Q: Is it worth trying to restore antique furniture myself, or would you advise hiring a professional?
A: A professional antiques restorer is invaluable. Wherever possible, and if the budget allows, I would always hand over any furniture restoration to the care of a competent professional with a track record – especially if you are lucky enough to own something of a relatively high value. Resist the temptation to repolish that Gillows table, fix that wobbly leg on a good 18th-century Windsor, or regild a 17th-century picture frame… these things are best left to an expert.
Although I regularly polish my antique furniture with tinted beeswax, I’m very aware that over-polishing can sometimes strip the patination, and patina needs to be preserved at all costs. It’s part of the charm, it’s part of its history, and it’s part of its value.
A few years ago, I went on a valuation and discovered that what initially looked to be a reproduction mahogany dining table was, on closer inspection, the real deal – a George III table from the 1770s that had been stripped down and reconditioned with a sickly glossy varnish. It looked brand new; all its history removed. The over-restoration reduced its value and made it harder to sell.
But then it really depends on the value of your piece. A professional restoration can be expensive. There’s no point paying several hundred pounds for a restoration if that rickety Victorian balloon-back chair, bought at the car boot sale, is only worth £20. Or if your damaged George III mahogany chest of drawers is only going to fetch £100 at auction (less with seller’s commission) – even if prices appear to be very slightly on the rise for brown furniture.
Unless, of course, your inherited piece of furniture has sentimental value, in which case the restoration of Grandpa’s desk or your mother’s favourite armchair might well be the way forward. The value of personal association is impossible to quantify.
An evening course in antique furniture restoration, conservation or gilding (something I have always wanted to learn) might be a shrewd investment. But practice on that £20 chair first. If it all goes pear-shaped, it’s not the end of the world.
Need an answer? Send your questions to homesandantiques@ourmedia.co.uk
