Dibisch Woodworking & Design

Dibisch Woodworking & Design Dibisch Woodworking Design specializes in custom design and new wood builds as well as salvaging woo

Strike a pose! I love it when a friend tells me they’ve picked up a new piece of vintage furniture and want me to refini...
03/14/2026

Strike a pose!

I love it when a friend tells me they’ve picked up a new piece of vintage furniture and want me to refinish it. First—I can’t wait to see what treasure they found. And second—I’m always honoured they trust me to help bring it back to life for their home.

This waterfall dresser came to me covered in a dark red paint that definitely put up a fight. Removing it was no small task, and the pigment had stained the wood so deeply that attempting to remove every last trace risked cutting through the veneer (and I did, oops!). Sometimes preservation has to win over perfection.

Because of that, the top, drawers, and sides each took the stain a little differently—but I actually love the subtle variation. It gives the piece character and tells part of its story.

The paint colour is Vintage Vogue by Benjamin Moore. I’m officially hooked. It’s a beautiful gray-green that feels both timeless and fresh. This one is definitely going on my ‘use again’ list.

I saw this MCM dresser online, it had solid construction and sturdy legs, clean and simple lines, unique drawer front de...
10/14/2025

I saw this MCM dresser online, it had solid construction and sturdy legs, clean and simple lines, unique drawer front design, and artistic handles, so I had to pick it up.

The Pepplers brand dresser was very clean to begin with but I sanded down to the raw wood to remove decades of furniture polish, dust and a few cobwebs.

As with any vintage piece, there are a few imperfections. I made a few repairs, and filled some holes with stainable wood filler. Still visible but only if you look reaaalllll close.

The body of the dresser and upper drawer fronts were stained espresso, the dresser top and lower drawer fronts were stained mahogany. All of it protected with a durable matte top coat, sanded between each coat to give it a smooth and long-lasting finish. The lower drawer handles are original but installed four new upper drawer pulls as there are only three original.

Passed down through generations, it’s been refinished and ready for decades more life.

Third time’s a charm! It took three attempts to get the finish right. The spray-can primer was a terrible idea - it spit...
05/12/2025

Third time’s a charm! It took three attempts to get the finish right. The spray-can primer was a terrible idea - it spit out a pebbly texture. The stain appeared splotchy in a few areas and needed to be sanded down between each take. The table also had a faux drawer at the back with missing hardware so just filled the holes like they never existed.

For the final finishes, the top, drawer and legs are stained espresso and protected with a matte top coat, the rest is painted a suede black. The dull patina has been scrubbed off the drawer hardware and feet. The gold accent matches the drawer liner. This table would look great in your entrance or living room.

This matching set of dressers is perfect as bedside tables or placed on either side of a change table. The top and two o...
12/08/2024

This matching set of dressers is perfect as bedside tables or placed on either side of a change table. The top and two of the drawer fronts have been sanded to expose the wood and protected with a matte top coat. The rest is painted a strawberry milkshake matte pink. Sides have a slight textured finish. Top drawers are lined with a white and gold leaf-patterned vinyl paper. Not sure if I like this hardware, but I definitely did not like the original.

This project took a bit longer than expected. I first left the top drawers exposed and painted the drawer design border with a darker pink. Didn’t like it. Then I had to resand all the drawers to find two with the best wood grain pattern, then wrap again and paint again! Much happier with the final result.

She’s a bit rough around the edges but she looks great in soft pink - so I named her ‘Tomboy’! This dresser was sitting ...
08/19/2024

She’s a bit rough around the edges but she looks great in soft pink - so I named her ‘Tomboy’!

This dresser was sitting out at the side of the road, wet and broken, but I knew she still had potential. She was missing a moulding that I tried to recreate with bondo and wood filler, she had a corner chipped off that I rebuilt with bondo, she had a few parts of drawers missing that I tried to recreate with wood shavings and glue. And since she’s part MDF, I had to deal with the swelling by injecting glue and clamping the pieces down.

The paint was also throwaway. The paint store called both colours Purge Pink, created by combining a few paints that were never picked up. Most of the dresser is painted in light pink matte and the rest a darker pink eggshell.

