Follow the antique furniture golden rule

Do as little as possible to change the original construction and finish of your antiques. By stripping a finish and putting on a new finish, you can drastically reduce the value of antique furniture. If a chair is a little loose and creaky or a table’s lacquer top is cracking, that’s okay.

Protect fussy antiques without the fuss

Contrary to what the makers of those lemon-fresh, spray-on furniture polishes claim, you don’t need fancy chemicals to clean and protect wooden chests, desks, tables, and chairs, even if they are your prized possessions. In fact, those products can do more harm than good.

“Some sprays have additives that will never come off,” says Nancy Rosebrock, conservation manager at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. “They crosslink chemically over time and become insoluble. A lot never completely dry, and they attract dirt, darkening the finish.” And that, she says, can decrease the value.