Assessing antique furniture: restore, conserve or leave it

Before quoting on an antique piece, see it and talk with its owner: examine the structure, the veneer and the finish, look for earlier repairs, and ask what the piece is for today. Then present options rather than a single price: conservation that keeps the piece as it is but stable, a sympathetic restoration, or simple care the client can do. Make the visit a bookable service, with a workshop option for small pieces, and ask for photos beforehand so you come with the right questions.

Two chests of drawers that look alike in a photo can need very different work. One has a loose joint and a tired wax; the other has lifting veneer, a replaced foot and a thick modern varnish over an old shellac. The owner may want it to look new, to keep every mark of its age, or simply to stop a drawer sticking. Without seeing the piece and hearing what they want, any quote is a guess.

The assessment is also where you protect the piece: some finishes and old repairs are part of its history, and removing them can lower its interest or value.

Photograph each point and describe it in the written estimate. It lets the client compare the options with the same facts in front of them.

Offer a clear choice. Conservation: stabilise, clean, consolidate, change as little as possible. Restoration: repair and refinish to bring the piece back to a usable, coherent state. Care: advice the client can follow at home, sometimes enough on its own. Give each option a price range and a time frame, and say which one you would choose and why.

Some pieces matter more for who owned them than for what they are: a grandmother's sewing table, a desk from the family business. Ask about that during the visit. It changes what the client will accept losing: a burn mark from a known event may be worth keeping, a replaced handle may be worth tracking down in the original style. Note these wishes in the estimate, so the work respects them and nobody is surprised when the piece comes home.

On Book, each service has a name, a price and an optional description shown on your public page. You open slots for each service at the length it takes; clients pick a service, then a free slot. One place per slot.

Durations and prices are examples: set your own. Include travel time in home visit slots, and say in the description whether the visit fee is deducted from the work if the client goes ahead.

The public booking form asks for first name, last name, email and phone, plus an optional note you read in your new-booking email. Ask for the address, the type of piece, what's wrong in a sentence, and whether the client knows its age or origin. Ask for photos by email. The note can't be edited once the booking exists, so put the questions in the service description.

Send the estimate with the options. When the client chooses, agree collection or drop-off and book it yourself from your calendar: first and last name are required, email and phone optional. With one place, a booked slot is full and hidden from your page. Clients can't move bookings online: they contact you, you reschedule or cancel from your bookings list and let them know, since Book doesn't email clients about changes. Book doesn't produce estimates or take payments; it handles appointments. It costs €5/month, everything included: unlimited services and bookings, no commission, no contract.