The hardware is original and even though it shined up fairly well, I used bright gold metallic spray paint to cover the blemishes.

She’s still a bit rickety so I won’t be selling her, instead I’ll find somewhere to donate her. I learned a lot a new techniques so that was worth the investment in time and materials.

P.S. her name is also inspired by the friend who picked up this mess of a dresser for me and stored it until I could pick it up - love you, big kisses! 🫣😅

This antique jam cupboard has been upcycled into a quaint coffee bar. The top, shelf and interior door faces are stained...
03/18/2024

This antique jam cupboard has been upcycled into a quaint coffee bar. The top, shelf and interior door faces are stained with a ground-coffee inspired colour and protected with a matte top coat. The rest of the piece is painted café au lait, matte finish on the sides and pearl finish on the trim. Original hardware removed, polished and reinstalled.

Now, this could easily be used for tea, wine or as a liquor cabinet, heck even to store jam – whatever is more practical! The piece measures 34-1/2”w x 32”h x 17“d.

With any older restored pieces there are some imperfections that just can’t be sanded or polished away. Hopefully you see them as character blemishes.

This art deco waterfall tallboy dresser has been sanded to the bare bones, holes filled, peeling veneer glued, legs remo...
02/18/2024

This art deco waterfall tallboy dresser has been sanded to the bare bones, holes filled, peeling veneer glued, legs removed and repaired, all metal removed and buffed to a golden glean and all spiders ousted. Dark stained top, drawer fronts and sides left natural, all with a durable top coat. Black accent on all the trim. Like any vintage pieces, it is not flawless, there are some character blemishes.

Dresser measures 48” high x 32” wide x 18” deep.

I call her ‘Harlequin’. There are so many different pieces of wood in her construction that no piece looks the same colo...
02/18/2024

I call her ‘Harlequin’. There are so many different pieces of wood in her construction that no piece looks the same colour or tone. I was trying to match this nightstand to my Omi’s dresser that is in my daughter’s bedroom. Close enough!

There are a lot of these out there - the antique piano stool. Some have a nice patina, some have been white washed, but ...
01/16/2024

There are a lot of these out there - the antique piano stool. Some have a nice patina, some have been white washed, but a lot of them are just chewed up. So was this one until a refinished it my way.

A lot of flourish in the legs and centre stem means a lot of the sanding is done by hand. Even the feet were scrubbed to get rid of the original orangey-red colour. The main body was then primed and painted with a black gloss paint. The seat was as finished with a black stain and satin top coat.

This piano stool is by Thomas Organ Co. Woodstock. It has an adjustable seat with centre stem, turned legs with metal claw and glass ball feet. Seat spins to raise and lower. Measure 19″ (48 cm) high - extends to 22 1/2″ (57 cm) high. Seat diameter 14″ (36 cm).

Use it for what it’s intended, or as an extra seat that’s easy to stash, or even a stylish side table.

Display signs cut on the CNC and then hand painted. I love my paint gun but sometimes I love just pulling out the brushe...
10/09/2023

Display signs cut on the CNC and then hand painted. I love my paint gun but sometimes I love just pulling out the brushes and taking my time to paint everything by hand. A little podcast about Berlin art gallery fraud and a nice Malbec to inspire my creative side.

This popular dining room set style is found in so many homes. The original oak colour is just so outdated but the solid ...
09/13/2023

This popular dining room set style is found in so many homes. The original oak colour is just so outdated but the solid wood makes it really durable and therefore so hard to justify replacing. Solid wood gives you the great opportunity not only to sand off the existing finish, but sand deep enough to get rid of the bumps, dings and scratches. The table and chair base are quite simple in design so with the ability to get down to clean bare wood, you can stain any colour you want. The spindles however, are hard to get into the nooks and crannies so best to paint to ensure an even finish. This colour scheme, chosen by the client, makes a striking difference and fits much better in their modern home.

This is why you label every piece when you take something apart. These belong to a set of 5 chairs that were pulled apar...
04/15/2023

This is why you label every piece when you take something apart. These belong to a set of 5 chairs that were pulled apart into 5 different pieces. Even the hardware was a bit different for some of the chairs. 😜

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621 Timothy Street
Newmarket, ON
L3Y1R3

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+14166690474

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