We pride ourselves on the quality and authenticity of our work: using only traditional methods and materials to fully conserve your interior and exterior woodwork, fittings and furniture, damaged by damp, infestation, fire or flood, Our specialist knowledge can restore to original condition, complete rooms: including flooring, architectural joinery, panelling and staircases. As a result, our historical knowledge and specialist skills are employed with confidence by a wide range of clients, from Historic Royal Palaces, English Heritage and the National Trust in the UK, to UNESCO world heritage sites and privately owned historic properties. Whatever the size and scale of the project, we bring the same 35 years’ dedication and attention to detail.
Georgian staircase
Vincent Reed started his career as an antique furniture restorer at the age of 16. Over the last three decades he’s used the same painstaking approach for restoring interior woodwork: “You’d never use a sanding machine on antique furniture. Your period floorboards, staircases and doors deserve the same respect. Stripping or sanding them would destroy their history and value forever.”
The beautiful architectural features in your home were created by skilled artisans over generations. That’s why we never use sanding machines, only tools such has hand planes and chisels. On every project we carefully mirror the approach of our talented predecessors. So exquisite wooden details – down to the last floorboard and window latch – are returned to their original charm, adding to the character and investment value of your home.
As a leading authority on period wood restoration, Vincent Reed has been brought in as a consultant for the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Qasr Al Hosn in the UEA; The Great Pagoda at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Auckland Castle, palatial home to the Prince Bishops. Vincent Reed’s team also restored the George I panelling in Kensington Palace, untouched since its original installation in 1720.
The era of rip out and replace with new may be over; but as an historic property owner, do you know how much can be salvaged when ancient timbers look beyond repair? Or recognise the point where over restoration, or the wrong finish, can destroy the original character and historic importance of a feature forever? You may acknowledge the responsibility of keeping your period property in good repair; but faced with damage from damp or rot; or the ravages of fire, flood or infestation, can you be sure important historical detail is not at risk of being lost forever in the process?