When we first saw the Georgian townhouse kitchen, we knew this would be different. The original cabinetry--what remained of it--dated to 1783.
The brief was clear: restore what could be saved, replace what couldn't, and make the joins invisible. No one looking at the finished kitchen should be able to tell where the 18th century ends and the 21st begins.
This required research. We spent weeks studying Georgian joinery techniques, visiting museum collections, and consulting with conservation specialists. The dovetails of 1783 are subtly different from those we cut today. The moulding profiles have changed. Even the way the wood was prepared--its texture, its finish--carries period signatures.
We weren't just matching the old work. We were learning from craftsmen who died two centuries ago.
The project took twelve months from first survey to final handover. Expensive by any measure. But the kitchen is now better than it was in 1783--more functional, better preserved, and ready for another two centuries of service.
That's the kind of work we live for.