Making mounts for coathooks and bulldog clips

An unusual request to make mounts for these items but an interesting project

Repairs to a Shoolbred dressing chest

This good quality figured ash dressing chest was in poor condition prior to coming in to the workshop. The top and left side had suffered severe water damage causing the timber to turn a grey colour. The whole piece had to be cleaned down before repolishing and waxing. For French polishing advice please visit our website polishing page

Restoration of mahogany sideboard

This very elegant early nineteenth century sideboard was covered in sticky olive oil. The whole piece had to be hand stripped ,restored and french polished before a final coat of wax. For information and advice about french polishing

To restore or not to restore. That is the question

This late Victorian burr walnut centre table was almost declined for restoration as the top was extremely damaged. Totally destroyed finish caused by moisture and the lifting of large parts of veneer prooved to be a real challenge.

However after totally stripping the top and relaying the veneer, the whole piece was stripped ,cleaned and repolished. Missing veneers were replaced and coloured out to match the surrounding timbers before the whole piece was waxed. It was a challenge but paid off in the end

Polishing a mahogany dining table

This is quite an unusual table. on first appearances it looks like a standard reproduction regency style D ended table with an additional leaf, but after working on it for some time i came to the decision that it is a well constructed hand made table. The inlay in the top is quite unusual and very effective, being strung in ebony with pointed corner motifs. The table had to be stripped prior to French polishing and waxing. There were some problems with the central leaf being darker, probably due to the sun fading the outer leaves when it was not extended. This was overcome by tinting the French polish and slightly toning down the outer leaves

This mahogany card table was in pretty good condition and just needed some cleaning up. The top swivells and opens up to expose a green baize surface. Dating from around the early 1900`s this is a pretty example of a useful table.

Bringing back the beauty of old furniture

Hi, and thank you for visiting this blog. I have decided that I would like to share with you some of what I have learnt over the past 35 years dealing with the restoration and re polishing of antique furniture. Over the following weeks I hope to share with you many aspects of the furniture restoration industry including buying, fixing and polishing old furniture. For a more in depth view of what we do at riverside restorations  please visit our main site at  Cornwall Furniture Restoration