Sustainability in the antique trade

Extension of lifespan

The further use of used – already manufactured – furniture saves resources that are otherwise incurred in the manufacture of new furniture. This corresponds to a circular economy in which durable furniture is passed on over many cycles. Antique dealers provide support here by purchasing, restoring and reselling them by professionally taking care of the often sensitive objects with a lot of history and helping to bring them from one household to another.

Integrating antique, used furniture into your home and interior design is in line with a sustainable ethos and conscious consumer behavior and contributes to more resource conservation in a beautifying way.

Restoration and Upcycling

Restoration is important. A comprehensive, careful restoration will preserve the condition of the object for many years to come.

Biedermeier furniture made around 1820 has been around for many generations. Before industrialization, the furniture was exclusively made by hand by carpenters for their customers. The wealthy customers of the nobility and upper bourgeoisie often worked with thick sawn veneers on solid wood, which means that the furniture is of very high quality and durable.

A lot of antique furniture is still in storage, in basements, in attics and is in unusable condition. However, since the quality is high, these can often still be restored very well, but with great human effort. Our team of restorers is very experienced in restoring, polishing and lacquering these in accordance with the epochs in consultation with us.

Wooden furniture is often re-lacquered during restoration. Although the production of the varnish consumes finite resources, the furniture gets a longer lifespan, which has a more positive impact on the environment than building a complete new furniture.

Environmental sustainability

When polishing the Biedermeier and Empire furniture, we only use natural shellac, which is obtained from tree aphids and alcohol. Materials such as wood and bone or fish glue are environmentally friendly and sustainable as they are renewable an biodegradable. If possible, the upholstery of the antique furniture is repaired with foam and only covered by new fabric. If needed the full upholstery will be replaced from the ground up using traditional methods (springs, belts, lacing).

The piano lacquer finishes used in Art Deco furniture are made from two and three component polyester material. This is also used in most high-quality furniture finishes and in the piano industry when high-gloss polished surfaces are wanted. DIN 53160, saliva and perspiration resistant and meet the requirements for kitchen surfaces and children’s toys.