Photo studios, prop houses, set decorators

Prop Furniture Repair

Prop furniture repair judged under the light it has to survive: sheen and grain matched, then signed off under continuous light before the piece goes back on set.

Get a Quote Book a Studio Visit

Booked to the shoot dateThe deadline is the call sheet, not our schedule.
Matched under the lightSheen and color are checked under continuous light before it leaves.
Collected and returnedPieces move between the prop house, our shop and the studio.

Who we work with

Three Kinds of Client, One Standard

Prop furniture repair for all three is judged the same way: does the mend disappear on camera.

A furniture set dressed on a photography studio floor — **Photo studios**Furniture that has to hold up at full resolution, two feet from a lens.

Rows of racked furniture in a prop rental warehouse — **Prop & rental houses**Stock that goes out, comes back marked, and has to go out again.

A styled interior vignette on a studio floor — **Set decorators**A vignette is judged as one picture, so one wrong sheen spoils the frame.

Under the light

Five Faults Studio Light Finds

Room light forgives all five. A strip light two feet away does not, which is the whole difference between prop furniture repair and ordinary repair.

A repaired patch showing a sheen mismatch under raking light — **Sheen mismatch**A patch that passed indoors goes glossy under a strip light. More

A visible filler ridge at the edge of an old repair — **Filler ridges**A low edge no one feels is a hard line on camera. More

A scuffed sofa arm under studio light — **Scuffed arms**Load-in marks that only appear when the light is side-on. More

A cracked seat panel on a prop sofa — **Cracked panels**Fine cracking reads as texture to the eye and as noise to a sensor. More

A faded panel beside an unfaded one on prop furniture — **Faded panels**One panel lighter than its neighbour, which no grade can fix later. More

What we repair

The Pieces That Carry a Set

Under each: what the camera notices first on that kind of piece.

A leather sofa used as a photography studio prop

Sofas & setteesThe hero piece in most sets, and the one the light rakes across.

ArmchairsArms and front edges take every load-in and load-out.

A bench and ottoman used as studio props

Benches & ottomansSmall, moved constantly, scuffed at the corners.

Dining chairsSets have to match each other, not just look clean alone.

A vintage occasional chair used as a studio prop

Vintage piecesAge is the point; damage is not. The patina stays.

The method

Five Steps, Lit at Every One

A typical prop furniture repair: assessed under raking light in the morning, matched and filled by afternoon, signed off under continuous light before the truck leaves.

Prop furniture being assessed under raking light

01Light it firstThe piece is assessed under hard side light, because that is the light that will find the fault.

Leather color and sheen being matched on a prop piece

02Match color and sheenTwo variables, not one. Most failed prop furniture repair matches color and forgets the gloss level. See color matching.

A prop furniture repair being filled and grain-matched

03Fill and grainThe fill is taken level and the grain is pressed to match the panel around it. See scratch repair.

A prop furniture repair sealed and levelled

04Seal flatThe topcoat is laid to the same sheen as the rest of the piece, then knocked back if it lifts.

Repaired prop furniture checked under continuous studio light

05Check on set lightIt is signed off under continuous light at the angle it will be shot, not under a workshop lamp. See how a project runs.

Wrapped prop furniture on a dolly at a prop house loading bay

Getting it there

Warehouse, Shop, Stage

Most pieces move at least twice before a shoot, and every move is a chance to mark them again. Wrapped collection and delivery is part of the job, not an extra — see pickup and delivery and on-site repairs for work done on the studio floor.

Before & after

Two Mends, Shot the Same Way

Each pair was photographed under the same light, before and after. More in the before and after gallery.

A scuffed prop sofa arm before repair — A scuffed arm repaired and re-sheened, shot under the same light.

The same prop sofa arm after repair — A scuffed arm repaired and re-sheened, shot under the same light.

A shiny repaired patch on a prop seat before correction — An earlier repair that flashed under the lights, knocked back to match.

The same prop seat with the sheen matched — An earlier repair that flashed under the lights, knocked back to match.

Questions

Prop furniture repair questions

Set decorators and art departments organise through the Set Decorators Society of America and the Art Directors Guild. Working a venue instead? Start at entertainment furniture services.

What does prop furniture repair cost?

Prop furniture repair is quoted per piece from photographs, and priced on what the camera will see rather than on the size of the damage. A scuff on a hero sofa arm can matter more than a split on a piece that shoots from behind.

How fast can you turn a piece around?

Tell us the call sheet date. Small repairs are often same-day at the studio; anything needing cure time we schedule backwards from the shoot.

Do you work at the studio or take the piece away?

Both. Surface work is done on the floor between set-ups; anything that needs curing or a full recover goes to the shop and comes back.

Why do repairs that looked fine fail on camera?

Because they were checked under flat overhead light. A raking strip light finds sheen differences and filler ridges the eye forgives, which is why we sign off under the light the piece will actually meet.

Can you keep the patina on a vintage piece?

Yes — that is usually the brief. We repair the damage and leave the age, rather than refinishing the whole piece to look new.

Do you work with prop houses on stock?

Yes. Rental stock is graded and worked in batches between rentals, the same way a venue run is handled.