A Beginner's Guide To Antique Furniture Restoration

Restoring antique furniture is an art form.  Only those who are skilled can renovate a piece of antique furniture without diminishing its value. Antique furniture restoration brings old pieces of high-quality furniture back to its original state. When a piece of antique furniture is restored, it can become one of the most cherished pieces of furniture in a home. Antique furniture restorers can take an abandoned family heirloom and make it look as good as it was when it was purchased without devaluing it.

Embracing Days of Old

The artisans in the business of restoring antique furniture truly love the beauty of high-quality pieces and work to preserve history by applying their skills to each piece of furniture they restore. Furniture restoration can include minor restorations as well as total rebuilds. For example, a piece may just need a good clean to remove years of grime but the cleaning skills are more specialist than a quick misting of furniture polish. Other antiques may require damaged wood to be mended by replacing individual parts or rebuilding certain areas of an antique.

Why Restore Antique Furniture?

Often, restoration occurs when a person inherits a piece of furniture from a family member and wishes to restore it to its former glory. Other times, someone may wish to have a piece restored before placing it on the market for sale.

Repair Versus Restoration

Repairing an antique involves restoring the functionality of the piece of furniture, such as repairing or replacing a leg of a table. Restoration, on the other hand, involves repairing all damage and making the piece look like it did when the piece was crafted. During the restoration process, the antique may need to be stripped. The stripping process involves removing a thin layer of material. However, to preserve the antique, restorers work to preserve the sheen and original patina.

When A Restoration Project Is Botched By Amateurs

Many times when a piece of antique furniture is brought to a restorer, an amateur has tried to restore it and has caused irreversible damage. An antique that has been repaired badly or over-restored can devalue an antique. This type of restoration can completely destroy the value of the piece of furniture. Therefore, any antique restoration should be handled by a master craftsman. This will ensure that the piece of furniture will still be valuable after the restoration has been completed. If a restoration project has devalued a piece of furniture, a master craftsman may be able to reverse the damage by finding antiques that are beyond repair and incorporating them into the damaged piece. Although this type of repair can decrease the overall value of the furniture, it is the best choice available for those who have had an antique damaged or destroyed.

Antique Furniture Materials

Furniture restorers specializing in antique furniture must possess a plethora of skills to incorporate a variety of materials, including fabric, wood, metal, leather and glass. The craftsman must know how to effectively clean and restore each type of material without damaging the piece. The skilled restorer must understand how different cleaning solutions will affect different materials in the antique. For example, a common cleaning solution used to remove years of grime from wood can damage metal finishes.

Proper Restoration Materials

The best antique restoration specialists will use materials that were used during the time when the piece was originally made. For example, many of the master craftsmen will utilize hand planes rather than powered planes. Additionally, the type of glue used during the restoration process should be the same type of glue that was used when the furniture was originally crafted. Once such type of glue is fish glue. This type of glue is made by slowly boiling the bones, tendons and skin of animals. Antique furniture restorers connect the present day with the past by restoring furniture to its original state using techniques similar to those used hundreds of years ago. Restoring antique furniture allows generations to come to enjoy history through the furnishings found in their homes.