How to Start Your Furniture Repair or Restoration Enquiry
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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.
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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.
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How Estimates Work
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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,
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The Terms and Conditions Bit
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Sofas
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Re-springing
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Headboards
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Leather work
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Buttoning
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Bespoke upholstery work
Upholstery services offered by Mannix:
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Antique furniture upholstery
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Modern furniture upholstery
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Upholstery/fabric repairs
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Fitted furniture
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Cushions
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Chairs
Contact
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Tel: 07981292861
Email: mannixcrowdy020@gmail.com
Instagram: @upholsterybympj
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Alternatively you can use the contact section of this website to get in touch about any upholstery inquires.
Scroll through the pictures above to see the entire upholstery process on this Armchair from start to finish.
Restoration and Repairs Gallery
A selection of pictures from a range of repair and restoration jobs.
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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
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.
Military Campaign Chest
A small water mark caused by a droplet of tonic had dissolved through the polish exposing a small patch of bare timber. Layers of traditional 'Blonde' shellac polish were built up on this patch. Once hardened the new polish was lightly and carefully sanded back level with the original finish and then wire wool was used to gently rub and warm the surface thus blending the new polish into the original finish. A small amount of cosmetic colouring was then applied to slightly darken the damaged area and blend it's colour into the original patination and finish. A homemade wax was then applied to the entire top surface of the chest to create an even shine. The top was then buffed to a soft yet glossy shine.
Mid Century Book Case
This Book Case was in need of some serious TLC when it arrived. The veneer on the top had been very badly damaged, both shelves had broken loose at one end and there was other serious structural problems to the plywood construction.
The renovation of this piece started with shoring up the structural elements that had been damaged or simply disintegrated over time. The bottom of both side sections had badly delaminated and had little to no structural strength left. Glue was injected between laminations and new pieces of plywood were glued to the back of each section to strengthen. Other sections of damaged veneer on the sides was then repaired or replaced if required. The shelves were re-glued and further secured with blocks at either end.
The top section was too damaged to salvage so after a conversation with the client a new Oak top was constructed, colour matched and fitted on-top of the original surface. A shadow gap was cut around the sides and front edge to give a slightly more modern feel to the piece and better blend the new top into the construction of the case.
The bottom doors required new pulls sourcing and fitting. I was unable to find suitable replacements so improvisation was introduced. Large eyelets used to construct yacht sails happened to be the perfect size and fit so after grinding the back of each eyelet so it sat flush with the back of the doors, these where glued into place and polished to shine. The entire bookcase, both inside and out, was then cleaned and finished with a satin oil.
Pine Dinning Table
This small pine dinning table had some bad staining, water marks and dents. It required stripping of its original finish, dents steamed out and sanded back to bare wood. It was then given a clean and 6 coats of a hard wearing top oil were applied.
Dressing Table Mirror
This mirror frame was damaged in transit by a protruding screw causing heavy scratches and gouging. Throughout this process it was important that the colour within the timber and the subsequent polish applied at the end of the process produced an accurate colour and patina. This was required in order to blend the mirror frame in with the rest of the dressing table.
19th Century Pantochronometer Repair
A Pantochronometer is an instrument that combines a compass and universal sundial. Usually constructed in sycamore this particular example is made from Boxwood, this normally indicates a piece of slightly lower value.
This example had a badly damaged lid with a missing section around the lip that had broken away and subsequently been lost. I started by cleaning out the crack in the lid as it had been previously glued. I was then able to inject some fresh hot hide glue to hold this split together. The missing section was repaired using an old boxwood rule of similar age in order to get a good colour tone. Once this had been glued in I was able to use a range of cosmetic colouring techniques to blend in and disguise the new section of wood and also the glue lines. Once all colouring work had been done I was able to re-polish the entire piece and wax to shine.
Alto Wind Chimes
None of the original timber, studs or hanging cord was reusable. So using original components and measurements I re-made all the required parts and restored these Chimes back to their former beauty.
The actual chimes themselves where given a complete clean through and treated with a very light coat of beeswax. All timber was finished in Chinese Tung Oil, I wanted a finish that would resemble the properties of natural timber. After trialing a few different finishes I discovered that things like spray lacquer and varnishes had a dampening affect on the chimes so a product that soaked into the timber rather than sitting on it's surface was required.
