Furniture Restoration

Antique Windsor Chair

What has come to be known as Windsor style furniture first appeared in the 17th century. I was therefore very pleased to have the opportunity to restore this wooden Windsor armchair, which I believe dates back to the 18th century.

It entered my shop in very poor condition: one of the ties was broken; someone had hammered large nails into the seat in order to reinforce the legs; and the finish was severely damaged. Initial resaerch was carried out to check for the authenticity of the chair. After confirming that it was a genuine antique my recommendation to the client  was to intervene as minimally as possible. The broken tie was glued rather than replaced in order not to diminish the value of the chair. Even though the nails were themselves antiques, they were not originally part of the chair and interfered with its stability. I therefore extracted and discarded them.

I removed the damaged finish without altogether stripping and sanding the chair in order to preserve the patina that naturally evolved as the chair aged. I applied new polish and wax to restore its elegant finish.

All these steps taken to maintain the chair's authenticity as well as a high valueation.