Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)

Mahogany By Hand are specialists in the field hand made mahogany furniture, replica antique dining chairs and solid timber dining tables. Please use our contact form to have one of our expert staff answer any of your queries about our reproduction mahogany furniture or quality custom made furniture

Freight

  • Freight costs are not included in purchase price. All goods are shipped FOB (freight forward) from our Melbourne warehouse.
  • All freight costs, insurance, associated charges & responsibility pass to the purchaser at point of despatch.
  • We are happy to engage a carrier on your behalf, but accept no responsibility for carrier damage or issues from point of despatch.

There are two processes of gilding. One called “oil gilding” and the other older and more traditional method of “water gilding”. Mahogany by Hand offers both.

Water gilding is the process of laying 23ct pure gold leaf on the furniture. This is a very painstaking and laborious process that entails many layer of “gesso” being applied to the furniture. The gesso must be rubbed down to a glass like finish after, in most cases, re-carving the furniture piece, as the gesso fills all the fine carving detail.

Following this process, the gilder lays “bole” (extremely expensive French coloured clay) over the areas to be later highlighted by burnishing.

It is at this stage the actual gold is overlayed and then hand burnished with agate stone to impart the lustrous pure gold shine that water gilding is so well known for.

The other method of oil gilding is far less, but still labour intensive. It is cheaper and quicker than water gilding and uses “Dutch leaf” (brass leaf) instead of pure gold. The leaf looks just the same but comes in larger, thicker sheets and is easier to handle.

The furniture is first coated with gold size and left to tack off. Once the gold size has the correct tackiness, the leaf is overlaid and left to dry. Once dry it is sealed with orange shellac (French polish) and then an antiquing scumble is wiped over the whole to impart an “antique patina” simulating years of age. Sometimes the leaf may be rubbed through to also simulate wear.

Either method of gilding, be it oil gilding or water gilding, they are both very time consuming tasks that require great skill and patience.

To maintain the natural beauty & well being of your valuable antique reproduction furniture, we offer the following general advice.

It is important to understand that wood is a natural product that should be protected from heat, strong sunlight and high humidity/moisture.

Spillage should be wiped and dried immediately with a soft flannel cloth. For general cleaning a damp flannel cloth, followed by a dry flannel cloth is all that is required.

If required, after years of normal wear, we use and recommend “Gilly Stephenson” waxes and polishes to revive well worn finishes.

Unfortunately, some situations are beyond ones control and your finish may suffer accidental damage, scratched or fabrics stained. You can be assured that we can assist you in restoring your valuable piece of furniture.

We, as our name suggests, usually only use mahogany. Mahogany being such a stable well grained timber it is ideal for our type of quality. It has been used throughout England & Europe for more than two centuries because of this well understood fact.

Because of mahogany’s fine, dense grain it is perfect for hand carving & delivers very fine, crisp carvings without splintering.

Please use our inquiry form on this site or by telephone or fax numbers on our contact page.

We often supply large contract orders for hotels and others. We have the capacity to supply large & medium orders on a regular basis

Be assured by our “Lifetime Guarantee” and the fact that all the timber we use is fully kiln dried heart wood with no sap wood content. Also, we use technically correct construction methods that eliminate these issues.

Our clients include:

  • Interior Decorators & Interior Designers
  • Architects & Home Building Contractors
  • Retail Furniture Stores including majors
  • Private Domestic Clients
  • Display Homes
  • Retirement Villages & Aged Care Facilities
  • Hotels, Function Centres & Restaurants
  • Antique Dealers, Upholsterers, Polishers
  • Lifetime guarantee– We literally offer your Mahogany Furniture a lifetime guarantee. As long as you own it, we will guarantee against any manufacturing defects or faults at any time during its original ownership. No other Mahogany Furniture manufacturer offers this kind of guarantee. That’s how certain we are of our outstanding quality.
  • Solid timber, handmade, hand carved furniture– All of Mahogany by Hand’s Hand Made Furniture is made using the traditional cabinet making methods of past centuries. We use solid mahogany that is kiln dried to protect your valuable furniture from cracking, twisting or splitting. This solid mahogany furniture is true Antique Reproduction Furniture. In fact it is exact Antique Replica Furniture, utilising hand cut mortice and tenon joints, dovetailing and hand carving. Our mission is to reproduce exquisite antique replicas that are true to style with the original antique and will like the original pieces, stand the test of time.
  • Over 30 years of valuable experience & genuine honest advise– Mahogany by Hand is an independently run business which started 33 years ago in original antique furniture. Our knowledge and experience spans many decades and our business is built on the basis of genuine personalised service and advice. Most of our clients have been dealing with us for many years.
  • Full custom finishing service – All of our Mahogany Antique Furniture can be finished in almost any timber colour or antiqued painted finish. We also offer gilding, leather tooling and much more. Please visit our Custom Made Furniture Services page.
  • Over 800 designs to choose from– Our range of Antique Style Furniture covers almost every room of the family home, as well as office and other commercial requirements. Our products include Antique Style French Furniture, all periods of English Antique reproduction Furniture and much more.
  • Exceptional value– We provide exceptional value for the very high standard of quality of our Mahogany reproduction furniture. You will agree that it is a fraction of the price of any original antique or furniture of comparative quality.
  • Exceptional quality – We go to great lengths and take extreme pride in ensuring the Mahogany Antique Furniture we make for you will become the antiques of the future.

Mahogany By Hand services all Melbourne metropolitan areas, interstate capital cities and all regional areas throughout Australia. We have provided solutions for interstate companies and families in Sydney, Brisbane, Townsville, Adelaide and Perth. As well as local companies and private individuals in CBD, Southgate, Caulfield, Armadale, Kew, Essendon, Doncaster, Rowville and numerous other centres in and around Melbourne.Although we are based in Melbourne Victoria, we can deliver our furniture in New South Wales (NSW), Queensland (QLD), South Australia (SA), Western Australia (WA), Tasmania (Tas), The Northern Territory (NT) and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT).

  • Custom cabinet making
  • Furniture polishing
  • Wood carving
  • Wood turning
  • Furniture upholstery
  • Furniture gilding
  • Desk top leather tooling
  • French Louis XV furniture
  • French Louis XVI furniture
  • French Empire furniture
  • French Provincial furniture
  • English Georgian furniture
  • English Regency furniture
  • English Victorian furniture
  • Designer furniture
  • Custom made furniture
  • Antique reproduction bedroom furniture
  • Antique reproduction dining room furniture
  • Antique reproduction office furniture
  • Antique reproduction lounge room furniture
  • Antique reproduction living room furniture
  • Antique reproduction entrance furniture
  • Antique reproduction library furniture
  • Antique reproduction chairs
  • Antique reproduction beds
  • Antique reproduction dining tables