Furniture Restoration & Conservation

Conservation and restoration of fine antique furniture and historic wooden objects, judged piece by piece according to age, rarity and condition.

With more than forty years’ experience, Tim Phelps ACR has worked on important furniture and interiors for the National Trust, English Heritage and major historic collections throughout the UK. His experience covers furniture made from oak, walnut, mahogany, rosewood, satinwood, fruitwoods and exotic decorative timbers, together with veneered and marquetry work.

Treatment ranges from careful structural repairs and the conservation of historic surfaces to veneer repairs, cabinet work, locks, fittings and mechanisms. Wherever possible, original materials and evidence of an object’s history are retained. Tim maintains an extensive stock of historic surface timbers, enabling repairs and patches to be matched sympathetically to the age, character and appearance of the original piece.

I am also commissioned to assess, appraise, detail and document specific historic pieces, so that clients can gain a full understanding of what are original features and what has been altered or lost – which is not always apparent at first sight, and may be needed to apply for grant funded work.

Projects have included original Thomas Chippendale furniture at Harewood House, Nostell Priory and Paxton House, as well as collections belonging to museums, historic houses and private owners.