FURNITURE RESCUE
By Katie Culligan
Photos by Tatiana Dove
FURNITURE RESCUE
Furniture Rescue in Fairfax, Virginia is the best shop you’ve ever heard of. The proprietors, Joni and Dave Foerter, have been in business for over 17 years, and have curated a fantastic inventory of gently loved vintage and antique furniture.
The warehouse is a “working shop” where customers can browse over 6,000 square feet of furniture and decor items for sale AND see the creative team at work repairing, refinishing, painting, modifying, and upholstering furniture – all in real-time.
Joni and Dave, the Furniture Rescuers, impart their expertise and confidence to their customers who are looking for a new pre-loved piece of furniture or home decor. They run a dynamic showroom, surrounded by repairs, painting, refinishing and even repurposing old furniture from well-loved to new again. The warehouse in Fairfax is dedicated to both furniture for sale and their furniture rescue services. Both Joni and Dave are Environmental Scientists and natural problem solvers who turned their skills, energy, and passion to furniture. Joni puts it simply, “We love keeping furniture in your home and out of the landfill.”
The Furniture Rescue Creative team sees furniture as much more than a place to store your clothes, eat your meals at, or house your dishes. At Furniture Rescue, they see a piece’s full potential. Furniture should be both functional and beautiful, and a way to highlight personal style. You can have the team entirely transform a piece of furniture for you, or they can coach you through the process. Their knowledge, skills, and inspiration can prepare you to turn a sad dresser into a much loved family heirloom. Furniture Rescue’s passion is sharing their understanding of furniture and how it can withstand the test of time. This includes its original construction, materials, multiple uses, and care. It also covers refinishing, painting, repairing, and upholstering furniture you own, or something you’ve purchased from their large inventory of vintage furniture for sale. Joni explains, “Not all furniture is created equally, different construction and uses create a need for unique care to ensure that your furniture can be maintained, stay beautiful and be useful for years to come.”
Dave and Joni have been married for 35 years, rebuilt their home, and raised four, now adult, children. They currently have two rescue dogs and three grandchildren. Joni was schooled in biology, computer and environmental sciences, and Dave in microbiology, toxicology, and environmental sciences. Their business of rescuing furniture draws from their science disciplines, business acumen, and creativity, and this provides them with the pure satisfaction of transforming something once carefully crafted and treasured back into a new treasure to enjoy again and again.
The business, often referred to as ‘the best kept secret’ for local vintage furniture sales, repairs, and makeovers, has been around for almost two decades. Joni and Dave have always loved exploring vintage furniture, furniture flipping, woodworking, furniture building, refinishing, and restoration. Eventually, as their children were becoming teenagers, Joni was ready to pivot her skill and passion into a small business start-up. Transitioning from a small primarily retail space in Falls Church, she opened her first warehouse in Merrifield and then transformed the growing business into a retail/warehouse space in the Fairfax Circle area in 2020. They feel very fortunate to now have their business all under one roof!
Furniture Rescue has seasoned expertise in working on options for furniture, including mastery in utilizing the products they use and sell to bring new life into well-loved furniture. They say, “Our many years in the business means that customers can trust us with their valuable possessions and the DIYer can trust our expertise in helping them strategize a rescue and the best use of our products. We provide high quality services, consults, and offer the best products and techniques available.”
Joni elaborates, “Customers are an essential ingredient in finding the sometimes hidden value in a furniture piece, and we have the expertise to make this happen. We love to explore with our customers the possibilities of furniture; such as turning a defunct baby grand piano to a one-of-a-kind wall shelf, old beds into benches, antique doors into headboards, desks into matching bed-side tables, or simply reupholstering an older piece of furniture. We find joy in educating folks about different types of woods, time periods and styles, and love to learn about customers’ unique pieces and their history.”
Furniture Rescue also teaches classes and sells the products that they use. Their classes include Painting 101, which teaches skills and instills confidence so customers can successfully tackle their own furniture projects at home. The Advanced Painting class teaches several higher skills such as transfers, stencils, molds, surface repair, and more. They also teach other fun DIY classes. After taking a class, their ‘students’ also have ongoing access to the teams’ extensive knowledge base to ask for help in completing future home projects. While the Furniture Rescue shop is a busy one, Joni always finds time to give you her personal attention.
Joni describes that the favorite part of her day is when a new customer comes in and says “WOW! I finally found my happy place.” She loves connecting with longtime customers as well as brand new ones; not just about their furniture, but about their families and lives. She also enjoys the problem-solving aspect when a customer comes in with a challenge or desire that they can’t quite articulate. She helps them identify what issues need to be solved. Next, they drill down some furniture possibilities that might fit the need. From there, they work out details such as modifications or paint color. She expresses, “It’s a joy to see the shift of an individual who is overwhelmed or frustrated to a place of confidence in their own knowledge and ability.”
Furniture Rescue also loves to work with local community groups such as theaters, schools, and nonprofits. “If you are looking for a donation for a silent auction or just the right piece for staging or a theater set, stop by and see us. I bet we can find just the right thing for you.” If you work with any member of their team, you can be assured you are getting the expertise and insights of the whole team.
If you are interested in browsing their large warehouse of furniture or chatting with the creative team, pop in from 12 noon to 5 PM on Wednesdays through Saturdays.
They also have a limited inventory for sale online.
If you are interested in getting an estimate for repairs, custom build, refinishing, or custom painting, you can go directly to their customer service portal.