Occasional Table
This occasional table arrived with some bad water damage and staining to its top. It was stripped of its original polish and the staining was treated using different techniques in order to completely remove the damage. A shellac polish was then applied by hand and rubbed down to match the current level of shine on the rest of the table.
Ladderback Rush Seat Dinning Chair 1
This chair was in a very wobbly way with a broken seat corner and heavy woodworm damage leading to a broken stretcher joint. The broken corner was re-glued using hot hide glue that has gap filling qualities. The missing section that had broken out was replaced and cosmetically disguised.
The entire chair was disassembled and each joint cleaned. The broken stretcher was drilled and a dowel glued into the damaged end. The fitting hole was then re-drilled to the size of the dowel inserted into the stretcher allowing for a strong joint when re-glued. The chair was then completely re-glued, this minimalised any wobble or originally loose joints. The extensive woodworm was then treated, holes injected with wood hardener and then filled. These woodowrm holes were then stained to disguise them into the chair. The chair was then given a complete wax to blend it back into its set.
Rush Seat Dinning Chair 2
From the same set as chair 1 this example had a completely missing bottom 'ladder' back slat. The slat had broken out leaving parts of the tenon behind. Using the bottom slat from chair 1 as a template I was able to manufacture a replacement. This replacement slat was then colour matched, polished and aged appropriately to convey the effect of wear in the appropriate places. This chair was also completely disassembled and all joints cleaned before being re-glued with the new bottom slat inserted.
Pine Table
A table that effectively arrived in my workshop as a pile of bits. It was originally a large dining table with a drawer and tulip wood top, however none of these parts where salvageable due to extensive woodworm damage throughout. After a conversation with the client and understanding it was the legs they where particularly fond of I came up with a way of creating a small coffee table. I was able to re-use the legs and construct the table top out of the original side sections.
In order to make the new table top tie in with the detailing lines on the legs I cut a grove all the way around the top edge and stained it black. The legs were able be mounted back on a lathe, this made it a lot easier to sand, clean and repair each one before being mounted. The whole table was given several coats of satin oil with the top being given coats of hard wearing Osmo Top Oil.
Pre WW2 Teapot Ring Holder
This Teapot required a complete overhaul. I started by giving it a clean to reveal what areas needed attention. Splits and chips where stabilized and repaired. I reshaped and repaired missing sections of the spout. I then saved what I could of the hand painted flowers and using some artistic license completed the painting. The red sections where colour matched to the inside of the pot and painted on by hand. I then re-made the tiny plaque, and applied a protective lacquer and waxed to shine.
Mahogany and Plywood Occasional Table
The customer wanted the table top itself lightened as much as possible and stripped of it's patchy and discolouring stain. The whole table was then stripped of any remaining polish and faded areas of Mahogany colour matched into other sections of the table. It was then re-polished and waxed to bring out a warm shine.
Garden Bench
Suffering from some serious rot and decay this garden bench required a complete overhaul. 3 of the 4 legs, both side rails and part of the front rail needed re-making. This bench had simply been subjected to the elements and as such was no longer safe to use. After all the repair work had been carried out the entire bench was coated in wood hardener and a rot treatment. It was then painted with an exterior grade weather resistant paint.
Oak Gate Leg Table
This Victorian period Oak gate leg table came to me looking very old and tired. It had been re-stained and even painted black, the customer wanted it taken back to its original natural Oak finish. Using methylated spirits and abrasive cloths to cut through stain, paint and years of dirt, the striped table was coated with 3 layers of shellac polish. The top had already been sanded down but was discoloured in places so was further cleaned with acids before being French polished and waxed.
Carver Chair
This Carver chair came to me in a very wobbly state and with a broken arm. The chair was completely dismantled and all joints were cleaned, repaired if required, and then the chair was re-glued. The broken arm needed a replacement dowel and also required the broken one to be drilled out of its hole. Once the chair was complete it was cleaned and re-stained whilst preserving the current patination and wear of the piece. It was then polished with layers of shellac and waxed to shine.
Table Leg
A replica of a leg design often found on antique wine tables the were brought to me having had the bottoms snap off along a previous repair line. The client had the intention of re-painting these legs once repaired, so my job was simply to repair, reinforce and smooth the break lines ready for painting. The original repair had been carried out using Cascamite glue and screws, with filler to conceal the heads. I utilized these screw holes when reinforcing the breaks. Any missing sections were remade and filled if appropriate with hot wax.
