Furniture Restoration

Restoration of a William IV Chest of Drawers

This chest of drawers was made during the 1830s (William III (1830 to 1837) or the Early Victorian Period). It was covered in Honduras Mahogany veneer – one of several species of mahogany which are no longer readily available due over harvesting.

The piece was in a very sorry state when I first saw it, as can be seen on the first image. The feet were badly damaged, nearly half the cock beading round the drawers was damaged or missing, the back plates on the drawer knobs missing. There was some very bad damage to the veneer and the polish was almost non-existent on the top and in a terrible state elsewhere. The drawers and drawer runners were very well worn (as would be expected after 170 years or so of use).

In spite of all the neglect and years of use the piece was still structurally sound – it was really well designed and had been beautifully made by a really good cabinet maker who chose his timber well. I pay my respects to such makers whenever I work on a beautifully made piece like this.

Chest before work was started

the 'french feet' were very badly damaged so were re-built then veneered

The chest needed to be colour matched once all repairs were complete

The chest of drawers polished and waxed - returned to its full glory

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