. Lou is very good at what he does as well as being honest and professional. I highly recommend him. read more

Lou is our hero! We had a deep stain on a beautiful butcher block kitchen island. After I emailed him a couple photos, we made an appointment. But, because he had a cancellation, he called me and went over even sooner than I expected (yeah!). He sanded the island and applied a food-safe sealant. It looks fabulous now. We are so grateful! Not only did he do a wonderful job, he communicated with me every step of the way. I will definitely use him again! read more

I have called them to repair a couch, and took pictures and made an appointment. Very good job and fast. Very nice and professional. Thank you! so much! read more

Very reliable, very responsive, very affordable !! I called around and many others were much more expensive as well as rude or unresponsive. Lou really cared and treated my table like a baby. He came to my home and did the refinishing right there in my yard. The old 1930's table looks like new. I'm so happy! read more

Lou came out to my house give me an estimate on a very old dining room set I had recently acquired....unfortunately, my dog had jumped up on the buffet and badly scratched the top. There were also many scratches and dings on all the chairs, on the legs of the table and on the china hutch from old age. Lou came back and did the work at my house- on site!! This was great because I did not have to have the set moved to his warehouse. The dining set turned out just beautifully!! I cannot recommend him enough!! I wish there were more than 5 stars!!! Lou is punctual and did not charge me more than the estimate he had originally given me. read more

Lou just redid my 1930s dining room tables and chairs, and I'm thrilled beyond belief. He even created a new leaf for me, something he wasn't certain he'd be able to do. I can't recommend him highly enough. read more

Lou came to our home today to inspect our problematic rocking chair. He took the base apart, tried a few options and eventually got it moving the way it was meant to move! He saved us from having to buy a new rocker, and more importantly, allowed us to keep using a chair that's been in our family for generations. He's such a nice, professional guy, too. Thanks Lou! read more

All I can say is WOW! I purchased a bench from Room and Board a few years ago that over time had become badly nicked. They recommended I contact Villar Restorations. Lou called me back the next day and came by later that week....he was 5 minutes early and completely professional. In less than two hours, the bench looked better than brand new and he also repaired an armoire with a very deep scratch. Highly recommend working with Lou....great experience! read more