Miami Furniture Restoration Shop for Cane and Rattan: King

King Furniture Restoration is a family workshop at 2934 SW 14th Street in Miami, on the quiet residential grid between Coral Way and SW 8th Street where the Shenandoah and Silver Bluff neighborhoods meet, a short drive from Calle Ocho. Established in 2001, it is a furniture restoration shop that does a bit of everything South Florida homes and boats need: structural repair, refinishing, caning, reupholstery and marine cushions, all done in-house.

The About page sums up the philosophy in one line: a workshop, not a factory. The business has been in Miami since 2001 and describes itself as a family workshop serving Miami and South Florida for more than two decades. The site is bilingual in English and Spanish, which fits a part of Miami where Spanish is spoken at every bakery counter.

Two promises stand out on the site. Every job is done in-house and never sent out, which means the same people who estimate your chair repair it. And if a piece is not worth restoring, the shop says it will tell you so, rather than quoting for work that costs more than the furniture is worth.

The About page adds a little more texture. The shop says it is still small on purpose, so the person who quotes your piece is the person who restores it, and much of its work comes from repeat customers and referrals. Over the years the team has refinished heirloom antiques, rewoven cane seats by hand, reupholstered everything from dining chairs to sofas and rebuilt boat interiors up and down the coast. Its stated approach is to conserve patina, paint and joinery wherever they tell a piece's story, and to make repairs sound enough to last another generation.

The services page lists five areas. Furniture restoration covers structural repair and regluing, veneer, inlay and marquetry, and damage from water, heat and scratches, finished by hand rubbing. Reupholstery goes down to the frame, with rebuilding, re-webbing, retying springs, new foam and new fabric or leather. Caning, which the shop treats as its own craft separate from upholstery, covers hand-woven strand cane, pressed sheet cane, rush, splint and Danish cord, along with bentwood and rattan repair.

The gallery page names the kinds of pieces the workshop handles: a bentwood cane chaise, a bentwood rocking chair with a walnut frame that was re-caned, a rattan chaise lounge, a cane daybed with a sheet-cane panel, a tiger maple chest refinished and re-veneered for a client in Coral Gables, a Queen Anne side chair, a folk-painted blanket chest whose original paint was conserved and sealed, a walnut tavern table and a motor yacht cabin. The mix of rattan, cane and boat interiors is a fair picture of what Miami living does to furniture. Bentwood rockers are a good example: the steam-bent frames loosen at the joints, and the cane seat usually wears through at the front rail first, so frame and seat are best repaired together in one visit.

The quickest way to start is the photo quote. The contact form takes up to five photos, and the shop promises an honest assessment and a no-obligation quote for furniture or marine work. Good photos make a big difference: one of the whole piece from the front, one from the side, close-ups of each damaged area, and, for caning, a shot of the underside showing whether the seat has drilled holes for hand caning or a groove for pressed cane. For boat cushions, include a photo of the cushion in place and note the dimensions.

The workshop is open Monday to Saturday, 8am to 7pm, and closed on Sunday, which gives weekday commuters an evening window and a Saturday option. No prices are published, so the quote is where cost and turnaround are set.

Many of the repairs in this city come down to climate. High humidity makes veneer lift and drawers swell shut, while air-conditioning cycles can loosen chair joints over time. Strong sun fades dark finishes and dries out natural cane, and salt air pits brass hardware on waterfront balconies and boats. Ask when you get your quote which finish or fabric will hold up best for where the piece will live, especially if a chair is going onto a covered terrace or a cushion back onto a deck.

The workshop sits close to some of Miami's best-loved Cuban institutions. El Brazo Fuerte Bakery on SW 32nd Avenue has been baking since 1978 and is known for pastelitos and Cuban bread, a good stop on the way to drop off a chair. Head north to SW 8th Street and Versailles Restaurant, the Calle Ocho landmark, serves cafecito from its walk-up window. The Miami-Dade County Auditorium on West Flagler Street hosts concerts and dance performances a few minutes' drive further north.

Address: 2934 SW 14th Street, Miami, FL 33145, between Coral Way and SW 8th Street. Hours: Monday to Saturday 8am to 7pm, closed Sunday. Quotes are free and start with up to five photos through the contact form.

Services: furniture restoration and structural repair, veneer and marquetry repair, reupholstery, caning in strand cane, sheet cane, rush, splint and Danish cord, bentwood and rattan repair, marine upholstery, and antique refinishing with French polish and original-paint conservation. Established in 2001 and bilingual in English and Spanish. Ask the Karpo APP for a Cuban bakery nearby or a lunch spot on Calle Ocho while your quote comes back.