Stevens Antique Furniture Restoration

Welcome to Stevens Furniture Restoration.

Stevens Furniture Restoration is a well-established antique furniture restoration business located

in North West London.

We have been in business for 15 years and have developed a broad customer base ranging from private and trade. We pride ourselves on building up relationships with our clients encouraging an open dialogue understanding the clients requirements and executing the most sympathetic process

of restoration for each piece.

Stevens Furniture Restoration employs a small yet highly skilled team of crafts-people with expertise in antique furniture restoration conservation, French polishing, traditional re-upholstery and gilding.

If you require the restoration of a sentimental item of family furniture or you would like us to advise and take care of a collection we can offer recorded documentation and analysis.

The workshop

We try to use old materials where possible. Re-using timber veneers and metal work. Some passed down from retired antique restorers and taken from dismantled antique furniture. Also conscience of our impact on the environment many of the products used are by-products

French Polishing

French polishing Is a technique that dates back to the late 1700’s, used for it’ s ability to produce a deep and rich sheen, it is a pain staking process that requires many yers of experience to perfect. The whole process can take anything from days to weeks to achieve the desired finish, which very much depends on the nature of the piece that is being restored

French polishing is the most exacting and difficult among the wood polishing techniques, however, it provides the best results.

Gilding

The word gilding covers a number of decorative techniques for applying fine gold leaf or powder to solid surfaces such as wood, stone or metal to give a thin coating of gold. These gilding techniques are employed especially in framemaking, cabinet making, decorative painting and interior decoration. The process of gilding wood with thin shets of gold called gold leaf, is the same process used since ancient times, and it requires a high level of skill to be perfected.

Among many forms of gilding (e.g. mechanical, chemical, fire gilding, cold gilding), the most popular are oil and water gilding, which are very different processes that offer distinctly different results, we use both techniques in depending on the requirement of the client with the specific nuances of the piece.

The majority of gilded furniture and frames are made of wood that have been coated with material made of chalk and glue that is applied when hot,commonly known as ‘gesso’. The ability to apply ‘ gesso’ very thinly over detailed carving plus the ability to build these layers into a thick coat, which allows the layer it self to be carved , known as ‘ cut gesso’, makes it a versatile material for skilled gilders.

RE-UPHOLSTERY

Upholstery is a technique of appliying comfort and decorative aspects to furniture, most commonly used in seating.

Using padding, springs, webbing and fabric or leather covers, there are many different approaches and techniques involved in upholstery, correctly re-upholstering a valuable piece of furniture can be an intensive and difficult procedure.

There are many reasons to re-upholster a piece of antique furniture: if the foundation no longer provides comfort, or the top fabric is no longer suited to your taste. At Stevens Furniture Restoration London we provide a complete service of re-upholstery on both modern and antique furniture, including sofas, armchairs, dining chairs, in leather and fabric.

REPAIR AND RESTORATION

With more involved furniture restoration projects, our specialist team of furniture restorers have a set analytical procedure, in which each piece of furniture is documented to evaluate the best options for repair.

A common approach of any experienced antique furniture restorer is working out how a piece was first crafted. It is important to follow all the same techniques and materials used, where possible, ultimately seeking the least intrusive procedure, preserving as much of the original as possible, in turn retaining the integrity of the antique piece