A restorer hand-coloring the arm of an antique leather chair in a gallery, antique leather furniture restoration

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Trade partner program · Antique dealers · NYC and NJ

Sell it with its age intact.

Antique leather furniture restoration for dealers, galleries and estate buyers. We stop where the value is, not where the leather stops looking old.

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The argument

Most damage to an antique is the restoration.

A piece stripped to bare hide and sprayed one flat color photographs well and sells for less. We work the other way around: the wear a buyer pays for is the part we protect. That is what antique leather furniture restoration for the trade should mean.

  • An antique leather chair over-restored with one flat sprayed color and no patinaOver-restoredStripped, sprayed, uniform. The age is gone, and the price went with it.
  • An antique leather chair restored with its patina and darker edges keptRestored with its ageSound, clean and fed, with the shading at the arms and edges left in place.

What a buyer pays for

The details we protect first.

  • Worn patina on the arm of an antique leather chairPatinaThe darker shading hands leave over decades.
  • Original brass nailheads along an antique leather seat edgeOriginal nailsKept, cleaned and reset, never replaced.
  • Deep buttoning on the back of an antique leather ChesterfieldButtoningPleats and buttons left as they were set.
  • A carved wooden frame meeting the leather seat of an antique chairThe frameProtected while we work; wood repair if needed.

Method

How antique leather furniture restoration runs.

The same order on every piece. Each step decides whether the next one is needed.

  1. A restorer examining antique leather grain through a magnifier
    01

    Identify the leather

    Aniline, finished or re-covered before. Leather types.

  2. A restorer testing a powdery, degraded antique leather edge for red rot
    02

    Test the hide

    Red rot and weak fiber found before anything is wet.

  3. Dry cleaning antique leather with a soft brush
    03

    Clean, then judge

    Dirt off first. Much of the "damage" goes with it. Cleaning.

  4. Consolidating a torn edge of antique leather from underneath
    04

    Consolidate and repair

    Tears backed from below, loss filled. Tear and hole repair.

  5. A restorer hand-coloring antique leather in thin translucent layers
    05

    Color by hand

    Translucent layers, matched to the age around it. Color restoration.

  6. Conditioner worked into restored antique leather by hand
    06

    Feed and finish

    Fed in stages, finished to the sheen of the period. Conditioning.

Before and after

Restored. Still old.

Three kinds of piece dealers bring us most. More work on our before and after page, and for private owners, antique leather furniture.

  • A cracked, dry arm on an antique leather Chesterfield before restoration
    Before
    The same Chesterfield arm restored with its patina kept
    After

    Chesterfield armCracked and dry. Consolidated, fed and colored by hand.

  • A torn seat on an antique leather club chair before restoration
    Before
    The same club chair seat after the tear was repaired
    After

    Club chair seatTorn through. Backed from below, the original hide kept.

  • A faded leather seat on an antique desk chair before restoration
    Before
    The same antique desk chair seat after restoration
    After

    Desk chairFaded unevenly. Color rebuilt in layers, wear left at the edges.

A restored antique leather armchair on display in a dealer's showroom

Where we stop

Four things we will not do to a piece you intend to sell.

  1. Strip it to bare hideThe surface is part of the provenance.
  2. Spray one flat colorColor goes on by hand, in layers, only where it is needed.
  3. Replace original nails and tacksThey are cleaned and reset in the same holes.
  4. Re-cover a hide that can be savedA new cover is the last option, and we tell you what it does to value.
Aged leather hides laid out to choose a match for re-covering an antique chair

When it has to be re-covered

The hide is a pricing decision.

If the original leather is gone, the new one should suit the period and the buyer. We match the material and the color, then age the finish by hand.

  • AnilineClosest to most period hides. Takes patina.
  • Full grainThe natural surface kept. Ages well.
  • Semi-anilineFor pieces that will be used daily.
  • Re-coverFull reupholstery, frame and springs kept.

Trade terms

Your name on the work. Ours on nothing.

  • White-labelNo labels, no cards. The buyer only knows your gallery.
  • Condition report firstWhat is original, what can be saved, what we would leave alone. See our process.
  • Before you buySend photos from the booth or the auction preview.
  • Photos you can list withClean after shots, sized for your listings.
  • Collected and returnedThrough pickup and delivery.
  • We make the missing oneA lost cushion or a pair made complete. Custom pieces.

Pieces we restore

From library chairs to Chesterfields.

Who we work with

Everyone who buys old to sell again.

Antique leather furniture restoration on trade terms, for one piece or a whole estate. Larger lots run as bulk projects.

  • An antique dealer's shop with leather chairsAntique dealersShop and booth stock.
  • A gallery showroom with an antique leather sofaGalleriesPieces that must show well.
  • An antique leather chair at an auction previewAuction housesBefore the sale, or after it.
  • Antique leather furniture in an estate home before saleEstate buyersWhole rooms, assessed in place.
  • A vintage mid-century leather lounge chairVintage dealersMid-century and later.
  • An interior designer inspecting an antique leather chairDesigners sourcingWith designer terms.
What does antique leather furniture restoration recover?

Strength, cleanliness and even color where it has been lost. It does not make a piece look new, and on a piece for sale it should not.

Will restoring it hurt the value?

Over-restoration does. Sympathetic work that keeps the original hide, nails and patina usually makes a piece easier to sell.

What is red rot, and can it be fixed?

Red rot is a breakdown of old vegetable-tanned leather that turns it powdery. It can be consolidated and stabilized, but not reversed. We test for it first.

Can you look at a piece before we buy it?

Yes. Send photographs from the booth or the preview and we tell you what it would take.

One panel has failed. Can you match the rest?

Usually. We match the hide and age the new panel by hand so it sits with the old ones.

Do you deal with our client directly?

Only if you ask us to. Otherwise everything goes through you, and nothing we leave carries our name.

A pair of antique leather chairs in a gallery in the evening

Send the one you are unsure about

Tell us what it is. We tell you where to stop.

Antique leather furniture restoration for dealers across New York City, Long Island and New Jersey.

Send photographs Call 347-310-7483
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