Cow Hollow Woodworks

My wife and I had Rico work on two items. He provided fair/​reasonable estimates, was extremely friendly and responsive throughout, and cost came right inline with what he estimated. I’d be inclined to knock him down to 4 stars because we had a minor re-​do on one of the jobs but he squeezed us into his schedule on little notice and fixed the issue.

Beautiful, thoughtful work. Rico is a true artist and has now treated two of my pieces with loving care. I had a great experience both times I have used him, including for a difficult re-​setting of a table stretcher that another wood worker did not want to attempt because of the difficulty. I will undoubtedly be back when another piece needs attention.

I’ve waited quite a while to write this, because every time I think about this encounter, it makes me very unhappy. I took a small, simple, handmade, 50+ year old Caribbean mahogany end table with a single shelf below, and I asked for an estimate to better secure the shelf. The shelf itself rested on 4 wood pegs, each the size of a kid’s pink school eraser, nailed at a 45 degree angle to the inside of each table leg to give the shelf something flat to sit on.
(Backstory: One of the support pegs had come rather loose when an untrained mover turned the table over and dropped a box of *books* on the bottom side of the shelf. While the shelf supports were still fully screwed into three of the table legs, the 4^th support needed to be fixed to avoid further problems.)
Without a word, the owner at Cow Hollow turned the table over, and with some force removed the shelf entirely, leaving sticking out only the supports and screws on each leg.
What had been one loose shelf support now had NO shelf or functioning shelf support at all — the ripped out shelf was what had stabilized the four legs. Lose, lose, lose.
The owner then proceeded to give me an estimate of $ 185 — just to fix the shelf he just mangled! — and he added on another $ 275 to refinish the table top, which could have used it, but really didn’t need it. He was totally indifferent to the damage he had just caused and did not apologize. One would expect a professional to act more … professionally.
Total estimate: $ 460. Money spent at Cow Hollow Woodworks: $ 0.

We have six 50s Italian dining room chairs that are as beautiful as they are fragile (unfortunately.) Two of them had cracked and we knew that without some shoring up, the others were destined to that fate as well. Rico did a master repair job, first explaining to us what the problem was, how he would address it, and then fixing the two broken chairs so they look as good as new and reinforcing the backs of the remaining four so they can resist the weight of our larger dinner guests. He took the chairs two at at time and always delivered by the promised date. We couldn’t be more satisfied with the work he did.

Rico (owner) at Cow Hollow Woodworks is the best at his trade. You will be impressed by his work and he couldn’t be any more generous or kind. He’ll even come to you in his darling red truck. He’s worked on the finest antiques that exist to the bottom of the totem pole (so to speak)…and he shows no snobbery. It’s all the same to him. He is a perfectionist.

Cow Hollow Woodworks is THE BEST. I have taken everything to them, from my irreplaceable inherited 200 year old English Georgian antiques, to a broken piece of college furniture which anybody else would call «junk,» but is still dearly sentimental to me – and Rico and Cow Hollow have treated — and fixed — them all with equal care and compassion. :-).
But this is not just some fix-​it shop. Cow Hollow Woodworks is the real deal — fine artisans with amazing restoration skills, and at a price that is more reasonable than many of their competitors here in San Francisco.
The kind of artistry and craftsmanship found at Cow Hollow Woodworks is of a level and extraordinary quality that is almost a vanishing art. Truly, old-​world quality and attention to detail. Their restoration skills are exceptional, and can be «museum quality» if that’s what you need. Rico has also, however, provided me with some quickly needed «Furniture ER» on occasion, and that has been great too.
The guys at Cow Hollow are truly Master Craftsmen. And from somebody (like me) who really loves and appreciates antiques and old furniture, I am in awe with what they do. We talk about having a «Green» Planet. Well, buying furniture at places like IKEA, where the horribly made wood furniture lasts for a year and then you have to throw it out — is not a good — or recyclable or renewable — use of wood, and the trees they came from. But having antiques — pieces of furniture which last for generation after generation, for hundreds of years — were and are a VERY good and long-​lasting use of the trees from which they came. So who knew that antiques were so good for the environment!
And Rico and Cow Hollow will keep your antiques going for another several hundred years. Five stars, highest rating!
And BTW, their customer service is excellent, and there is not a friendlier place in The City. Period. I have been utilizing their services for 11 years, and would not consider going anyplace else. I thank Rico, and my furniture thanks Rico.

Even though they charge a fortune for what they do I was willing to return because the work is good.
My experience is like Jacks. They don’t answer the phone. They don’t return calls.
I showed up to bring them a restoration but nobody was here.
I wound up talking to another customer outside who said the same thing and said he had been emailing for weeks with no response.
The who was waiting finally left after 20 mins.
Sounds like they are backed up and understaffed.
I cannot see why a business would keep their lights on and have their sign saying open and then nobody is here.
Maybe a storefront in this neighboorhood isn’t neccessary.

Rico and his crew work miracles on your furniture. They are knowledgable, reliable, professional, efficient and a pleasure to do business with. I cannot recommend highly enough.

