WINDSOR · CHIPPENDALE · FEDERAL · QUEEN ANNE · LADDERBACK
Antique chair restoration, period-correct, by hand.
Eighteenth- and nineteenth-century chairs restored with the same materials and methods they were built with — hide glue and pegged joinery, hand-stitched edge rolls, horsehair and palm stuffing, French polish on the visible wood, hand-cane or rush seats in the original pattern. We do not strip or dip in chemical tanks; period-correct work uses hand methods.
I. CHAIRS WE RESTORE
Side, arm, wing, slipper, dining, rocker, ladderback.
Windsor chairs in all seven major variants (bow-back, sack-back, comb-back, fan-back, continuous-arm, brace-back, writing-arm). Chippendale and Federal-period side chairs and armchairs. Queen Anne side chairs. Wingback chairs (period and reproduction). Slipper chairs. Ladderbacks and banister-backs. Pilgrim and Shaker ladderbacks with rush seats. Klismos, balloon-back, and Hitchcock chairs. Rocking chairs of every period. Dining-room chair sets up to 18.
II. PERIOD-CORRECT METHODS
Hide glue. Hand-stitched edges. French polish.
Frame stabilization with hide glue and pegs — same as the original joinery. Modern PVA glue is not used on period chairs (it does not soak into old wood the way hide glue does, it is not reversible, and museum-quality restorers do not use it). Hand-stitched edge rolls on upholstered seats — never stapled. Horsehair, palm, and tow stuffing under the cover. French polish on the visible wood in the finishing room — many thin coats of shellac padded by hand. Hand-caned or rush seats in the original six-way, seven-way, or rush pattern. Original hardware preserved or hand-forged replacements; never aftermarket catalog parts.
III. CANE, RUSH, SPLINT
Six-way hand-cane. Cattail rush. Hickory splint.
Hand-caning in the original pattern (typically six-way on Windsors and ladderbacks, seven-way on some Hepplewhite and Sheraton chairs) using natural cane. Rush seats with natural cattail rush — not synthetic Hong Kong cane. Splint seats with white-oak or hickory splint on Appalachian, Adirondack, and Pennsylvania country chairs. Pre-soaked, woven, and tensioned by hand. Lifespan when properly done: 30 to 50 years of regular use.
IV. PATINA VS REFINISH
Almost always preserve. Refinish only when there is no choice.
Patina is the surface character a chair earns over decades — the soft sheen, the wear at touch points, the subtle color shifts. Refinishing strips it. We only refinish when the existing surface is so damaged (deep water rings into the wood, missing finish exposing raw grain, animal-damage burns) that preservation is not possible. Refinishing a Chippendale side chair typically halves its auction value; we will tell you when that is the right trade-off and when it is not. The journal article 'Patina vs Refinish' walks through the decision.
V. COST & TIMELINE
From $400. Quoted in person.
Antique chair restoration pricing varies by condition, period, and the level of work. Simple repairs (re-glue a leg, re-peg a stretcher, hand-cane a seat) start around $400. Full restoration of a period side chair — frame stabilization, finish revival, new hand-stitched upholstery — runs $900 to $1,800. Complex pieces (Chippendale armchairs with carved cabriole legs and ball-and-claw feet, Federal shield-backs with inlay work) run higher. Antonio quotes in person, on-site for fragile pieces. Free pickup across the DC metro; blanket-wrapped, white-glove transport.
Frequently asked
Do you work on all periods?
American Pilgrim, William & Mary, Queen Anne, Chippendale, Federal (Hepplewhite, Sheraton, Adam), Empire, Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, Rococo Revival (Belter, Meeks), Eastlake, Aesthetic, Arts & Crafts (Stickley, Limbert, Roycroft), Colonial Revival, Art Deco, and mid-century modern. The glossary breaks each period down with identification cues so you can date a piece before bringing it in.
Why hide glue and not modern adhesive?
Hide glue is what the chair was built with. It soaks into old wood the way modern PVA cannot, it bonds at the cellular level, and it is reversible — a future restorer in fifty years can take the joint apart with heat and water without destroying the wood. Synthetic adhesives are stronger but they are not reversible, and they fail at the wood interface in ways that destroy the original surface. Auction houses and museum-quality restorers use hide glue. So do we.
Should I refinish a chair that looks dull?
Almost certainly not. Dull surface is usually patina that just needs a French-polish revival — many thin coats of fresh shellac padded over the existing surface, which brings back the depth without stripping anything. Stripping is reserved for truly damaged surfaces where preservation is not possible. The wrong call here typically halves the value of a period piece.
Can you do hand-caning and rush seats?
Both. Hand-caning in the original six-way or seven-way pattern using natural cane. Rush seats with natural cattail rush. Splint seats with white-oak or hickory. Pre-soaked, woven, and tensioned by hand in the workshop. Lifespan 30 to 50 years.
I have one missing chair pull. Can you make a replacement?
Yes — we hand-forge replacement pulls, escutcheons, and hinges to match the surviving originals. We do not install reproduction hardware from catalogs; those read modern at a glance and devalue the piece. Bring one original, and we copy it.
Will restoration affect the value if I sell later?
Period-correct restoration preserves or increases value. Incorrect restoration (synthetic glue, modern springs on hand-tied originals, refinish where patina should have been preserved, aftermarket hardware) destroys value. We work to the standards major auction houses respect: reversible methods, period materials, original surface preserved. Houses like Christie's, Sotheby's, and Pook & Pook recognize the work.
Do you do dining chair sets?
Up to 18 chairs in a set. Color, sheen, and texture matching across the set is the hardest part — we work the set together in the finishing room, not chair-by-chair, so the eye reads them as one piece. Lead time for a full 8-chair set runs 8 to 12 weeks after pickup. Free pickup and delivery.
What about the upholstered seat — horsehair or foam?
On period chairs, horsehair every time. Foam is a 20th-century material; putting it in an 18th- or 19th-century chair destroys the sit and the proportion. Hand-stitched edge rolls hold the perimeter, horsehair fills the field, cotton batting smooths the top, fabric goes on last. Same way the chair was originally built.
