Project: Victorian Shutter Extension
When the building was extended during the Victorian era, shutters were added to the windows for security purposes. The radiators that were put in by the previous owners were situated in front of the windows where the shutters opened, so as a 'quick fix' they chopped the bottom off the shutters to make space. This left a gap where daylight was able to come through. Working to the clients budget we sourced some aged pine and jointed it to extend the shutters to be amended at a later date. Veneer was used to disguise these amendments. We then continued with the front face of the shutters using different earth pigments and shellac to take the eye off any repairs and come back to polish the rest later in the year.
Project: Tudor Oak-Panelled Library
The aim was to transform an extensively tired, unkept and damaged library into a fresh room that the client could enjoy spending time in for years to come. A previous owner had used this room as a smoking area leaving the panels sticky, lifeless and dull from tar, meaning this job required a mix of restoration and conservation. Our initial consultation found that the panels hadn’t been machine cut but planned by hand, and there were chisel marks yet no sign of machinery, so we sought the the advice of a historian. It was discovered that the fashion in which the frame working was constructed and style of carvings were Tudor. This seemed odd as this predates the house, but the owner explained the front of the house where the library is located was extended during the Victorian era meaning that the panelled room had been moved from another building in to this one. The fire place surround in the room had been quite badly damaged during the move and has had little to no maintenance since.
Project: Victorian Sill and Tongue & Groove
For this stunning period window, we sourced European Oak then hand-stained and polished it with saturators and shellac to create a warm, traditional feel. Why not English Oak? It's protected and therefore considerably more expensive and harder to source. Our staining & polishing methods transformed a bland, mass produced piece of of European Oak into a striking feature for their home whilst saving the client hundreds of pounds.
