The practice of Antique Furniture Restoration refers to the action of restoring any type of antique, including furniture or works of art, to a condition as close as possible to new.

Antique furniture restoration can also involve conserving a piece to preserve its condition and prevent any further deterioration.

Antique Furniture Restoration Work

Antique furniture restoration work can be as simple as Light Cleaning to remove any dirt or grime which may have collected, for example on the surface of a painting.

Antique furniture restoration work may include near complete rebuilding or replacement, as might be the case with a damaged piece of furniture.

Antique furniture restoration is often undertaken by a collector upon acquiring a new piece or a seller hoping to achieve the best possible price for an item.

Why Restore Antique Furniture

The primary goal of antique furniture restoration is to return a piece to its original appearance or functionality. Antique furniture restoration is a world apart from Furniture Repairs and is considered by many to be an art-form.

Restorers are usually trained craftsperson's, such as Furniture Makers, mechanics, or metal smiths. Some have many years of experience in their fields, others are self-taught volunteers. With every piece of furniture and its condition being unique, each solution must be tailored to suit, this requires much experience and a good restorer can charge to match.

Working from a previous bad furniture restoration is the bane of any trained restorer. A bad furniture restoration can look worse and have more of a negative impact on the value and beauty of a piece than the original damage.

While the practice of antique furniture restoration is sometimes frowned upon by many museums, scholars, and other experts, for many people there is little value in antique furniture that is either unusable or un-displayable.

Antique Furniture Conservation

In contrast, Antique Furniture Conservation typically aims to preserve the remaining material of furniture.

Antique furniture conservation is usually considered if the piece is worthy or valuable on its own without it necessarily being functional or looking new.

There are several criteria used to determine what conservation work is necessary. Primarily, is the object actively deteriorating?

Slowing or stopping this deterioration and eliminating or mitigating the root cause is the first aim of conservation work.

To this end, conservators are usually trained in materials and chemistry, as well as art history, archeology, and any other disciplines related to their areas of expertise.