Antiques restoration

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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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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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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Restoration of a London Trolley

One of the joys of being an antique restoration specialist is that I get frequent opportunities to restore an astonishing variety of items – the latest of which is a London Trolley! As you can see from the picture, my London Trolley is now fully restored and looking absolutely gorgeous and quite different from the wreck I picked up at a local auction some time ago! Actually, I had been really looking forward to restoring the London Trolley for some time but, at Snelling Associates, we have been really hectic this year with our normal work. The latter has included a huge amount of antique furniture and objets d’art, which we were asked to restore following a major insurance claim. These are always interesting projects for us as, by their very nature, large insurance claims involve the repair and restoration of a very disparate variety of items – which can…

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Repair of stains, blemishes and marks on antique furniture

I recently wrote an article here about how we specialise in furniture restoration in Surrey, whilst stating that a good proportion of our work relates to the accidental or careless damage of surfaces. Classic causes of this are the placing of hot mugs on wooden surfaces or vases of flowers with wet bases. Both result in damage, particularly on French polished surfaces. However, all too frequently, we also receive furniture for restoration which has suffered badly as a result of someone trying to rectify a blemish or stain. Often they have used the wrong solution in an attempt to correct the problem and sometimes they have done the worst thing possible by using something abrasive (whether a solution or cloth). Unfortunately, trying to remove blemishes and stains is something that has to be done with the greatest of care and with some knowledge – if the remedial work is not…

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Furniture repair and restoration in Surrey, antiques and beloved items

Of course, at Snelling Associates, we specialise in antique restoration in Surrey but that should never put you off bringing your beloved objects or furniture to us for repair or restoration. In fact, some of our most enjoyable and rewarding work has been returning someone’s possessions to their previous glory – despite the items concerned not being technically antique. In truth, I have always been a little disparaging about the word ‘antique’ when referring to furniture and objects over 100 years old. This has always seemed rather arbitrary to me and ever more so as the years have rolled past and items that would have been dismissed when I was young now having come well within the over 100 year ‘antique’ classification. As I am only 20 years off a centenary myself, you can see my point – which is that age does not always define quality! Actually, what has…

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Antique restoration Surrey, restoring Massey Ferguson tractors!

In a recent Post I referred to the extensive range of skills required of anyone undertaking quality antique restoration in Surrey. The sheer range of items that need repairing and the array of problems that a restorer encounters means that he has to be a master of many trades or at least have a number of craftsmen within his workshop skilled in different areas of repair and restoration work. That is what separates the ‘best from the rest’ – to coin a modern phrase! Certainly, at Snelling Associates, we have the capability to undertake most of the work that is brought into us for attention. However, what we are less well known for is the restoration of Massey Ferguson tractors! Well, the truth is that this is something of a private passion as I have long admired (and worked with) Massey Ferguson tractors which have been the work horses of…

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