The finishing touch
Applying a finish by hand is the essence of our work. In a mirror of the skills and experience gained over years, each finish is built up in painstaking layers to create its full effect.
Gilding
While not quite alchemy, gilding is a dark art or at any rate a laborious one. Many hours and much care is needed in pursuit of the perfect result. When applied with skill, it will reflect light while offering a depth of finish that conveys a convincing impression of the solid metal.
The deception in the detail
There may only be one element called gold, but there are at least three ways to imitate it.
The first is not an imitation at all. Water gilt gold leafing uses pure gold leaf (the metal hammered to a one micron foil) laid over multiple coats of gesso and adhered with a water based size. It is the most time consuming finish but the best.
Dutch metal leaf is a similar thin sheet but is manufactured from a copper zinc alloy. It is less painstaking to apply yet achieves a similar effect. It is perhaps suited well to objects that are to be positioned further from the eye.
Gilt varnish is, as it sounds, essentially a paint finish that contains a metallic compound. It is also very useful as a way of repairing damaged gilding.
Paint finishes
Built up in multiple layers which might be left solid or rubbed back, toned or distressed, our paint finishing is more like applying paint to a canvas. It is only through repeated coats that the quality of image is revealed.
Colours, tones, textures and effects
We generally apply colours in successive coats, often in contrasting tones rubbed back or distressed to suit other elements of a larger room design.
Colour is such an influential component in design schemes that it is crucial to get it right.
Where a painted finish is specified for any project, we will be guided by the design team on specific colours, whether picking up tones from supplied fabric swatches or from a palette reference. In either case we will always supply samples of the finish as applied to the wood for you to compare.
The gentle grain
Natural wood grain finishes enhance the beauty of the timber. French polishing with traditional shellac remains the best method, preserving and adding lustre to wood without overdoing the effect.
In common with gilding and painting it is a layering process where each application adds to the depth and the beauty of the finish.
Get in touch
If you have a project we might help you with, please get in touch.