Kent Coffey Perspecta Ongoing Refinishing Project
The very first time I saw a Kent Coffey Perspecta piece, I was in mid-century modern heaven on Pinterest flipping through pictures. Of all the different furniture periods and styles, I've come to love these pieces the most. They aren't just functional pieces of furniture...they are art just as surely as if someone intended to hang them in a museum for us to gather around and admire in awe. Okay...that was flowerly as hell...but I'm totally telling you the truth of how I feel about MCM pieces. And I've begun hoarding them in my garage and studying books, blogs, YouTube videos, etc. about how to refinish them as close to the original state as possible. See...these pieces are now over 60 years old, so they have been through a lot. But, in yet another testament to how amazingly well-made they are...they are heavy and solid still...after 60 plus years. If you find one of these in top condition like in the picture above, you're looking at a price tag of about $1600 or so. I wasn't trying to pay that much for one, but I kept my eyes open prepared to pay a few hundred for one in need of some work.
And then, one day it happened that I stumbled across one while doing one of my regular runs to find a new project.
I flipped that blanket up and stumbled backward. I dug this out from under stuff and asked for a price. I honestly didn't care what the price was, however...I was getting it. And it was going to be mine, mine, mine until I die and my heirs get rid of my stuff.
By myself, I hoisted that sucker up on the back of my truck and brought it home. When Robby helped me unload it he asked who helped me load it on the truck and I told him, nobody. All I had was a dolly and a blanket. I laid the blanket in the truck halfway and then flipped the piece onto the dolly. I rolled it to the back of the truck, leaned it against the blanket and pushed it using the blanket to slide easier allowing the dolly to fall and take out my shin. LOL! By the time I made it home I was hot, dirty and sore with fresh knicks on my left shin but, after an Aleve, I was happier than a televangelist counting up pledges for the week.
Here is my baby once we got her off the truck:
And here is more of the damage that needs to be dealt with.
So you see...I have my work cut out with this piece since there is no way in hell I'm putting paint on her. I want her to look just like the picture up top and I am determined to figure it out. I want to use this in the family room as a television stand so I can look at her every night. I can't WAIT to be finished. I'm reading and bookmarking stuff daily and last night I bought some products a master refinisher used in a series of videos I've been watching. My research is almost complete and I think I'll be ready in a week or so to start working on it.
Wish me luck. I'll keep yall posted with my progress. Just be patient with me because I'm going to take my time so I don't mess it up. I want it to be PERFECT!
I think I'm going to name her after one of my long gone Elders, my great-Aunt Eola. Aunt Eola was an educator her entire life and carried herself regally at all times. Even if you popped by her home early in the morning and she was still in her robe with her hair in pin curls. She was a tiny, Creole woman with glasses and gray hair. Dainty and yet strong. I remember she came to our home once and my father hit my mother. My Aunt Eola swung on him and left all of us in COMPLETE AND TOTAL SHOCK. She might have been 4ft. 9inches tall and she just JUMPED HIS AZZ. Strong, sturdy and beautiful.
Yup...Eola it is! Ms. Eola.