Furniture Care

Surface defects on our furniture, such as watermarks, scratches and scuffs are the inevitable result of every day use. No matter how careful we are, sooner or later we will find ourselves confronted with some unwanted manifestation. You may have just purchased the piece and taken it home to give it a polish and clean before placing it for best use and enjoyment. Horror! that tiny blemish is screaming attention. After cleaning, these blemishes may seem more apparent than they did when covered by a film of old wax and grime. The most unsightly are watermarks, as these are completely alien on a prized piece of furniture. The odd scratches although unwanted are more acceptable especially on an older piece. In fact the absence of any signs of past use would probably make you suspicious of the items provenance.
Lets tackle the dreaded white heat mark first. These cloudy looking marks are caused by something hot being placed on the surface. Providing the mark is suspended in the finish and has not penetrated the timber below we can precede as follows. Make a solution of 50 parts boiled linseed oil and 50 parts turpentine. If turpentine is not available white spirit will do at a pinch. Apply a little of the mixture to the affected area with a cloth and leave for 10 minutes or so. Then wipe off. You may need to repeat several times. When finished neutralise the oil by wiping over with vinegar and buff or wax as needed.
A cold-water mark, similar in appearance, to a heat mark, is most commonly caused by a sweaty glass and if caught in time may only need wiping with a cloth and then allowed to dry through evaporation in a warm room. Generally though we are not this lucky and are left with an unsightly ring to deal with.
Sometimes these cold-water marks can easily be removed by rubbing over with metal polish. This is worth a try, but don’t let the metal polish dry out. Wipe all traces off before it does. Varnished surfaces respond to a mild abrasive such as T-cut, used for cleaning and reviving car paintwork. You may have some in your car care kit. A professional would properly use Rottenstone or pumice powder mixed with a little oil. If you can find these fine, if not the T-cut will work just as well. Proceed slowly making sure you do not remove too much of the varnish. On occasions you may need to use both approaches. I was once told that mayonnaise also works well on shellac, I can see how it might, although I haven’t tried it myself.
Scratches cracks and the odd worm hole, can be disguised with wax filler, which is available in stick form at most wood finishing counters or DIY stores. Those made by “Liberon” are good quality and just a bit harder than some others. Choose a colour just slightly darker than the timber you will be filling. Colours can be mixed if you are unable to find the exact shade you need. Start by Cutting off a few flakes from the wax stick and kneed them between you fingers in order to soften. Now would be the time to mix colours if needed. Work the wax into the scratch with a blunt ended flexible knife, which you have first rubbed over some fine sandpaper to remove any burrs. Some small blemishes may only require you to rub the corner of the wax stick over the scratch or crack. You must judge which method will work best in each situation. Once you have sufficient wax in the scratch, run the flat of your fingernail over the wax to firm down and smooth. Then using the BACK, yes I defiantly said the back of some old sandpaper, rub over the wax, frequently changing the area of paper used. This will blend in the wax surface and remove excess wax from the surrounding area. Leave to harden for say 20 minutes or while you have a cup of tea, then buff to a shine. Please don’t ever be tempted to use any scratch repair products containing oil or that come in liquid form. These will penetrate to the timber below and leave a permanent stain. The above method will not produce an entirely invisible repair, but good enough if not directly in light. A coat or two of finish will always improve the look and I shall be explaining how to apply these in a latter post,

Slight scuffs will respond best to a mild abrasive as that mentioned earlier. Scuffs usually contain some of the colour of the object that scuffed them, like a white painted door frame for example, knocked when you were moving the piece from one room to another. Once the scuffed area has been abraded enough to remove the colour, the scuff will generally disappear. Now burnish with a little wax to finish off.
A final tip: Antique furniture does not have a hard shine, it’s a little more subtle and muted. This may cause some burnished areas to stand out. You can cure this by applying wax with a synthetic wire wool ‘000’ grade. Steel wool ('0000' grade) will also do the same job, but can leave minute particles. Which could cause staining on some timbers with open grain such as Oak. Apply the wax in exactly the same way as you would if using a cloth, making sure to keep in the direction of the grain. Use gentle strokes and blend in with the surrounding area. In fact you may just as well cover the entire surface while you are at it, just to make sure.

Furniture Styles continued

We can Further define early British furniture styles by the materials used,



Early Tudor: 1540............

Almost exclusively Oak, this period saw the introduction of the fixed top trestle table.



Elizabethan, Late Tudor: 1560..............

Again Oak, saw the introduction of the press, cupboards and joined stools.



Early Stuart or Jacobean: 1610................

Continued in the oak tradition however, influence from the Flemish and Italian Courts saw the introduction of walnut used in some finer pieces. This period also saw the the introduction of Bulbous turnings on supports.



Commonwealth: 1650............

Oak continued to dominate right up until the end of this period and saw the introduction of the gate-leg table and the early appearance of caned chairs.



Restoration: 1660...............

