Repairs, Restoration and Upholstery

How to Start Your Furniture Repair or Restoration Enquiry

If you have a piece of furniture you wish to be restored or repaired then an email to a.c.sprowell.furniture@gmail.com with some photos and a brief explanation of the level of restoration work required is a good starting point. From this I can give you an idea of basic costings and a rough guide price for the work. If you are happy to proceed after this then once I have the piece of furniture in my workshop I will produce a more detailed estimate for the job. This will include what is required to get your piece of furniture back to looking its best and a subsequent breakdown of the work I intend to carry out. You are not obliged at any point to go through with the work if you are not entirely happy. You are welcome to decline the work at any time in the process up until this point. Once work has begun, anything that is carried out to your piece of furniture up to and including the completion of the restoration will require payment.

If you are unable to bring your piece of furniture to my workshop yourself and require collection please let me know as early in the enquiry process as possible. Collection and delivery of pieces will incur an additional cost that will vary dependent on location, if there is a need for van hire and/or additional bodies to help move your item.

How Estimates Work

Estimates are just that, estimates. Over the years I have worked on and restored a number of items which gives me a fairly good idea of how long different repairs and restorations will take. When producing an estimate I examine a piece of furniture closely and work out roughly how long I think each aspect of the job may take. From this I can work out a rough labour charge, I then add on any additional costings that are required such as materials, fittings, delivery/carriage etc. From this I arrive at a final total for the estimate. Each estimate will include a description and breakdown of the work I intend to carry out,

The Terms and Conditions Bit

Estimates can go up or down. I'm sure you would much rather they go down than up, however if whilst working on your piece of furniture, I realise I am going to go heavily over the estimated hourly cost I will contact you prior to carrying out any further work. I may go over the estimated hours simply because I underestimated how long certain aspects of the job would take or it may be due to finding something I didn't expect that needs additional attention. In all circumstances you can rest assured you will receive honest communications with me throughout the process. Once work has begun, anything that is carried out to your piece of furniture up to, and including, the completion of the restoration will require payment.

If however you do not wish to have an estimate produced and are happy to proceed with the work regardless then I am happy to do this as well. I understand that some customers are happy with a simple "ball park" figure and do not require a full written estimate and breakdown.

Antique Furniture Restoration

Antique Furniture Restoration covers a large scope of different skills and processes that are required, in order to restore a piece of furniture. A Furniture Restorer is a Cabinet-Maker with many additional skills that are needed in order to undertake restoration work with the careful consideration it requires. Structural repairs; relaying loose veneers and replacing missing ones; coaxing old, worn mechanisms back into working order; cleaning hundreds of years of dirt and grime from surfaces; colour blending and re-polishing surfaces are just some of the things that I am able to help with in order to restore your loved pieces of antique furniture.

My Approach to Antique Restoration

In my training I was made to be very conscious about the conservation of a piece, and I proudly carry this forward into my own restoration work. I carefully consider the ethics towards restoring a piece of antique furniture, and although my main objective is to restore, I will always work to conserve as much of the original material as I can along the way. Replacing a leg, because its quicker, as opposed to repairing a damaged one is, for me, not an acceptable approach. I will always use glues and finishes that are appropriate and in keeping with what would have been used at the time of manufacture.

Structural repairs might include broken chair legs or the folding mechanism of a drop leaf table that may have seized, or incurred a broken rule joint. Drawers on antique furniture are often in need of some love and attention. They are fitted with wooden runners which over years of use will get worn down causing the drawer to no longer run smoothly. When carrying out any structural repairs, my aim is always to restore the piece so that it is sound and functions as it was intended.

Veneers were extensively used on antique furniture in order to make hard woods go that bit further. Also used for decorative effect, in symmetrical parquetry or arabesque marquetry, veneers can quite easily become loose or damaged. I am able to replace and repair veneers and blend in any colouring that is required. Damaged or loose veneers, in any form, can be repaired, re-laid and missing pieces replaced.

Missing pieces can usually be replaced, whether its a broken drawer pull that has rolled away out of sight or a caster wheel that has somehow vanished from its leg. Missing brass fittings can be accurately copied or replica parts sourced. I understand that even if I have carried out a beautiful leg splice you probably don't want that lovely, clean, new piece of wood and the join line to become a focal point. I will use a variety of cosmetic techniques and processes to ensure that any new piece of wood blends naturally into its new surroundings.

Cleaning antique furniture can be a bit of a delicate subject, especially when talking about the 'patination' of a piece. Whilst the aesthetics of a piece of antique furniture has acquired over years of oxidization and careful handling, should be cleaned and polished with care in order to preserve the 'patination,' I advocate a slightly more exuberant approach to cleaning and re-polishing. Especially when hundreds of years of dirt and grime are disguising the fact that, hiding underneath, is some beautiful, vibrant grain. I will use a slightly scientific approach to determine the make-up of a finish before undertaking the required cleaning strategy.

Antique Furniture is very often 'French Polished,' and whilst this is very lovely finish it won't thank you if you happen to spill your gin and tonic on it. It is also very susceptible to white water marks. These water marks can usually be removed without too much difficulty, as can black ink or iron staining. I will apply traditional shellacs and wax polishes by hand, all of which are mixed in my workshop to traditional recipes.

