Patina – A Sign of Wear or a Sign of Value?
Furniture, like most objects, is also subject to patination. As some woods age and accumulate patina, they become more mellow and begin to ‘glow’. Stains that have been applied to the wood can fade with sunlight and become lighter, while over time the dust on the surface will become embedded and darken the surface. Metal hardware will become patinated at the same time.
A piece of furniture that has naturally gained a patina over a period of time is likely to have variations in the depth and coloration of the patina, as all areas will not have been equally exposed to sunlight or dirt. A skilled and experienced person can easily spot a genuine old piece of furniture from a new piece that has been artificially aged by the patination.
One difficulty that many people have is that when they become the new owner of some aged furniture, often this furniture will be in need of cleaning. The problem comes with knowing how far to go with that cleaning. Some ‘grime’ adds value to the piece while other types of dirt will reduce the value. An expert furniture restorer can assess each piece and clean the item in such a way that the general grime is cleaned but the aged, value enhancing patination will be kept.
A greater difficulty results when a piece of furniture with patina requires restoration. This type of work truly needs to be dealt with at the hands of a high skilled furniture restorer. At Rahn’s Furniture Restoration, our highly experienced restorers will carefully examine the piece of furniture that needs repairing. They will decide what surface finish needs to be cleaned and what needs to be restored to ensure that the character and value of the furniture is maintained.
Whether a piece of furniture needs cleaning or restoring, with the skills and expertise that we have gained throughout our years of being in the furniture restoration business, we can help you with your furniture restoration needs.