This period marked the demise of oak's dominance, with the return of the Monarch to the throne. Charles II returned from the continent with French and Flemish artisans who brought with them new skills, including veneering, twist turning and polishing. Here we see the taste for oak finally giving way to walnut and more adventurous designs. This really marked the beginning of the craft of cabinet making as a separate trade from joining.



William and Mary: 1690.................

Beginning of interest in oriental design characterised by the outstanding talents of Grinling Gibbons, notably in the form of frames for pier glasses. Upholstered wing chairs make an appearance.

Queen Anne 1700............

The start of the Georgian period, we begin to see oriental influence in the decoration of furniture and the growing influence of architects in furniture design. Appearance of the cabriole leg.

Georgian 1730.................

Mahogany slowly starts to superseded walnut as the timber of fashion, we see here also a switch from mostly veneered walnut to solid construction in Mahogany although the art of veneering is still important. While oak is the timber of preference along with other native woods used in the construction of country furniture. Thomas Chippendale 1718-79, Robert Adam 1728-92 George Hepplewhite D.1786 and Thomas Sheraton 1751-1806 Were all names associated with this period and remain attributed to arguably the most glorious moment of furniture design. The straight leg starts to usurp the cabriol leg, especially under the influence of Gothic and Chinese taste. Walnut is almost fazed out although veneering again becomes fashionable in the form of highly figured Mahogany veneers. Thomas Chippendale publishes his Gentlemans and Cabinet-makers Director 1754. George Hepplewhite his Cabinet-maker and Upholsterer's Guide 1788 and Thomas Sheraton his Drawing Book 1791-4. Between 1800 and 1820 Rosewood came into fashion and springs were introduced to improve the comfort of upholstered furniture.

English Empire 1805

Thomas Hope 1770-1831 publishes his Household and Interior Decoration.

Regency 1811-1820

Eastern taste greatly influences this period, especially Egyptian. 1820 saw a renewed interest in satinwood, previously popular between 1760 to 1800.

Pre-Victorian 1820-1837

Early beginnings of machine made furniture, the Gothic revival and the introduction of cast iron for various parts. The influence of Architects, who for more than a century dictated furniture taste starts to wane.

Victorian 1837-1901

The Victorian period brought with it a huge expansion in furniture production, Furnishing the houses of the newly affluent middle classes. Furniture was also exported to all corners of the British Empire at this time at it's zenith. Hence the saying that ''London furnished the world'' The decoration of furniture became even more elaborate, giving cause, to some such as John Ruskin to speak out calling it vulgar. In responce the Arts and Crafts movement sprang to life led by William Morris.

Furniture Styles

When describing fine furniture, we attribute each style to a certain period or sometimes a monarch, we may further differentiate by mentioning the designer/maker or the place of origin. Let's take a quick look at the way these different historical moments apply to furniture:

Periods

Tudor Period 1485-1603
Elizabethan Period 1558-1603
Jacobean Period 1603-1714
A.C. Boule 1642-1732
LouisXIV Period 1643-1715
Grinlin Gibbons 1648-1726
Cromwellian Period 1649-1660
Carolean Period 1660-1658
William Kent 1648-1748
William and Mary Period 1689-1702
Queen Anne Period 1702-1714
Georgian Period 1714-1820
T. Chippendale Period 1715-1762
Louis XV Period 1723-1774
A. Heppelwhite 1727-1788
Adam Period 1728-1792
T. Sheraton 1751-1806
LouisXVI 1774-1793
Regency Period 1800-1830
Empire Period 1804-1815
Victorian Period 1837-1901
Edwardian Period 1901-1910

It can be seen that the list of periods above does not exactly tie-up with the list of Monarchs below, This can be useful in cross-referencing to pinpoint the date of a piece of furniture. It can on the other hand, also be confusing, if one is not aware of the relationship between the lists.

Monarchs

Tudor Period 1485-1603
Elizabethan Period 1558-1603
Jacobean Period 1603-1714
A.C. Boule 1642-1732
LouisXIV Period 1643-1715
Grinlin Gibbons 1648-1726
Cromwellian Period 1649-1660
Carolean Period 1660-1658
William Kent 1648-1748
William and Mary Period 1689-1702
Queen Anne Period 1702-1714
Georgian Period 1714-1820
T. Chippendale Period 1715-1762
Louis XV Period 1723-1774
A. Heppelwhite 1727-1788
Adam Period 1728-1792
T. Sheraton 1751-1806
LouisXVI 1774-1793
Regency Period 1800-1830
Empire Period 1804-1815
Victorian Period 1837-1901
Edwardian Period 1901-1910

The lists of Monarchs and periods will continue to grow, however it's probably safe to say there will always be about 100 yrs between the last officially recognised period and the present time. In the meantime we rely on more immediate labels, such as Art Nouveau, Arts and Crafts, Art Deco, all encompassing the modern movement. We should not forget Shaker and Danish Modern, as all these styles have had an enormous influence on what we have come to consider Modern Furniture.