I. RESTORATION

Period-correct restoration of antique furniture.

Eighteenth- and nineteenth-century pieces restored with the same materials and methods they were built with — hide glue, hand-stitched edges, horsehair stuffing, French polish. Twentieth-century mid-century and modernist pieces handled with the appropriate construction for their era. We do not strip or dip in chemical tanks; period-correct work uses hand methods because anything else destroys what the piece was.

Request a Consultation Glossary of Periods & Woods
Hand applying French polish to the cabriole leg of a Federal-period mahogany chair, hide-glue pot warming alongside
From the workshop

II. PERIODS WE WORK ON

From William & Mary through Stickley and beyond.

American Pilgrim, William & Mary, Queen Anne, Chippendale, Federal (Hepplewhite, Sheraton, Adam), Empire, Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, Rococo Revival (Belter, Meeks), Eastlake, Aesthetic Movement, Arts & Crafts (Stickley, Limbert, Roycroft), Colonial Revival, Art Deco, and mid-century modern (Knoll, Herman Miller, Eames, Wegner, Saarinen, Heywood-Wakefield). The glossary breaks each period down with identification cues.

Bergerie restoration room period-survey display — Queen Anne walnut tilt-top tea table, Chippendale ribbon-back side chair, Federal Hepplewhite shield-back with satinwood stringing, Empire mahogany sleigh-arm fragment, Belter Rococo-Revival rosewood side chair, Stickley quartersawn-oak Morris chair, mid-century walnut lounge frame, wall-display of period brass hardware
From the workshop

III. PIECES WE RESTORE

Chairs, sofas, case goods, tables, desks, sideboards.

Windsor chairs (bow-back, sack-back, comb-back, fan-back, continuous-arm, brace-back, writing-arm). Wingbacks, ladderbacks, banister-backs, slipper chairs. Camelback sofas, Federal sofas, Chesterfields. Highboys, lowboys, tallboys, chest-on-chests. Serpentine, bow-front, block-front, and bombe chests of drawers. Slant-front desks, secretaries, roll-tops, davenports, tambours, partner's desks. Pembroke, drop-leaf, tilt-top, gateleg, tavern, and candlestand tables. Hepplewhite and Sheraton sideboards, hutches, cellarets. Settles, hall benches, deacon's benches, vanities, dressing tables.

Bergerie restoration bay with named antique pieces mid-restoration — bow-back Windsor chair on a wooden form with one stretcher being re-glued, Camelback sofa in muslin with horsehair edge-roll, Federal slant-front desk with writing flap open, Hepplewhite serpentine sideboard, walnut Queen Anne lowboy, tilt-top candlestand, Federal secretary in the background, hide-glue pot
From the workshop

IV. WHAT WE DO AT THE BENCH

Hide glue. French polish. Hand-stitched edges.

Frame stabilization with hide glue and pegs (no synthetic adhesive on period pieces). Veneer repair using flush-cut, bookmatched-grain patches. French polish in the finishing room — many shellac coats, padded by hand, cut back with rottenstone and oil. Hand-caning and rush seating in the original pattern. Horsehair, palm, and tow stuffing on upholstered antique chairs. Hand-stitched edge rolls, blind-stitched fronts. Original hardware preserved or hand-forged replacements when an original is missing — never aftermarket.

Bergerie finishing room craft tableau — Federal mahogany side chair mid French polish on a turntable with cotton-and-linen polishing rubber and rottenstone-oil dish, Windsor seat with partial six-step hand-caned pattern and rattan soaking in copper basin, antique slipper chair with horsehair stuffing and hand-stitched edge-roll, cast-iron hide-glue pot on a sand bath
From the workshop

V. COST & TIMELINE

Quoted after in-person assessment. From $400.

Antique restoration pricing varies more than upholstery — condition, period, fragility, and the level of work all affect the quote. Simple repairs (re-glue a leg, stabilize a stretcher) start around $400. Full restorations of complex pieces (a Federal secretary, a Belter parlor set) run into the thousands. Antonio gives a firm quote at the in-person assessment. We pick up across the DC metro free of charge for residential clients; antique transport is blanket-wrapped and white-glove.

Bergerie antique-assessment alcove where Antonio quotes pieces in person — leather-topped partners' desk with open assessment ledger of a Federal secretary, pencil sketches of a Belter chair crest, brass loupe on chamois, antique Federal mahogany highboy on a quilted moving pad ready for the bench, wooden cargo dolly, Federal-period DC metro pickup map
From the workshop

Frequently asked

What does 'period-correct' actually mean?

It means we use the same materials and methods the piece was built with. For an 18th-century Chippendale chair, that means hide glue (not yellow PVA), horsehair stuffing (not foam), hand-stitched edge rolls (not stapled tack-strips), shellac French polish (not lacquer or polyurethane), and original or period-correct replacement hardware. Period-correct work preserves the piece's identity; modern shortcuts destroy it.

Should I refinish or preserve the patina?

Almost always preserve. Patina is the surface character earned 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 (water rings into the wood, missing finish exposing raw grain) that preservation is not possible. The journal article 'Patina vs Refinish: When You Should NOT Refinish an Antique' walks through the decision.

Do you do French polish?

Yes — in the finishing room every week. French polish is many thin coats of shellac applied with a cotton rubber pad, oil-charged, then cut back with rottenstone. The result is a deep, glassy surface with no plastic feel. It is slow, it is the only finish a real antique should wear, and it is reversible — a properly French-polished surface can be repaired in fifty years without stripping.

Can you replace missing hardware?

Yes. We hand-forge replacement pulls, escutcheons, and hinges to match originals when they are missing. We do not install reproduction hardware bought from a catalog — those are visibly modern even at a glance and they devalue the piece. If you have one original pull, we copy it.

Do you do hand-caning and rush seats?

Yes — both. Hand-caning in the original pattern (six-way, seven-way) on Windsor chairs, rocker frames, and ladderbacks. Rush seating with natural cattail rush (not synthetic Hong Kong cane) on Shaker chairs, Pilgrim ladderbacks, country pieces. Splint seating on Appalachian and Adirondack chairs.

Will restoration affect the value of an antique?

Done correctly, restoration preserves or increases value. Done incorrectly, it destroys it. Refinishing a period piece typically halves auction value. Synthetic-glue repairs that flake later, modern-spring conversions on hand-tied originals, and aftermarket hardware all hurt valuation. We work to the standards major auction houses respect: period-correct materials, reversible methods, original surface preserved.