Best Antique Restoration in Auckland: Top 5 Furniture Workshops

Choosing the best antique restoration in Auckland comes down to finding a workshop that can tighten a loose joint, lift and re-lay a veneer or rebuild a hand-applied french polish without stripping away the character of the piece. The workshops below handle antique and vintage furniture repair, cane and veneer work, colour matching, leather and insurance claims, whether the piece is a family heirloom or a well used dining table. Kelsey’s Furniture Restoration and Dovetail Restorations are among the longest-established names on the list.

1Kelsey’s Furniture Restoration

Kelsey’s is a family-owned workshop in St Johns that has been repairing and restoring antiques and fine furniture since 1972, with the family working on antique pieces in Remuera for more than 50 years. Every job starts with an assessment of the piece and a free, no-obligation quote, and the workshop can recommend trusted upholsterers when a restoration needs one. It suits owners of heirloom and high-class furniture, and anyone needing an insurance quote after movers have damaged a piece.

Services

• Repair and restoration of antique and fine furniture
• Hand stripping and sanding matched to the age and condition of the piece
• Staining and colour matching for both period and modern furniture
• Refinishing in lacquer, wax or oil, plus hand painting and paint washes
• Cane panel replacement and veneer touch-ups and patching

Highlights

• Family-owned and established in 1972, with more than 50 years of antique work behind it
• Pieces are stripped by hand with their own industrial-grade stripper rather than the chemical acid baths used elsewhere
• Professional spray booth on site for refinishing work
• Free insurance quotes for furniture damaged in a move, and pick-up and delivery by arrangement

Location & Contact

Name: Kelsey’s Furniture Restoration
Address: 82d Elizabeth Knox Place, St Johns, Auckland 1072
Phone: 09 523 3330
Website: kelseysrestoration.co.nz

2Dovetail Restorations Ltd

Dovetail Restorations has been repairing furniture from its Onehunga workshop since 1989, and is run by founder Avi Koifman alongside his son Adam. The workshop covers structural and cosmetic repair, french polish, veneer and cane work, and keeps upholstery and leather work in house, so a piece can be restored and re-covered without leaving the building. It is a practical choice for insurance claims and for larger commercial pieces as well as domestic antiques.

Services

• Structural and cosmetic repairs to antique and modern furniture
• Stripping, polishing and colour matching, including french polish and veneer work
• Cane, rattan and riempie repairs
• In-house re-upholstery, custom squabs and fabric services
• Leather cleaning, repair and re-painting across aniline, pigmented, nubuck and suede

Highlights

• Trading since 1989 from the same Onehunga workshop
• Preferred repairer for the major insurance companies in Auckland, with a full assessment and valuation service
• Team includes a specialist polisher of 20 years with the firm and a master upholsterer with more than 30 years in the trade
• Equipped for large-scale work such as church pews, school benches, boardroom tables and restaurant furniture
• Uses high-velocity low-pressure spray guns and runs a low-waste workshop with recycling of materials and chemicals

Location & Contact

Name: Dovetail Restorations Ltd
Address: 7 Selwyn Street, Onehunga, Auckland 1061
Phone: 09 636 6100
Website: dovetailrestorations.co.nz

3John Fowler Restoration

John Fowler runs a one-man workshop in Grey Lynn, where he has been repairing and refinishing antique and vintage furniture from the same bench for more than 25 years. The work runs from wobbly drawers and loose joints through to full structural overhauls, with finishes built up by hand in traditional shellac, polish and wax rather than sprayed. A small shelf of restored pieces is also kept for sale, most of them sourced in New Zealand.

Services

• Small repairs including loose drawers, wobbly tables, filling and patching
• Complete overhauls with careful disassembly and structural work
• French polish and shellac repair on twentieth-century and antique pieces
• Veneer and polish work on antique, vintage and bespoke furniture

Highlights

• Opened the Grey Lynn workshop in the 1990s and has worked at the same bench since
• Traditional finishes built up by hand over days rather than hours
• Regular work in native timbers including rimu and kauri
• Around 95 per cent of the pieces offered for sale are sourced in New Zealand
• Workshop open Monday to Friday, with weekends by appointment

Location & Contact

Name: John Fowler Restoration
Address: Grey Lynn, Auckland
Phone: 09 360 9945
Website: jfrestoration.co.nz

4PKR Philip King Restorations

PKR is a family-owned business on Marua Road in Ellerslie that has specialised in furniture restoration for over 20 years, working on antique and modern pieces and anything else made of wood. Restoration is carried out using original materials and techniques in keeping with the period of the piece, and customers are invited into the workshop to check the finish before a piece goes home. Alongside domestic work the team handles jobs for insurance companies, including overseas insurers.

