• Pencil Holder

  • Cutting Boards

  • Wooden Spatulas

  • Espresso Sofa Table

  • Upcycle Locker Cabinet

  • Walnut Twin Bed

  • Jeweler Box

  • Alder Dining Table

  • Cottonwood Bowl

Category Archives: up-cycling

Up-cycling projects

We Are Rockin’ and Rollin’

The last 14 months have seen a lot of changes at Zeh’s Custom!  We went from it being my wife and myself and my best friend and former next door neighbor to having 2 interns for the summer and back to just the 3 of us.

We turned out approximately 4 dozen projects during 2018, and I can’t wait to share the stories with you.

Most recently, we’re working on a 150 year old mahogany table for a client that finally allowed us to put a technique into practice that we learned about a long while back, and have had no need to use!  We had the privilege of working with the President of our Nature and Science Museum to repair and refinish a table made by a local artisan from a 100+ year old Elm tree that was felled by lightning.  We’ve brought back to life a dozen tables from all eras with all manner of stories behind them, and we even had the privilege of creating a brand new table for a client that had just welcomed their second child.

From north to south we serviced clients over a 150 mile range and from east to west we’ve worked about 75 miles.  We’ve had opportunities to provide pieces for a local Church, for a local school, and for families looking to create new memories with their families on pieces they used when they were children.

Be on the lookout for new posts, and a return to tips and techniques, and maybe even some fun personal anecdotes.

Recreating Table Legs

I’m noticing a theme of our customer’s having pieces with a ton of sentimental value needing our services, especially as this post is simply that – a customer approached us about having her kitchen table repaired – it was wobbly and sloping.  Upon first appearance, this table didn’t seem as though a repair was the…Continue Reading

Upcycled Dining Table

A customer approached us with their antique mahogany dining table, a piece which had been in the family for awhile and come to them.  The style didn’t fit any of their rooms, but they hated the idea of selling or discarding it.  They asked us to restore it and voiced their concerns about it finding…Continue Reading

Up-cycling Student/Teacher Desk

Many moons back, my wife stumbled across this old teacher’s desk and fell in love with it.  It was in horrible condition – scratches, dents, a burn mark on the desktop, and the drawers were all so badly stuck, we weren’t sure we’d ever get them opened. The original student desk. (I already started sanding…Continue Reading

Up-Cycled Locker Style Cabinet

I recently received a broken-down-old-locker-style cabinet that was destined for the dump.  I have been commissioned to bring it back to life and improve the style of the unit.  I will be sharing the process with you. Here is the process that I used to bring it back to life: Re-attached the back of the…Continue Reading

Customer Reviews

Customer Review (Howard & Joan H., Lakewood, CO) - 

"The most important reason to work with ZCD was that I saw the before and after pictures of the restoration job you did on that antique bench. I have seen period furniture and you restored it to an original new condition. That combined with the quality I saw in your new furniture ventures convinced me that you were a great craftsman and you also had the discipline to keep antiques as antiques and restore them to their former beauty and not try to modernize them."

"What Joan and I and our kids saw was a much loved family heirloom which was given to you (ZCD) in a beat up and broken condition restored to its former beauty and usefulness as we remembered it. You even used square nails which Joan loved. Your restoration will provide our family with many more years and perhaps generations of enjoyment of the marble top chest/cabinet."

"You are a great craftsman who is both creative for new designs and yet has the self-discipline to channel that creativity into carefully restoring antiques to their original glory. So if you have a project new or old, Chris can handle it."


Customer Review (Gary & Linda M., Longmont, CO) - 

"ZCD was referred from our daughter in-law.  Chris did a good design for our custom table at a reasonable price."

"A very well built and attractive dining table, and it will last for many years."

"We highly recommend Chris.  His work is first rate and you get a one of a kind piece that meets your specification, instead of a store-bought compromise."