What You Need to Know About Furniture Finisher
Career Description Shape, finish, and refinish damaged, worn, or used furniture or new high-grade furniture to specified color or finish.
Life As a Furniture Finisher
- Examine furniture to determine the extent of damage or deterioration, and to decide on the best method for repair or restoration.
- Follow blueprints to produce specific designs.
- Confer with customers to determine furniture colors or finishes.
- Brush bleaching agents on wood surfaces to restore natural color.
- Stencil, gild, emboss, mark, or paint designs or borders to reproduce the original appearance of restored pieces, or to decorate new pieces.
- Fill and smooth cracks or depressions, remove marks and imperfections, and repair broken parts, using plastic or wood putty, glue, nails, or screws.
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What Every Furniture Finisher Should Know
Furniture Finishers state the following job skills are important in their day-to-day work.
Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Monitoring: Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Operation Monitoring: Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Judgment and Decision Making: Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Related Job Titles
- Hardwood Finisher
- Wood Polisher
- Wooden Furniture Polisher
- Antique Refinisher
- Varnish Finisher
Job Opportunities for Furniture Finishers
There were about 22,400 jobs for Furniture Finisher in 2016 (in the United States). There is little to no growth in job opportunities for Furniture Finisher. The BLS estimates 2,000 yearly job openings in this field.

The states with the most job growth for Furniture Finisher are Utah, Florida, and Nevada. Watch out if you plan on working in New Hampshire, Vermont, or Maine. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.
What is the Average Salary of a Furniture Finisher
The typical yearly salary for Furniture Finishers is somewhere between $22,600 and $48,720.

Furniture Finishers who work in Connecticut, New Hampshire, or Nebraska, make the highest salaries.
How much do Furniture Finishers make in different U.S. states?
State | Annual Mean Salary |
---|---|
Alabama | $28,510 |
Arizona | $33,160 |
Arkansas | $28,410 |
California | $36,710 |
Colorado | $36,700 |
Connecticut | $39,870 |
Florida | $31,950 |
Georgia | $31,180 |
Idaho | $32,860 |
Illinois | $35,280 |
Indiana | $31,490 |
Iowa | $34,430 |
Kansas | $31,410 |
Kentucky | $31,720 |
Maine | $30,870 |
Maryland | $38,100 |
Massachusetts | $38,460 |
Michigan | $35,740 |
Minnesota | $39,040 |
Mississippi | $28,420 |
Missouri | $38,060 |
Nebraska | $41,050 |
Nevada | $34,810 |
New Hampshire | $42,710 |
New Jersey | $35,940 |
New York | $38,500 |
North Carolina | $30,710 |
North Dakota | $34,670 |
Ohio | $31,520 |
Oklahoma | $32,990 |
Oregon | $31,760 |
Pennsylvania | $34,810 |
Rhode Island | $41,200 |
South Carolina | $32,840 |
South Dakota | $27,350 |
Tennessee | $34,000 |
Texas | $29,900 |
Utah | $37,110 |
Vermont | $30,480 |
Virginia | $29,450 |
Washington | $39,770 |
West Virginia | $29,450 |
Wisconsin | $33,170 |
What Tools do Furniture Finishers Use?
Although they’re not necessarily needed for all jobs, the following technologies are used by many Furniture Finishers:
- Web browser software
- Intuit QuickBooks
How do I Become a Furniture Finisher?
What kind of Furniture Finisher requirements are there?

What work experience do I need to become a Furniture Finisher?

Where do Furniture Finishers Work?

The table below shows some of the most common industries where those employed in this career field work.

Related Careers
Those thinking about becoming a Furniture Finisher might also be interested in the following careers:
References:
Image Credit: Airman 1st Class Sadie Colbert via Public domain
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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