Wife is forcing refinishing of antique radios...

OK, here is the wrinkle...

My wife of some 22 years is telling me that the only way that I can bring another radio into the house is if I stain it to match our current furniture. I would rather keep the finish original, or if it is a lost cause to try to recreate the original finish as closely as possible. I have been given (haven't picked it up yet) a very old radio that has a beautiful medium walnut finish. All of our funiture is mahogany... My radio/tv/toy room is so full, that I cannot hardly walk into it so something is going to have to give. I hate to destroy an original finish radio just to keep her happy.

What should I do?

[dingus]

either convince her that ruining the finish ruins the radio and is not a worthwile endeavor, or hide it from her, or get it and leave the finish and tell her to live with it. i recommend option #1 or #2. i have learned that option #3 is fraught with danger and can lead to a general having all the fun sucked out of life experience. there is no 4th option, passing on the radio is not to be considered.

[Mark B]

Bring it home so she can see how great it looks in the original walnut finish. Explain how the original finish and patina not only make it beautiful, but also make it much more valuable. She will then relent on her demand to refinish it. Oh, if she still insists that you redo the finish in mahogany, assume a heartbroken expression (should be easy in this situation) and let a couple of big tears run down your cheeks. She's gotta let you keep it original then!

[RetroHacker]

Easy! Just refinish all the other furniture to match the radio!

Either that, or bring home a radio that _can't_ be refinished, say, for instance, a nice chrome Scott set. Or a metal Atwater Kent.

Or sneak it into the house when she's not around, and if she notices, just say it was one you already had - you're just reorganizing and dug it out again.

But seriously. I'd just try to explain that it's not a good idea to refinish a radio to match the other furniture. Not only is it going to be bad for the radio, but it's pretty boring if all your furniture is the same color. I mean, who has furniture that matches anyway?

Or, if she still won't budge, just get a big wooden wardrobe/cabinet thing with doors, stain it to match the furniture, and put the radio inside. Say it's a vintage entertainment center cabinet.

-Ian

[oofietoo]

It's an easy solution.As a decorator I can tell her furniture does not have to match,Boring is the room with all the same woodtone................Michael

[outlawmws]

Hasn't she ever seen Antique Roadshow? You refinish and you lose the "Patina" and a lot of value...

Thanks for the help!

I was wondering if anyone else has been in a situation like this before. What I did last night is bring it in and set it in the corner of the basement (family room). I'll let you know what happens next....(dramatic background music da da da!)

[mg196]

It happened to me. I brought up the topic of "resale value" even though I had no intention of selling it and she changed her mind.