If you own a piece of rustic antique furniture, you might be faced with a dilemma as it ages. The piece will likely need repair as it gets older, but you may be hesitant to perform needed repairs for fear of ruining its authentic charm. Luckily, there are several ways you can make small repairs without making a piece look too modern. Here are four easy ways to update antique furniture without ruining its rustic charm.

Refinish the Piece

As a piece of furniture is used decade after decade, it will often become dirty and faded. If you want to restore it to some of its former glory, you can refinish it by sanding it down slightly and using a stain to match its original color. Be sure, however, to select the stain you’re going to use on it in advance so that you can compare it to the piece’s original coloration. Generally, with older furniture, you’ll be looking for a darker-colored stain.

Polish Hardware

If your piece of antique furniture is a desk or a cabinet with door and drawers, it will have handle hardware on it. Generally, this hardware will be made out of brass or some other shiny metal. If you want to make the piece of furniture look a little better, you can simply polish this hardware using a light metal polish. Doing so will remove any fading that has occurred over the years and make your furniture’s hardware stand out again.

Add Period-Authentic Nails for Support

Some pieces of furniture will begin to fall apart over time. If this is the problem you’re having, don’t give up hope just yet. You can get period-authentic nails, such as those from The Rustic Express that will lend structural support to your piece without looking out of place. Be sure to match the nails you use to the ones that were used to put the piece of furniture together originally.

Replace Rotten Wood

Once in a while, you may run across a piece of rustic furniture that has been left in poor conditions, such as in a barn, for far too many years. If a piece of wood is rotten, you may be able to replace it. Be aware, however, that you’ll need to find a proper cut of aged wood that matches your furniture. Look through salvage websites, as these will often have older pieces of reclaimed wood that you can use to repair your piece of antique furniture. Whatever you do, don’t use a piece of modern wood, as it will stick out like a sore thumb on an older piece.

Upgrading older furniture is an art, but if you’re patient and willing to put in a little work, you can do it. Make sure you are paying close attention to detail and matching up anything new you do to the original look and feel of your antique furniture piece.