Veneering forms an essential part of much of the restoration work that we carry out. Veneer is is made from an almost limitless variety of timbers and is commonly produced by peeling logs of the finest quality.

Veneer was used in the manufacturing process of a lot of antique furniture, either as an embellishment or decoration and sometimes to make furniture appear to have been made from a more expensive timber.

As veneer is quite thin, typically not much more than a millimetre or two, and is glued to the substrate of the furniture in question, it is quite easily damaged. Glues can dry out and perish and make the veneer brittle and susceptible to lifting, bubbling and splitting.

We have a large selection of veneers available to us, including much salvaged from old pieces of furniture and which means that we are usually able to match missing or damaged areas on items of furniture.

Often loose veneer can be restored and relayed, thus retaining the original as far as possible.

Boulle-work is an inlaying technique that lays brass into tortoise shell. In 1973, the trade of tortoiseshell worldwide was banned under CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species).

Although less common that other marquetry, Boulle-work is a French technique first introduced by André-Charles Boulle around the late 17th and early 18th centuries. He is generally considered the preeminent marquetry artist in his field at that time. His fame lead to his name given to this fashionable form of decoration which he may have pioneered.

We can restore Boulle-work where required and for any missing areas of tortoise shell there are now substitutes such as stained horn and plastic and a material called Delrin, which approximates it quite well.