MAGNIFICENT TABLE TOP UNDERGOING FRENCH POLISHING
The complexity of furniture repair and restoration in Surrey (or elsewhere for that matter of fact!) is often underestimated. In fact, people who work in the furniture repair and restoration industry are usually notable for their extraordinary skills. This is because so many different talents are needed when restoring furniture – and particularly antique furniture.
At Snelling Associates we receive a bewildering array of different items to restore or repair. Indeed, it is not uncommon to have delivered to our workshops, during the average week, items that range from ornate antique mirrors and pine blanket boxes to 17th Century chairs, clock cases and walnut sideboards – with the occasional huge mahogany dining table thrown in, just to keep our French polishing skills ‘up to scratch’ (pun intended!)
Well, of course, almost every item that we repair has a different problem, whether it is a broken lock, lifting or lost veneers, damaged filigree or a rotten turning. Often we have to rebuild sections of furniture, particularly where there has been severe fire or impact damage and this can require intricate cabinet making to ensure that any furniture repair is invisible once completed.
In reality, furniture repair and restoration can be very challenging and, for us, fun – as we often have to pool the skills of everyone in our workshops to achieve a finished result. Indeed, this is not unusual as, irrespective of size, some items require far more than ‘simple’ furniture repair and need total restoration.
Oddly enough, chair repair can be amazingly involving, for example. Turnings are often damaged and need to be remade to match elsewhere on the chair (an awkward and very skilled job) with many chairs needing to be totally disassembled and put together again with newly glued joints. And then, of course, they need waxing and polishing in such a way that the original patina of the chair is retained – and identical to any matching chairs…
So, for anyone involved in high quality furniture repair and restoration, close team work amongst skilled artisans is the key to success. Without that, few items could be restored to their previous glory – something which we pride ourselves upon doing!
Of course, at Snelling Associates we have a great team with disparate skills able to tackle just about any furniture repair and restoration in Surrey that is required. So, do contact us if you have an antique that requires restoration or some piece of furniture that needs repair…
Peter Snelling – Antique restoration Surrey