Rico came to my house to inspect a wooden table and provide an estimate. I was concerned that the table was unsteady and that the legs needed stabilization. Rico showed up on time, and was very friendly and professional. Imagine my surprise when he said the table was sound and did not require stabilization! I was impressed with his honesty and thoroughness, and would not hesitate to recommend him or call him again based on this experience.

I was really pleased with Rico and his work. I had a little trouble finding an antiques restorer, but luckily found this place. I had a non-​standard-​sized wobbly antique bed that I wanted to have resized to fit a normal mattress and tightened up a bit. This is a family heirloom, so I knew my mom would KILL me if the bed got messed up in the process of improving it… talk about pressure! But Rico did an amazing job in a timely manner. Thanks Rico!

Rico and his team fixed my maple dining room table which after 15 years of hot drinks, cold drinks and sun was looking very worn. His team took the finish off and re-​did the top such that it was literally an exact replica of when it was originally purchased. It was efficient — they took the amount of time estimated and the cost was reasonable. I was more than pleased and would definitely recommend them. Gloria S

These guys rock. They fixed my damaged credenza and it looks just like new.

Rico and his team are truly talented craftsmen. I needed them to create a bench that would match my dining table and they created a masterpiece in just a couple weeks. Amazing work. The bench is an exact replica of my beautiful dining table.
I would trust them with anything that needed to be restored, repaired, or custom-​made. These guys know their stuff!

Based on the other reviews on here, I’m sure they do great work. However, I found it impossible to actually bring in a piece of furniture to be restored. Below is a brief summary of my experience.
The first day I called the store at multiple times during the day to make sure someone would be there and left a message. Apparently noone is actually available during the day to answer the phone.
By the next morning I still hadn’t received a call back, and called a few more times with still no answer. On a whim I drove by the store around 11am to drop off the furniture and nobody was in. A sign indicated that someone would be back at 11:30am. I ran a couple of errands and came back at 11:30am. I waited until 11:45 and still nobody showed up.
On the third day I figured I would drop by at 9am when the store is purported to be open. I arrived at 9:15am. All of the lights were on, but the sign indicated that they were closed and nobody answered when I knocked on the door.
I’m sure their actual work product is great based on the reviews, but the manner in which the store is run made it prohibitive for me to actually be a customer.

My mom bought a couch for a great deal but did not realize until after she brought it home that the front left leg was broken. We Unilocaled furniture repair and Cow Hollow Woodworks was the first company with a solid reputation that came up. I called and Rico called back to set up a time to bring it in. I brought it in, got a good quote and a week later it was ready. Rico is very professional and knows what he is doing. Hopefully I never have to bring anymore broken furniture in but if I need an honest woodworker, I will be coming back to Cow Hollow Woodworks. Thanks Rico!

Nail polish, it turns out, is made with some of the same stuff as the finish on furniture. Perhaps my girlfriend knew that when she laid her nail polish bottle, with the cap unscrewed, on our antique end table one night last fall. Maybe she didn’t.
Either way, when we awoke to the noxious fumes, the damage was done.
Rico was not daunted. He matched the coloring, fixed a chipped piece of wood, and finished the job as smooth as a baby’s booty. The project took a few more weeks than he predicted, the only reason I spare a star.
All I can say is, he *nailed* it.

I’ve used Cow Hollow Woodworks several times and have been very pleased with their work every time. They are perfectionists and will go out of their way to make sure the piece they are repairing looks like new. They are always busy which is an a testament to their great service.

Rico did a great job with the dresser and vanity I inherited from my grandmother. The vanity was in bad shape, but Rico fixed it up like new. The finish was not entirely dry when he returned the pieces and I ended up marking them up the first night I had them. Rico returned twice to repair the damage.
Great work, great service!

I’ve used this supplier in the past; they are currently working on a project for me, and I will certainly use them in the future. They do good work and come highly recommended.
When searching the address, I chanced upon these reviews and was appalled to see this site used as a venue for one yuppie’s petulant rant when a misguided sense of entitlement was thwarted. One cannot park in business driveways, period. It really doesn’t matter how special you are or how important you consider your errands. Grow up.

Being *greater than symbol* 30 officially means that I’m now «too tall» to shop at Ikea. It also means that the furniture I buy now requires some taking care of so that it doesn’t look like a two-​dollar hooker covered in hot sauce stumbling out of bush on Sunday morning.
Despite being partial to early morning flora and perhaps inspite of my love for throwing caution to the wind, I have found that the horrible black rings left by one of those Hieneken keg cans left overnight on my unfinished white oak coffee table leaves me with anxiety induced facial tics. Imperfections this sort just won’t pass for «patina».
I tried to find Jesus and the even more well known human helper, God, several times during an extended nervous break down that only casually ruining an expensive piece of furniture can induce. They were nowhere to be found. Unilocal was there however, and in no time I was finally soothed by the gents at CHWW.
A simple phone call produced a ballpark quote, and a pick-​up window. They showed up on time, and returned two-​weeks later with my table looking more glorious that it ever did. To top it off, the final price actually came in less than I was quoted. Hazzah!
Rico, dressed in his official CHWW apron, explained that while I was still not able to leave keg cans on my table, the occasional placement a of bare naked bottom is within reason. Where’s my hot sauce?