Donald Lyle Thackeray

Furniture restoration, refurbishing, and maintenance services in the Western MA Springfield area.
Also accepting commissions for refinished furniture. Have a piece of old furniture you've been meaning to refinish? Your old table no longer matches your new kitchen rennovation? Found something nice on Facebook, but it doesn't quite match your style? I can help!

I currently refurbish, repurpose, and sell used furniture. It's not the usual flipped furniture you see on Facebook that's just been given a new coat of paint. What I do is much more involved and detailed than that. I have a degree in Interior Design and while I may not be working at an architecture firm I can still use my skills and knowledge to produce finer furniture.I'll fully disassemble and strip the finish from a piece and carefully consider what the right treatment is for it. What kind of tone or mood should it convey? Is it a heavy, sophisticated piece of furniture? Or is it something lighter, more casual? Is it a statement piece or is it meant to fade into the background and serve a function? This is a level of design and detail you won't get with just a fresh coat of paint. You'll find no cheap laminate furniture, quick and dirty touch ups, or shortcuts here.Eventually once I've learned and practiced even more, and have the capital to finance the fine materials like real walnut and full slabs, I plan to move on to designing and building my own original furniture pieces likely in Mid Century Modern style because it's my favorite.If that sounds good to you and you like something I have for sale or you're interested in something I have 'In The Queue' then please feel free to click the Contact button and send me an e-mail, I'd love to hear from you.

Hi! My name is Donald Lyle Thackeray. I graduated from Wentworth Institute of Technology in 2019 with a degree in Interior Design. I also have severe ADHD. People with ADHD frequently struggle with employment due to their symptoms and other comorbid diagnoses and I'm no exception. After the way I lost my last job, combined with realizing that office work and being tied to a desk or single location doesn't work for me, I never managed to find new employment. However, I'm lucky to have a wonderful wife who supports and loves me so I've been the house spouse since early 2022 while exploring ways to bring in some extra money that work for me.With the opportunity, support, and resources to try making my own way in life, what's the right fit? I obviously still have a degree in Interior Design and the skills to back it up, but I prefer working with my hands and creating things rather than working with a computer drafting plans and struggling with task and time management all day. So I decided to take up refinishing and refurbishing furniture with the eventual goal being to design and build my own original work. With the support of my wife and family, and all the wonderful people and resources at Make It Springfield, I hope to make a name for myself and contribute some extra finances while managing to maintain my marriage, health, and sanity.Thanks for reading my story. I hope that seeing the face behind the furniture gives it that extra bit of personal flair. If you're encouraged to support my work in any way, thank you all the more.