Restoration

Restoration is a beautiful blend of fine woodwork, design and history. Furniture history is fascinating and it always thrills to be working on a piece of furniture that another Cabinet Maker made during our country's turbulent past. We've had the privilege of working at the highest end of restoration for many years. We've enjoyed working in many private and stately homes, as well as regularly restoring individual pieces of furniture and interiors for dealers across the country and renowned Arts & Antique Fairs. Many of these historically important pieces have been five and six-figure sums. But we've also had the honour of restoring pieces of more modest financial value. Their value lies elsewhere because they hold memories of parents and grandparents. These items are full of stories and are treasured. We love bringing them back to full glory.

Please find below a small sample of some of our recent restoration projects.

Rosewood Tripod Table

Ebonised mahogany and rosewood tripod table restoration: This was a beautiful piece to work on. Exquisitely carved early 19th C table with marble top. It belonged to the client's great aunt and was full of cracks and bad restoration. The legs were so damaged that the table had to be propped against the wall.
It's now back to all its 200-year-old glory. The column, legs and frieze are carved from lovely old mahogany and then ebonised to give a deep black colour. All the breaks have been stabilised; the tapered dovetail joints rebuilt and recut; the broken and missing carvings have been patched and recarved. The rosewood has had all the water marks removed and the whole surface carefully repolished and waxed.

We've worked on many fine pieces that have sat in museums, private collections and exhibited in some of the great antique fairs; this table could easily sit alongside some of those items. Beautiful!

Setee & Armchair

We spent a super day recently in a lovely home restoring a settee and armchair. They had sat for many years in a conservatory and the direct sun had bleached and leached out all the natural oils from the wood. It looked tired, dry and lifeless.

Careful cleaning, colouring and enriching with shellac and wax have brought it back to life. The wood is singing again, and they look beautiful when you walk into the room. We loved restoring them... we also loved showing the client some of the steps of french polishing!

1940's Decorative Tray

We always love the stories that connect the pieces we work on with the people who own them. This decorative tray recently left the workshop after heavy restoration.

The tray belongs to a lady whose father bought it in the 1940s while stationed in Rio de Janeiro with the merchant navy. The mahogany tray has a highly decorative central painted panel, which includes dozens of exquisite butterfly wings. (We wouldn't use this technique to decorate items today- any more than we'd use ivory or tortoiseshell- but as a historical piece it showcases their beauty). The tray is full of memories of a family that stretches back 80 years.

The tray came to us with a severely broken handle. It required dismantling, careful handling and repair. Pieces were fractured and some missing. The whole tray has now been gently cleaned and polished. Old techniques which include, shellac, pumice powder and wax have brought it back to a beautifully aged piece.

Oak & Steel Staircase

We've restored hundreds of fine pieces of furniture, from the past 400years that sit in museums, stately homes and private collections across the world. But I think this is our most modern restoration work (and maybe the largest).
A client asked us to step in and restore this beautiful three-storey oak and steel curved staircase. It was installed a couple of years ago but some of the joinery was poorly done and the wrong finish was used which completely masked the beautiful timber.

This was a complicated restoration project that required very careful treatment to work the surface and blend all the colours together. It was also very tiring with 42 stairs, 3 landings and almost 50 metres of handrail!
After a week's work, it is now complete and stands like a beautiful piece of sculpture in the centre of a lovely home. Simply beautiful.

18th Century Oak Bureau

A super oak bureau has just left the workshop. Extensive restoration of the drawers was required to get them running again. A beautiful honey colour has developed over the last 200 years. It's been a pleasure repolishing this and bringing it back to its glory.

I've also loved the workshop smelling of hot animal glue again (probably sad to admit!😀). This glue is the original glue used and one I use in all restoration. You have to work quickly as it's hot and becomes too gelatinous when it cools. I love it as I'm working in the same way my fellow cabinet makers have worked for hundreds of years!

Let us know if you have any restoration needs.

1930s Arched Front Door Restoration.

A lovely old door has been given new life after careful restoration. Hand stripping, the removal of stains and lots of oil and hot wax have sealed and repaired the oak timber. All splits and damage have been repaired with oak and resealed. The old ironmongery has been restored and oiled, while new pewter door furniture and high-security locks have been fitted to blend the old with modern living. We thoroughly enjoyed working on this one ....but we seem to say that after every job!

Do let us know if you have any beloved items that need careful and sympathetic restoration to bring them to their very best.