Care and repair
Keeping it for thirty years
Almost everything in this catalogue is repairable, and almost all the damage we see arrives through good intentions — the all-purpose spray, the steam cleaner, the sunny spot by the window. This is what each material wants, what to do in the first sixty seconds of a spill, and when to stop and send it back to us.
Every material, side by side
If you own two of these, read across rather than down — oil is right for one row and ruinous for the next.
| Material | Every week | Once a year | Spills | Never |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| European oak | Dry cloth. Water only where something has dried on. | One coat of hardwax oil, cloth on and cloth off, when water stops beading. | Blot immediately — oak takes a ring in minutes, not hours. | No all-purpose spray. Silicone in the polish stops the next coat of oil taking. |
| American walnut | Dry cloth, along the grain. | Re-oil as for oak. Rotate anything that sits on it for the first year. | Blot, then let it dry fully before judging the mark — most lift as they dry. | Do not park it in direct sun. Half-lit tops fade unevenly and cannot be corrected. |
| Ash | Dry cloth. | Oil or lacquer as supplied. Check chair joints and nip up the bolts. | Blot. The open grain holds colour, so wine wants dealing with straight away. | Never leave it against a radiator — ash moves more than anything else here. |
| Travertine | Damp cloth, pH-neutral soap if it needs it. | Re-seal. A drop of water that darkens the stone means the seal has gone. | Lift immediately. Wine, citrus and oil all etch — this is the least forgiving surface we sell. | No vinegar, no lemon, no bathroom cleaner. Acid eats the stone, not the seal. |
| Bouclé | Vacuum on low with an upholstery head. | Professional dry clean. Trim any pulled loop flush with scissors. | Blot, never rub — rubbing works the spill into the loop and opens the weave. | Do not pull a snagged loop through. Cut it. It will not run. |
| Cotton velvet | Brush the pile in one direction with a soft brush. | Professional clean. Shading and seat marks are the pile, not wear. | Blot with a dry cloth first, then a barely damp one, then leave it alone. | No steam cleaner. Heat flattens cotton pile permanently. |
| Washed linen | Vacuum. Shake cushions back into shape rather than plumping the corners. | Covers come off and wash at 30°, line dry, never tumble. | Cold water and patience. Hot water sets protein stains into flax. | Do not iron the creases out. They are the finish you paid for. |
| Lambswool | Air it. Wool cleans itself far better than it washes. | Comb the pills off. It pills for two months and then stops. | Blot cold. Wool sheds most liquid if you get to it inside a minute. | No razor, no tumble dryer, no warm water. |
| Vegetable-tanned leather | Dry cloth. Let it collect the marks — that is the point of this leather. | Feed lightly with a neutral conditioner. Less than you think. | Blot. Water darkens it and then dries back most of the way. | No saddle soap and no baby wipes. Both strip the tannin finish. |
Most furniture is not worn out when it is thrown away. It is just marked, and nobody was told what to do.
Solid timber moves all year
None of the following is a fault, and all of it is reversible. It is what a board does when it is still a piece of a tree.
Winter, heating on
Indoor humidity falls and solid timber shrinks across its width. A 900mm top can lose up to 2mm and a hairline can open at a breadboard end. It closes again in spring. Keep pieces a hand’s width off radiators and it stays invisible.
Spring, windows open
Everything takes moisture back on. Drawers that ran sweetly in February can tighten in April. Wax the runners rather than sanding them — you will be sorry in December.
Summer, direct sun
The fastest way to age a piece badly. Oak yellows, walnut lightens, and anything half in shadow ends up two colours. Rotate tops and move rugs before the light does it for you.
Autumn, the reset
The one hour a year that matters: nip up every chair bolt, re-oil what has stopped beading, and check that stone tops are still sitting flat on their pads.
When to stop and send it back
A scratch in oil, a loose bolt, a pulled loop and a tight drawer are all kitchen-table jobs and the rows above cover them. A cracked joint, a cupped top, a chipped stone edge, a torn seam or anything lacquered is ours — lacquer in particular cannot be repaired in place, so please do not try to blend it. The workshop takes pieces back at any age, including ones bought second-hand, and quotes before touching anything.