How to Commission Antique Restoration

A fine antique rarely needs "making better". More often, it needs understanding. If you are considering how to commission antique restoration, the first question is not what can be done, but what should be done to protect the piece’s history, appearance and long-term value.

That distinction matters. A Regency library table, a giltwood mirror, or a Grand Tour bronze each asks for a different approach. Sensitive restoration can stabilise structure, recover legibility and return an object to elegant use. Heavy-handed work can strip away surface, soften definition and leave a piece looking newer, but far less important.

How to commission antique restoration with the right brief

The most successful restorations begin with a clear brief. Not a vague wish to have something "tidied up", but a proper understanding of condition, purpose and standards. Before instructing anyone, decide whether your aim is conservation, restoration, or presentation.

Conservation is usually the least interventive route. It focuses on arresting deterioration - securing loose veneer, treating worm historically and appropriately, consolidating fragile gilding, or cleaning accumulated grime without disturbing original surface. Restoration goes further, aiming to recover a more complete appearance or function. That might include replacing missing mouldings, re-stringing a clock, re-lacquering brass only where suitable, or reupholstering a chair whose later fabric is beyond use.

Presentation sits somewhere in between and is often what interior designers or private clients actually mean. They want a piece to sit comfortably in a distinguished room, to function properly, and to look cared for, without erasing age. That is a legitimate goal, but it should be named as such. Once everyone is clear on the objective, decisions become far easier.

It is also worth deciding how the piece will be used. A commode in a formal drawing room may tolerate more delicacy than a dining table expected to serve every weekend. The right restoration is always contextual. Museum-level conservation is not automatically right for a house, just as decorative over-restoration is not right for a serious collection.

Start with attribution, age and condition

Before any treatment is proposed, the object itself must be properly assessed. That means looking beyond visible damage. A good specialist will want to establish period, materials, likely origin, construction methods and any later alterations. On a piece of furniture, that may involve inspecting secondary woods, drawer linings, joints, locks, feet and surface finish. On a mirror or object d’art, it may mean examining gilding layers, casting quality, old repairs and signs of reduction or marriage.

This stage protects you in two ways. First, it prevents inappropriate work. Second, it helps preserve value. A missing brass handle on a 19th-century chest is one matter. Replacing original handles because they look worn is quite another. Patina, tool marks, historic wear and even small inconsistencies can be evidence of authenticity.

Photographs are useful, but they are not enough for important pieces. Condition is often tactile and structural. Veneer lift, movement in a carcass, old breaks in marble, fatigue in bronze mounts and instability in gesso can be difficult to judge remotely. If the object is significant, ask for an in-person assessment or a detailed condition report before authorising work.

Choosing the right restorer

Not every skilled craftsperson is right for every antique. Expertise should be category-specific. The person who restores a Victorian dining chair beautifully may not be the correct choice for an early 18th-century walnut bureau, a tortoiseshell box or a carved giltwood console.

Look for a restorer who understands period methods and original materials, and who can explain what they would do in plain, precise terms. You are listening for judgement as much as technique. A strong specialist will usually talk about retaining original fabric, matching old work carefully, and making interventions as limited and reversible as reasonably possible.

Ask to see examples of comparable work. Not just before-and-after images, but examples that show restraint. The finest restoration is often hard to notice. Crisp carving should remain crisp. Old polish should not look plasticky. Gilding should not appear newly theatrical unless there is a very specific reason for that finish.

For higher-value objects, it is often best to work through a respected specialist dealer or adviser who can oversee the process. That extra layer of connoisseurship is useful where attribution, market value and historical sensitivity all matter. A dealer accustomed to handling authenticated period furniture and works of art can often identify what should be left untouched as readily as what should be repaired.

Agreeing scope, standards and cost

Once a restorer has examined the piece, ask for a written scope of works. This need not be lengthy, but it should be specific. "Restore table" is too vague. "Stabilise top, repair shrinkage crack, re-secure moulding, clean surface, revive existing polish, and colour-match historic repair" is far better.

This is the point at which trade-offs should be discussed candidly. Full reupholstery may make a chair more usable, but if the old cover is early and significant, replacement could reduce interest. Regilding may create visual unity, but on some mirrors it can remove the very softness that gives an interior depth. Re-polishing can add sheen, but overdoing it may flatten age and character.

Costs vary enormously because antiques vary enormously. A simple chair frame repair is one proposition; rebuilding unstable marquetry, conserving bronze mounts and reworking old restorations is another. Be wary of very low estimates on important pieces. Good restoration is skilled, time-intensive work. Equally, the most expensive proposal is not always the most appropriate if it includes unnecessary intervention.

Ask how unforeseen issues will be handled. It is common for hidden problems to emerge once work begins - old glue failures, previous repairs, timber movement, replacement sections under later finishes. A sensible restorer will flag these and seek approval before extending the brief.

How to commission antique restoration without losing character

The quickest way to diminish an antique is to ask for perfection. Period objects should not look factory-fresh. Their appeal lies partly in the survival of age - the sheen of hand-touched timber, slight rubbing to gilding at high points, the mellowing of brass, the honest softness of use.

That does not mean tolerating avoidable damage. It means recognising the difference between damage and history. A sensible commission preserves evidence of the piece’s life while correcting what is intrusive, unstable or visually disruptive.

This is especially important for collectors and decorators working on refined interiors. In a well-composed room, antiques should bring depth rather than shout for attention. A chest that has been aggressively stripped and re-finished may gleam in isolation but sit rather awkwardly among objects of genuine age. A more measured restoration usually feels richer, and more convincing.

When discussing finishes, ask the restorer what will remain original and what will be newly introduced. On furniture, that may involve preserving old polish and reviving it locally rather than starting again. On giltwood, it may mean careful cleaning, selective water-gilded repairs and toning, instead of wholesale re-gilding. On metalwork, it might involve retaining old patination while addressing active corrosion.

Logistics, insurance and aftercare

For valuable pieces, the practical side deserves as much attention as the bench work. Confirm who is responsible for collection, packing, transport and insurance at each stage. If a marble-topped console, a chandelier or a fragile mirror is being moved across London or internationally to New York or California, handling standards matter enormously.

You should also ask where the object will be restored. A specialist workshop with proper environmental control and secure storage is not a minor detail. Nor is documentation. Good restorers and dealers routinely photograph pieces before, during and after treatment, especially when condition is complex or value is high.

Aftercare should form part of the conversation. Once restored, how should the piece be used and maintained? Should it be kept out of direct sunlight? Is a particular humidity range advisable? Can the surface be waxed, or should it simply be dusted? Fine objects benefit from quiet discipline rather than household improvisation.

If you are buying and restoring through a trusted specialist such as Nicholas Wells Antiques, this process is often far more coherent. Authentication, treatment oversight and white-glove delivery sit within one advisory framework, which tends to produce better decisions and fewer surprises.

A well-commissioned restoration does not merely repair an antique. It allows the piece to continue its life with dignity, in a way that respects both its past and the room it will inhabit next.