The Finishing Touch had its beginnings in the basement of Don Blanchard's home in Scotts Valley over 35 years ago where a wooden cigar store Indian stood at the entrance. Don’s career started by combining a natural talent for working with wood and a passion for the restoration of "old" things and it has developed into a life's work.  Don’s first love is the restoration of family heirlooms and the business has remained largely residential.

Don began his restoration and refinishing work, doing jobs for well-known antique dealers in the greater San Francisco area. This included working on bright colored ornate Boule furniture, replacing broken tortoise shell and inlaid, engraved brass.

It has been a particular pleasure for Don to restore several period pieces for the San Juan Bautista Mission and the Castro House. This work included architectural support and rebuilding of brackets and corbels. Also, Don did some historic restoration work for the house at Wilder Ranch State Park.

Some of the early challenges included work that came from flood-damaged homes in the Santa Cruz county area in 1982 and 1983. The Finishing Touch also restored furniture that was retrieved from houses that were submerged by Love Creek, and refinished damaged household wood trim and cabinets that came from mudslides during this time.

As Don's experience progressed the work expanded into commercial projects. One of the first commercial jobs was stripping and refinishing 1500 chairs for Stanford University. The Finishing Touch also stripped 1320 chairs for the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, working with county staff for the refinishing process. Additional commercial work includes refinished desks and chairs for the Santa Cruz County courthouse, the Santa Cruz Police Department and many cabinets and desks in local dental and attorney offices. 

Other commercial projects include several restaurants in town including Positively Front Street, La Bhai, and The Crow's Nest.

The Finishing Touch is located at 4446 Scotts Valley Drive, Scotts Valley, CA. 95066.
Phone us at 831-438-2160. Ask about our pick-up and delivery service.

© 2012 The Finishing Touch, All rights reserved.