At my Shilstone based workshop I have the privilege of working next door to Mannix Crowdy, an Upholster with over 40 years of experience. Originaly from London Mannix has honed his craft to an exceptional level and is able to offer a wide range of services. He is able to bring new life to tired and worn out upholstery, sourcing the best quality materials and fabrics to produce the finest level of finish. We often work together on jobs, this offers both of our customers the opportunity to receive the best, most complete and comprehensive job possible, all completed under one roof.

Upholstery

Sofas
Re-springing
Headboards
Leather work
Buttoning
Bespoke upholstery work

Upholstery services offered by Mannix:

Antique furniture upholstery
Modern furniture upholstery
Upholstery/fabric repairs
Fitted furniture
Cushions
Chairs

Contact

Tel: 07981292861

Email: mannixcrowdy020@gmail.com

Instagram: @upholsterybympj

Alternatively you can use the contact section of this website to get in touch about any upholstery inquires.

Upholstery Gallery

Scroll through the pictures above to see the entire upholstery process on this Armchair from start to finish.

Restoration Gallery

Restoration and Repairs Gallery

A selection of pictures from a range of repair and restoration jobs.

Edwardian Sutherland Table

This table required a full restoration so it was disassembled and all joints cleaned and re-glued; leaves were repaired to working order and the gate legs were realigned along with a deep clean of their gilt casters. On the top itself, loose veneers were re-glued, damaged and missing banding was replaced and the marquetry in the centre was repaired. Sections of the top where badly sun faded so required cosmetic colouring in order to create a uniform appearance. Finished by French polishing.

Victorian Dinning Chair

Belonging to a set of 8 this chair required a full overhaul. Old upholstery was stripped and the materials handed to an outside upholsterer. All joints were cleaned, repaired and re-glued. One leg required a splice repair which was carried out in the traditional way, preserving as much of the original leg as possible. The chair was then carefully cleaned revealing the beautiful Mahogany. Once clean, repairs were cosmetically blended into original sections and the entire chair was polished.

Dinning Chair (Hepplewhite Revival)

Part of a set of 12 the customer came to me with the back of this particular chair in 5 pieces. Each piece was re-glued and tested to ensure it was structurally sound. Shellac polish was applied and glue lines disguised using an array of cosmetic techniques. A homemade wax was used to finish the repair and blend this chair back into the set.

Military Trunk

This military trunk is believed to have been part of the D-Day landings and when it arrived with me it was deffinately showing the wounds and scars from it. The main area of damage was the top back slat that had clearly been replaced before and had since split along its length. This was replaced using mahogany of a similar age from a disused dining table. The slats where all jointed using tounge and groove joints so the new one was manufactured in the same way. It was then colour matched, cosmetically aged and appropriately patinated to make it blend into the rest of the trunk.

Other areas of restoration Included; filling in and disguising a redundant lock hole, sympathetically repainting damaged areas of the military crest, adding supporting braces to the lid in order to stabalise a previous repair, adding an appropriatly aged lid stay as per the clients request, sourcing new handles more appropriate with the age of the piece, re-cutting in the hinges and polishing them up, treating and filling woodworm damage, removing filler, ensuring any new pieces of timber blended in to the piece and finally delicately cleaning the entire trunk before applying new polish and wax

Military Trunk

Corner Chair

A Corner Chair that was looking extremely sorry for itself when it arrived at the workshop needed a complete overhaul. All upholstery was removed before any joints that hadn't already fallen apart were separated. All of the joints were then cleaned and examined. Some of the joints needed minor alterations and repair work before being re glued to ensure a better more secure fit once re-assembled. After being glued back together, missing inlay was replaced and damaged sections repaired. The entire chair was then sympathetically cleaned using a diluted solution of methylated spirit before having a fresh coat of stain applied. This stain filled in any damaged sections in which bare wood had been removed such as deep scratches. Finally coats of shellac polish were applied and the entire chair was then waxed to shine before being sent to the upholsterer.

Windsor Style Ercol Dining Chairs

A set of 4 chairs came into the workshop all with the same flaking and damaged polish to the top of the backrest. This could quite easily of been caused by years of use and people handling this section of the chair more than any other to pull them out from under tables. The polish had flaked and chipped more extensively on some than others. The bare areas of wood were stained and colour matched to the original areas still covered by undamaged finish. several layers of shellac polish were then built up in these areas before being rubbed back and blended into the original finish. A wax was then applied to the back f each chair as a final level of protection that could be shined accordingly.

Toy Advent Lorry

Sometimes Christmas decorations get broken when being taken in and out of their boxes each year by perhaps excited children. This advent lorry required a replacement wheel which was made using the same materials and methods as the originals. Measurements for the new wheel where taken from the remaining 3. The main 'tyre' was turned out of MDF with 3mm dowels acting as spokes. The middle hub was shaped from Ash. The wheel was painted with acrylic paint and a protective spray lacquer applied.

Long Case Clock

A small re-polish job was required to the front of this long case clock door. The lock had previously been replaced and in the process the escutcheon had gone missing. Dirt and grime that had built up around the original escutcheon was cleaned away and the area re-polished. Once the door had been French Polished and waxed to shine the replacement escutcheon could be fitted. The entire clock casing was given a coat of the same homemade wax and shined to the same level as the door in order to blend everything together.

The lock catch also needed bending and hammering back into shape after years of neglect. It was then re-attached using more appropriate fittings to ensue that the lock made contact and kept the door closed.

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