Old furniture or decorative pieces you love, whether family heirlooms or flea-market finds, may have seen better days. Furniture Restoration: Step-by-Step Tips and Techniques for Professional Results by Ina Brosseau Marx and Allen Marx (Watson-Guptil, 2014, $50) will encourage you to refurbish them instead of hiding or tossing them.

The Marxes, who live in Princeton, N.J., have worked for 30 years as professional restorers and teach and write about their field. Their goal in this book, they explain, is to pass on what they’ve learned about how to fix warped veneers, chips and dents.


The well-illustrated book offers guidance on myriad aspects of restoration, from building a tool kit to replacing original gold leaf – or knowing when to call in a professional.

In an interview, Ina Brosseau Marx explained that she and her husband wanted “to show people step by step, in a very simple way, what we have done, starting with no experience.”

They share what they call their guiding principle: simply, “whatever two hands have put together, your two hands can try to fix.”

So, what are the top tips for care of furniture, to help avoid the need for restoration? Simple things can prevent damage before it occurs, for example:

• Pick a chair up holding it under the seat; lift it, don’t drag it by the top of the back or an arm. Similarly, don’t try to move a table by tugging it along by the tabletop; lift it.

• Be careful when vacuuming not to bang into furniture feet and bases.

• Dusting is the least damaging way to clean and prolong the life of objects that have intact surfaces. Use a slightly damp chamois cloth or a very full, soft-haired brush. Avoid dusting sprays. “Their ingredients are harmful to wood because they contain silicones that get deeply into the pores of the wood.”

• To remove dirt and grime on brown wood surfaces (not painted, gilded or Asian lacquer), dampen a soap-filled steel-wool pad and rub it with slight pressure along the grain. Then wipe with a dry cloth or towel for a smoother, cleaner surface.

The Marxes’ enthusiasm for recycling is in tune with the zeitgeist. “We say, keep your eyes open for the things in the back of antique shops no one else is interested in, and the marvelous things people put out in the trash,” Ina Brossaeu Marx said.