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Thread: Why Is Oak "Dated"?

  1. #91
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    Sep 2009
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Hampton View Post
    My daughter is into buying "old" furniture and putting a distressed look on it and sells it for a mint! To reiterate that point, we brought an old CHEAP Sauder computer desk from a friend's garage sale for $10. She put a distressed finish on it, added modern "chic" colors. She sold that thing in her antique booth for $370. Now she has me building little tables, dovetailed boxes, and stuff out of old pallet boards, nail holes, rust stains, and then she finishes them and sells them for ridiculous prices. I even had to buy a cheap planer and jointer to keep those boards out of my good machinery. Although I'm a hobbyist, I/We have made quite a bit of money doing this. The planer and jointer set me back about 500 and change, but I've recouped that 10X over. I can knock out5 or 6 little boxes in an evening and they sell for minimum of $60. People even know it's pallet wood and is just finished, but they buy it anyway. The old saying "a fool and his money shall soon be parted" really rings through with the market out there.
    I'd definitely be looking into a "distressed" look for those cabinets. You'd probably get the 15 back and then some.
    That is art, not fine ww. What qualifies as "art" mystifies me, but the demand and the price level makes it clear on these.

    How about some photos, Jim? Would love to see examples.
    When I started woodworking, I didn't know squat. I have progressed in 30 years - now I do know squat.

  2. #92
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    Feb 2008
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Woodmark View Post
    Can econ 101 explain why a Mirka sander cost 6 times as much as similar function sanders on the market?

    Uh, respectfully, there are no similar functioning sanders on the market. If you are referring to the ceros....its on its own class, and its costs of production regarding power conversion may have something to do with it. Or it may be opportunity cost. Its way cheaper than a compressor, plumbing system, air dryer and pneumatic sander combined, and its portable. Ever drag a 2000# compressor to a job site on the back of a dump truck to sand on site?
    "A good miter set up is like yoga pants: it makes everyone's butts look good." Prashun Patel

  3. #93
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    Feb 2008
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    Quote Originally Posted by scott vroom View Post
    Anyone else notice that the OP bailed after the first post?

    Yes...I assumed she was busy painting the oak cabinets?
    "A good miter set up is like yoga pants: it makes everyone's butts look good." Prashun Patel

  4. #94
    I love red oak...but you can thank the TV Shows on flipping houses. The remove hardwood finished cabinets and replace with white painted ones.

  5. #95
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
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    Northern UT
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    I am 54 and oak turns me off, in particular 'honey' oak.

  6. #96
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
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    West Chicago, Illinois
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    Quote Originally Posted by Julie Moriarty View Post
    A realtor came through the house to do a selling appraisal. She deducted $15K for the bathrooms and noted "functional obsolescence" as the reason. I asked her why, since the bathrooms function perfectly well. She said tile colors and oak cabinets.

    My first woodworking project was made out of pine. When I could afford oak, I felt like I had arrived. Now it seems to have about the same status as pine.

    To "correct the problem" the realtor suggested IKEA cabinets. So even cheap mdf outranks oak? What am I missing?
    What color is the stain. Dark brown stains are outdated as well. They are probably thinking, light colors lighten up a room. The color of the tub and commode make a big difference too. Avacado and harvest gold are so 1970. My parents had the harvest gold.

  7. #97
    I have been in trim carpentry/cabinets for the last 7 years, and I can count on one hand the number of new houses we have done in oak. Oh and the few houses we did do in red oak were all customs for clients over 50 who thought that oak is 'high quality.' We did trim one 1.4 million dollar house where the casework and interior passage doors were all rustic white oak. I thought it turned out well, but they paid a designer a lot of money to make it all come together. If you want to know what is selling in your area, go to the local parade of homes and look at the new houses similar to yours.

  8. #98
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    Jul 2012
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    I've been out of town for a bit and was surprised how this thread took off. I didn't read everything in its entirety but I think the particular problem the realtor had with the "outdated oak", as she phrased it, was the design. The bathroom cabinets do have the cathedral panels, a big turnoff for most today, and she probably took one look at them and everything else in the bathroom went down with the ship. Guilt by association.

    In our kitchen we had an even bigger sin - almond mica doors with red oak top and bottom trim.
    This was the first day of the demo.


    I tossed the doors and drawer fronts and made new ones with Honduras mahogany and sapele. Then I sanded the oak frames down to bare wood, dyed it with ebony and finished everything with Endurovar in satin.

    The HM stock is used up but I had a big slab of African mahogany that I ripped to size for the rails and stiles for both bathrooms and drawer fronts for one bathroom. I have a lot of sapele left over from the kitchen job and I'm using that for the door panels. I'll have to pick up some more AM for the remainder of the drawer fronts. I started this before I went out of town and am now back to it. I'm thinking I'll just finish it natural rather than dye it like I did the kitchen.

    I agree that red oak can still be considered in style if done right. The realtor just raved about the kitchen but in 10-15 years someone might come along and turn their nose up at anything made of wood. I can't see ever losing an appreciation for the natural beauty of wood.

  9. #99
    Wow! That's so beautiful. Nicely done. Are you sure you still want to move?

  10. #100
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    Huge difference! Well done.

  11. #101
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    Jan 2004
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    Lewiston, Idaho
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    Excellent remodel! Nicely done Lady!
    Ken

    So much to learn, so little time.....

  12. #102
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    Looks nice Julie.

    I find real carpentry to be pardoned from the whims of fashion.
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

  13. #103
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    Hey, I had the same cabs as Julie except they were white. I salvaged the lower boxes, added new drawers, end panels and doors. I eliminated the soffit, so I made new upper cabs. Went with Hickory with Bamboo flooring and I added Hickory crown molding. I like Brian's comment: "I find real carpentry to be pardoned from the whims of fashion."
    Attached Images Attached Images
    NOW you tell me...

  14. #104
    This is a huge inspiration...NICELY done...

  15. #105
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    Jul 2012
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    Punta Gorda, FL
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    Ole, that doesn't look like the same kitchen. Beautiful work!

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