The Bible of Furniture Restoration. Everything You Need to Know About Restoring Furniture and Caring for It

This is an important and useful book for everyone who has furniture — antique, modern, or new. Also for those who plan to repair or restore it. It will teach you to independently find beauty and reveal it using simple techniques that have been tested by great French masters for centuries. If you are passionate about woodworking as a hobby, love to craft with your own hands, are interested in furniture, or have just dived into this topic, here you will find inspiration and understandable, practical advice.

«The encyclopedia is written in an extraordinarily clear language and with a comprehensible approach to all aspects of the vast subject area. The author possesses extensive knowledge and with remarkable clarity dispels myths that were previously only partially covered in textbooks or simpler 'DIY' books.» — Martha Stewart

Before you opens the history of furniture: its creation, elements, finishes, decorations. In the chapter on furniture creation, you will learn how and why certain types of wood are used for drawer bottoms, the front walls of dressers, and chair legs.
The chapter «All About Finishing» is valuable because it talks about the materials and techniques that furniture makers use for different surfaces — the very ones we touch or dust off with a soft cloth.
The chapter on techniques contains detailed recommendations and step-by-step instructions concerning not only wood but also metals and other materials that are used for decoration or practical purposes.
At the heart of the book are clear step-by-step explanations of my favorite techniques, including wax finishing with white lead, wax filling, and contact gilding. Even if you do not plan to do the finishing yourself, this book will serve as a reference guide and help you form an idea of possible colors, textures, finishes, accents, and decorative effects. Perhaps when you see the ease of executing some techniques, you will want to try them yourself! Yes, they may seem unclear or accessible only to professionals now, but in fact, they do not require either expensive and powerful tools or the skills of an industrial chemist. The foundation of classical restoration and finishing methods is three materials (oil, wax, and alcohol) and handwork. Moreover, they do not require a separate studio and workshop: it is enough to lay a cloth under the furniture in your kitchen.