Sometimes, we have attachment to an old and potentially-damaged piece of work – a desire to restore it to its former beauty and form. For stained glass, the piece might be a window or a piece of wall art, and for wood, the piece could range from small objects, such as boxes or frames, to large pieces, such as furniture – desks, bed frames, tables, and so on.

Over time, all glass and wood objects tend to show their age or become damaged for a variety of reasons.

Glass restoration might be needed to address wear and tear from age (such as loose glass pieces in the lead channels), or to address more substantial issues, such as cracked, or even missing glass. Glass and the lead caming holding the glass in place is heavy and, for larger pieces, require structural elements, such as metal bars to support the weight – these structural elements can fail over time as well.

Depending on the nature of the piece, simply resetting the glass might be sufficient – that was the approach taken with this transom window.

An alternate approach was taken with this pair of window projects – stairwell and fixed windows. In this case, the original pieces had several cracked pieces and the age of the piece ruled out glass replacement. As a result, the original pieces were disassembled and the some of the glass elements were re-purposed into the new pieces.

These reclaimed glass pieces were integrated into the new windows.

Like glass, wood damage could be due to wear and tear, requiring maybe some cosmetic work, but can be more severe leading to structurally-compromised furniture, such as failed glue joints on a Windsor chair or broken/missing pieces.

Regardless of wood or glass, each restoration project requires a unique solution; there’s not a single, right way. Sometimes the “straightforward” restore is adequate, such as the transom window restoration.

Do you have a restoration in mind? Contact me and let’s explore what makes sense for your piece.