Restoration
Antique furniture restoration in the UAE
An old piece of furniture has usually survived two or three previous attempts to help it. Someone glued a joint with the wrong adhesive. Someone stripped a finish that was doing a job. Someone screwed a bracket into a rail to stop a wobble. A good part of restoration is undoing that carefully, and then doing as little as the piece actually needs.
We have been doing this work in Abu Dhabi since 2003, in the same workshop as the joinery and the upholstery, which is useful because a restoration rarely stays in one trade. A bureau can need a joint re-glued, a section of veneer laid back down, a mount re-fixed and a seat re-covered before it is finished. The bureau in the gallery below has a fall front that opens onto a fitted interior of pigeonholes and small drawers, and a swelling bombé carcase on claw-and-ball feet. Pieces like that reward patience and punish shortcuts.
Process
How we work
- 01
Assess before touching anything
What is original, what has already been repaired, what is actually failing. Plenty of pieces that look bad are structurally fine and need a clean rather than a rebuild.
- 02
Structure first
Loose joints, split panels, failed glue blocks, feet worn down on one side. This is the work that decides whether the piece survives, and it happens before anything cosmetic.
- 03
Veneer, marquetry and mounts
Lifted veneer is laid back down. Missing marquetry is cut to match the pattern around it. Gilding and metal mounts are dealt with in their own right rather than painted over.
- 04
Finish to match its age
The aim is a piece that looks looked after, not one that looks new. Colour and sheen are matched to what survives, and we stop before the patina goes.
Gallery
From this part of our work
See the full gallery
Questions
Questions we get asked
- Will restoring it reduce what the piece is worth?
- Over-restoration can, and it is the most common mistake we see on pieces brought to us. Stripping an original finish or replacing sound timber removes exactly what gives an antique its value. Our default is the minimum intervention that makes the piece sound and usable. If you are dealing with something of real value, get it valued before any work starts, including by us.
- Can you repair marquetry and inlay?
- Yes. The side cabinet in the gallery below has floral marquetry on a black ground with gilt mounts, and the bureau has a bombé front in burl veneer. Both are the kind of surface where a repair either disappears or shouts, so it is cut and shaded to match what is around it.
- Do you collect from outside Abu Dhabi?
- We work across the UAE. Tell us where the piece is and what it is, and we will sort out getting it here. Some pieces are better assessed in place before they are moved at all.
- How long does a restoration take?
- Longer than people expect, because glue and finishes need time between stages and that time cannot be compressed. We will give you a programme once we have seen the piece, rather than a number now that we would have to revise.
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Tell us about your project
Send a floor plan, a photograph, or just an idea. We will tell you what it takes and what it costs.