Services

• Repairs to antique and modern furniture, from scratches through to complete renovation
• French polishing, stripping, staining and polishing
• Caning of chairs and couches, and re-baizing of card tables and cutlery drawers
• Veneer replacement and re-making of legs, arms and missing mouldings
• Mother of pearl inlay, leather desk inserts, leadlight cabinet panels and mirror re-silvering

Highlights

• Family owned and run for over 20 years from a fully equipped Ellerslie workshop
• Five-strong team that includes a traditional french polisher
• Written quotes valid for three months, with any fine tuning after collection done at no extra charge

Location & Contact

Name: PKR Philip King Restorations
Address: 3/195 Marua Road, Ellerslie, Auckland
Phone: 09 526 0112
Website: philipkingrestorations.co.nz

5Kimata Repairs Ltd

Kimata Repairs is a Mount Albert workshop run by Tom Kimata, who has worked in furniture, antique, stone and leather restoration since 2000, first in Tokyo and later in New Zealand. The workshop takes on antique cabinets, cane chairs, veneered tables and mid-century pieces, and also handles flood, water and fire damage for insurers. Visits are by phone or text first, as Tom is often out on site collecting or delivering work.

Services

• Restoration of antique and vintage furniture, including flood, water and fire damage
• Polishing and finishing in french polish, shellac, lacquer, oils, waxes and varnish
• Cane replacement and veneer restoration
• Colour and pattern matching, inlay and other decorative work
• On-site restoration across Auckland for built-in pieces such as bench tops, mantelpieces and wall cabinets

Highlights

• Trained and worked in Tokyo from 2000 on embassies, luxury hotels, cruise ships, shrines and temples before moving to New Zealand
• Uses traditional Japanese woodworking tools alongside Western hand tools and modern machinery
• Repairs stone, ceramics, porcelain and mother of pearl as well as timber
• Also builds custom furniture from recycled timber

Location & Contact

Name: Kimata Repairs Ltd
Address: 12/43A Linwood Avenue, Mount Albert, Auckland
Phone: 021 0614 798
Website: kimatarepairs.co.nz

Antique Restoration in Auckland at a Glance

How to Choose the Right Antique Restoration Workshop in Auckland

• Match the workshop to the piece. Cane seating, veneered surfaces, leather desk tops and french-polished finishes are all separate skills, so ask who in the team will actually do the work.
• Ask what will be removed and what will be kept. A good restorer talks about preserving patina and original timber, not about making an old piece look new.
• Check whether stripping is done by hand or by immersion. Hand stripping is gentler on veneers, glue joints and inlay than a chemical bath.
• Get the quote in writing, with the finish specified. Colour matching, sheen level and whether the finish is shellac, lacquer or wax all change the result and the price.
• Confirm how the piece travels. Pick-up and delivery, insurance cover in transit and special handling for heavy or fragile items are worth agreeing before the job starts.

Frequently Asked Questions About Auckland Antique Restoration

What does antique furniture restoration usually involve?

Most jobs begin with an assessment of the timber, joints and existing finish. From there a restorer may re-glue joints, replace missing or broken components, patch veneer, replace cane, and then strip, stain, colour match and refinish the surface. The aim is to return the piece to sound working order while keeping as much original material and patina as possible.

How much does antique restoration cost in Auckland?

There is no standard rate, because the price depends on the size of the piece, the amount of structural repair needed and the finish specified. Auckland workshops generally quote after seeing the item or clear photographs, and several offer a free, no-obligation quote. Ask for the quote in writing and check how long it stays valid.

Will restoring an antique reduce its value?

Heavy-handed work can. Stripping an original finish, sanding through veneer or replacing sound timber all remove the age and evidence that collectors look for. Sympathetic repair, a rebuilt french polish or a replaced cane panel usually preserves or improves value, so tell the restorer if the piece has collector interest and ask them to keep intervention to a minimum.

Can furniture damaged by flood or fire be saved?

Often, yes. Water damage typically shows up as lifted veneer, swollen timber, failed glue joints and white bloom in the finish, all of which are repairable. Smoke damage needs odour removal as well as refinishing. Several Auckland workshops, including Dovetail Restorations and Kimata Repairs, take this work on directly for insurers.

What is french polishing, and does my piece need it?

French polishing is a traditional finish built up by hand in many thin layers of shellac, and it was the standard finish on fine furniture well into the twentieth century. It gives a deep, soft lustre that sprayed lacquer does not match. If your piece already carries a shellac finish, repairing or rebuilding it is usually better than replacing it with a modern coating.

Can cane, veneer and leather be repaired rather than replaced?

Usually. Cane panels can be cut out and rewoven or replaced by sheet, veneer can be patched and blended into the surrounding grain, and leather desk inserts and upholstery can be cleaned, recoloured or renewed. Replacing the whole element is a last resort where the original is beyond saving.

How long will a restoration take?

It depends on the work and the workshop’s queue. A small repair can be a short job, while a full overhaul with a hand-built shellac finish is measured in weeks because each coat needs time to harden. Ask for an indicative timeframe at the quote stage, and again if the piece is needed for a particular date.

What are my rights if the finished work is not up to standard?

Work done for personal use is covered by the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993, which requires services to be carried out with reasonable care and skill and to be fit for purpose. If the result falls short, raise it with the workshop first, as many offer to fine tune the finish at no extra charge. The full text of the Act is available at legislation.govt.nz.