Chair repairs in the Guildford and Dorking areas

Of all the many combinations of furniture and antiques that we receive for repair and restoration at our workshops in Shere, it is chairs that are the most common. Frankly, this is not all that surprising; given the very tough, long term usage that chairs get.  Equally, the construction of chairs is such that they are, in many ways, innately delicate objects.  They are assembled from many different pieces, all of which are doweled or interlocking, and, if just one joint gives way or loosens, then very quickly thereafter other joints also untighten.  The whole chair then becomes unstable; with every likelihood, that one piece or another will either break altogether or come away from its fixing. Obviously, the best time to bring a chair in for repair is before anything breaks or the joints throughout the entire chair start to come apart.  However, normally, the joints of a chair…

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Guildford furniture repair and restoration

What never ceases to surprise me is the extraordinary range of antiques and objets d’art that come to our workshop for repair and restoration!  Indeed, it is fair to say that one of the pleasures of our work lies in the unexpected.  For us, as furniture restorers, there is no greater pleasure than a challenge and something a little bit out of the ordinary – almost irrespective of its actual market value… Recently, for example, I found a rather fine saddle box – although it was in absolutely terrible condition.  As you can see from the images here, we have restored the box to its original condition.  It looks really good now and is in perfect order. I dare say that in the past there must have been many saddle boxes around but they are now comparatively rare and belong to a different age. Certainly, I think that many people…

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Dorking furniture repair and restoration of antiques

Recently at our workshop in Shere we have had the pleasure of restoring some very attractive and unusual items.  This is always a pleasure, as tackling the restoration of objets d’art and select items can be both fun and challenging.  Different technical problems can arise and it is great to have to think our way round how best to resolve items that have very particular finishes or construction. The warming pan shown here was brought to us with a broken handle, a not uncommon problem.  The handles are long and heavy use over many years often causes them to break.  This is a shame as these items are naturally attractive – and remind us all of a time when central heating and electric blankets did not exist.  Indeed, during the winter these warming pans must have been extremely welcome – although I often wonder how many fires they caused! Regarding…

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Pine furniture repair and restoration Guildford

Over the years I have seen many changes to what people like and dislike with regard to furniture. For a few years, one type of furniture or style is in favour and then a few years later a different sort. I can certainly remember when having ‘brown’ furniture went out of fashion and more modern ‘Ikea-type’ furniture started to appear. Easy to clean and maintain, it was instantly popular and, to some degree has remained so. Sadly, at the time, a great deal of lovely mahogany furniture was destroyed! This was a great shame, to put it mildly. A few years ago there was another considerable change in fashion when pine furniture suddenly became popular (along with bare floorboards!). Everyone seemed to want pine and there was an insatiable demand – so much so that the stripping, repairing and waxing of antique pine units became common. This then started a…

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Furniture repairs in the Guildford area

Of course, it is easy for me to always just show glorious images of the finished furniture that we have repaired!  The images (normally!) look great and are reassuring for any potential clients. However, I am often asked what furniture that we repair looks like before we have completed our restoration of the items concerned. Well, I think you would be amazed by the condition of some of the items of furniture that we deal with – when they are first brought to our workshop!  Indeed, below you can see some of the items of furniture that are either currently undergoing restoration or are about to be tackled by us.  All, without exception, will be transformed beyond recognition within the coming weeks and I shall prove this by placing images of the finished items once completed. In any event, as you can see, the condition of some of the furniture…

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Examples of furniture repair projects undertaken by Snelling Associates in Surrey

Like everyone, I think that a picture tells a thousand words, so I thought I would provide some images of furniture repairs that we have undertaken recently in Surrey – alongside an example of a piece of furniture pre-restoration! As I have mentioned before, one of the nice things about running an antique restoration business is the variety of items that come to us for repair or restoration.  Quite literally, we move from restoring a chair to repairing the gilt frame on a mirror – to then tackling the French polishing of a large dining room table!  Then there are locks to be replaced and decorative heirlooms to be revitalised, alongside items that have little real commercial value but that mean a great deal to their owners. I am proud to say that we always give the same attention to detail to every object that comes into our workshops, irrespective…

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Expert repair of furniture and unusual artefacts!

The past few weeks we have been as busy as always!  Indeed, the summer has passed with barely a break, as we have tackled a series of different furniture repairs and restorations which, as you can see from the images below, have varied considerably! The most awkward job was the decorative chair at the top of this Post, which required a very delicate repair to the top of the chair where it had been broken.  This work required carving a piece to match that broken and then the fitting and colouring of the new piece, so that it would match the rest of the chair (which was then French polished and re-upholstered).  The repair was no easy task but it has turned out really well and the chair now looks great – and has a very relieved and delighted owner. Meanwhile, we were very pleased with the restoration of the…

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Repair of furniture and antiques in Surrey

As you can see from the images here, we have had another busy month at Snelling Associates! Indeed, I am delighted to see that people still treasure their antiques as much as ever and continually bring them to us for restoration.  That may seem an odd thing to say but over the years I have seen many trends come and go and I have heard time and again that antiques have ‘had their day’ and that now most people only want modern furniture and no longer like objets d’art.  This was certainly the feeling amongst many people in the 1960’s and, to some extent, was true of the 1980s. However, anyone who is dismissive of antiques (whether furniture or objets d’art) rather misses the point, to my mind. After all, what makes antiques so precious (and worthwhile!) is the fact that they were so well made and, invariably, designed and…

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