Passion for preserving: Bell City man gives new life to old furniture, one piece at a time

American Press

22-06-2025

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Corey Chauvin is recreating an antique pair of bathroom vanities for a Nacogdoches, Texas, homeowner complete with 12-inch barley-twist legs that are being custom-made in Pennsylvania. (Crystal Stevenson / American Press)
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Corey Chauvin is restoring this mid-1800 bar that was created in Lebanon. Only 50 were made and few are left. Inside the cabinet is a built-in turntable and radio. (Crystal Stevenson / American Press)
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Corey Chauvin said his stepfather used this exact model of a Sears Craftsman saw table for his remodeling projects. Chauvin said when he saw this table online for sale, he had to have it. 'I showed my stepdad, and he said, 'Yep, that's the same one.' (Crystal Stevenson / American Press)
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The left section of this three-piece bookshelf built in 1890 once belonged to famed Blue Dog artist George Rodrigue. Corey Chauvin is restoring it for its new owner, who lives in Sunset. (Crystal Stevenson / American Press)
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Corey Chauvin said he's constantly learning and teaching himself new ways of restoring historical pieces. He keeps a copy of 'The Furniture Bible' handy for reference. (Crystal Stevenson / American Press)
Corey Chauvin has made a career out of reviving vintage wares and breathing life into sometimes forgotten pieces of history.
It's a labor of love, and is something Chauvin does not foresee ever growing tired of.
'I have a background in carpentry and remodeling,' he said. 'Growing up my stepdad did remodeling so all my life I was always around it. I started laying flooring when I was 14 or 15 years old and I always puttered around with woodworking and furniture and building.'
His business — Father and Son Creation — came about by accident just over two years ago.
'We started building little knick knack stuff like shelves, planter boxes, cooler stands and then someone I built something for asked me if I repaired furniture. I said, 'Yeah, sure.' '
The customer said his wife inherited an old dresser that had been her aunt's. Made in the 1930s, the wife couldn't bear to part with it, but it wasn't exactly usable either.
'Still to this day, that was my favorite piece I've restored,' Chauvin said. 'I brought it back to him and he said, 'I have several more pieces for you.' That's how this all started. It just fell into place.'
Word got out about Chauvin's skills and now his shop is filled with furniture in need of repairing and scraps of wood for carpentry projects he is building from scratch.
Alongside his 15-year-old son, the pair diligently scrap away broken veneer and recreate missing or broken pieces of furniture to give new life to historic pieces.
'I'm kind of a history guru and I love the challenge of restoring pieces that were made with tools we don't have anymore,' he said. 'Back then they didn't have stains. They used teas, coffee grounds and the sun to stain wood. Phillips headscrews weren't invented until the 1940s so pieces made before that mostly used flathead screws. And before that, they used hand-cut nails. That's when you get into the 1700s and 1800s. The stuff they did with what they had is astonishing.'
Chauvin is in the process of restoring part one of a three-piece bookshelf built in 1890. The owner said the bookshelf had belonged to famed Blue Dog artist George Rodrigue, who kept it in his New Orleans studio.
'They didn't have power tools, saws, nothing,' he said. 'Yet the piece is covered in inlays — which are incredibly hard to do even today. It was all carved by hand.'
Chauvin — who does not use chemicals or paint strippers — said he is scraping the original finish from the shelves using sanders and wooden blocks. The new owner wants a natural finish on all three pieces.
Chauvin said he's always learning and developing his craft.
'With antiques, if you mess up you mess up bad,' he said. 'If you ruin the finish, ruin the wood you can't just go find another one. I do a lot of research before I start a project and develop a plan of what the customer wants and what's possible.'
Chauvin said the process of restoring antique pieces is becoming a lost art. 'There's people who do woodworking, there's people who do furniture but there's not a lot who do antiques anymore,' he said. 'Part of the reason I wanted to start this business is to teach my kids how to do it, and keep them away from too much time with technology and apps.'
He said his son is getting the hang of it, but is fearful of making mistakes.
''You're going to,' I tell him. People ask me if I mess up. I say, 'absolutely.' It's part of learning. What do you do when you mess up? Learn how to fix it. I've never destroyed a piece, but I've messed up, I've broken things, I've had to remake things. It happens. But each time I learn how to fix it.'
Chauvin's favorite wood to work with is red oak.
'You can do a lot with regular plywood, too. You can use red oak or maple, both of which you can get locally,' he said. 'I'm big on local. I'll pay more for local over ordering. I'm a local business so I want to buy all I can from local businesses, too.'
Another piece Chauvin is restoring is a bar built in the mid-1800s in Lebanon. It belonged to the father of a local family who brought the piece with him when he moved to America. Inside the bar's top lid is where bottles and shot glasses are kept. It is lined with glass and the lid has a mirror. Inside the bar's lower cabinet is a turntable and radio — both of which are powered by light bulb electricity.
The piece survived a hurricane but has some water damage to the outside doors. It also has sun damage from when it was left outside to dry while the storm-damaged home was being repaired.
'This was the father's prized possession. Every weekend, if they had company over, he would put on his records. They were all in Lebanese so nobody could understand them. He would serve liquor out of this cabinet. The family wants to keep it as original as possible. They only want to replace what we have to.'
Chavin said this furniture is one of his 'research pieces.'
'I have to replace the veneer top so I'm trying to find the exact match. Yes, we could totally strip it, add a new finish and make it look like the day it was made but all the character and charm would be gone.'
When an antique piece is restored, there is no better feeling, Chauvin said.
'When you spend days, weeks, even months working on it and then it's done, I hate to see them leave sometimes. If I could keep everything, I would keep everything.'