Bennet and Brown

18thC Chinese rosewood cabinet. Rosewood is so precious, and illegal to buy new, that even for a patch this small the only piece I have has dowels and holes in it.

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I do like an improvised repair. Here I am using lentils to patch the missing moulding on this 19thC gilt framed mirror.

The streets of London are paved with discarded flat-packed furniture, which is awful. Though it is handy when you need a piece of hardboard to replace the lining in an early 19thC sewing table.

18thC Dutch secretaire restored and ready to go home..

A new bracket foot for the secretaire. Made from a Victorian floorboard with a nice authentic bow and veneered in walnut. This is the last of the woodwork, colouring, polishing and the baize insert to come before the big reveal.

The internal drawers are back in, cleaned and waxed and without fouling the drum opening mechanism which was a worry. I have started polishing and colouring the veneer repairs. More to do there but it is looking good.



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To restore or not to restore. This is the side of the secretaire. The oak carcass has shrunk with time, the veneer has not. I have played the loose and lifting veneer and filled the areas of missing veneer but I am minded to leave the crack.

The drum opening mechanism is now working smoothly. I have removed the interior arrangement of drawers to give it a good clean, stripped off the moth eaten maize liner and started to patch the missing veneer..






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This heap of fire wood is an 18thC Dutch drum fronted secretaire. Hopefully it will come together over the next few days.
First step was to dismantle and vacuum up 200 years of dust.

Here is a some carpentry for a change, I haven't framed up a window in a long time and it is good to brush up the mortice and tenons. This isn't any window of course, it is 19thC Moroccan.

This is a nice Friday afternoon project. It is a turned finial which attaches a mirror to its frame. The original is in the background.
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Introducing the Bennet and Brown 'Cabinet of Wonders'. This Christmas give something lovely, vintage and super low carbon.
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