C Simpson Restorations

17/01/2023

Tuesday Treasure✨

Another recent project we worked on at the prestigious Kambala Independent Day & Boarding School in Rose Bay.

We completely revived the fire place back to its original condition without ruining any of its integrity. The fire place was covered in dirt, grime and dust which just builds up over such an intricate piece over the years. The detail in the fire place had been lost over the years and it needed a full refresh.

Keeping the fireplace in its original condition we cleaned and detailed the carvings and they are now much more prominent.
We cleaned, polished and waxed the timber to bring it back to life but also to protect it for years to come.

The top of the fireplace had a few damages, dents and holes which we filled and waxed.

Then after restoring and cleaning the carvings we were able to make the flower pattern stand out again as it originally would have when the fire place was put in.

It’s a beautiful old fire place and always a pleasure to restore something that has such a history to it.

We love working with Kambala. It’s such an incredible heritage building full of stunning original timber pieces, fireplaces and antiques. Swipe to see some before and after pics up close.
(If you look at the flowers you can truly see how much more they stand out after being detailed and brought back to life).

We look forward to working on our next project with Kambala school in the future and if you have any enquiries about reviving a piece of your own please don’t hesitate to call or just DM us.

Happy Tuesday All.

17/01/2023

Tuesday Treasure✨

Another recent project we worked on at the prestigious Kambala Independent Day & Boarding School in Rose Bay.

We completely revived the fire place back to its original condition without ruining any of its integrity. The fire place was covered in dirt, grime and dust which just builds up over such an intricate piece over the years. The detail in the fire place had been lost over the years and it needed a full refresh.

Keeping the fireplace in its original condition we cleaned and detailed the carvings and they are now much more prominent.
We cleaned, polished and waxed the timber to bring it back to life but also to protect it for years to come.

The top of the fireplace had a few damages, dents and holes which we filled and waxed.

Then after restoring and cleaning the carvings we were able to make the flower pattern stand out again as it originally would have when the fire place was put in.

It’s a beautiful old fire place and always a pleasure to restore something that has such a history to it.

We love working with Kambala. It’s such an incredible heritage building full of stunning original timber pieces, fireplaces and antiques. Swipe to see some before and after pics up close.
If you look at the flowers you can truly see how much more they stand out after being detailed and brought back to life.

We look forward to working on our next project with Kambala school in the future.

11/01/2023

11/01/2023

Wednesday Wisdom!

Let’s talk French Polishing. 🪑
French polishing is a finishing technique developed around the early 1900’s.
A traditional polishing method that results in a high gloss finish on
wooden/timber floors, walls and furniture.

It is a highly skilled process and results in an elegant finish.

French Polishing often involves stripping the finish back to bare veneer, sanding, repairing damages, water marks, touching out stains, replacing missing pieces, veneers, grain filling, staining, and then hand applying many thin layers of shellac with an oil lubricated cloth. This process builds up a glossy, protective, natural finish that shows off the timbers true grain.

French Polishing is a far more superior way of reviving timber than just spraying with lacquer.

Expensive timbers, antiques, and quality instruments including pianos and violins are often restored with French Polish. It is a durable finish, a long term investment that brings pieces back to their original and authentic condition.

It is a skill that takes many years to learn but the final result is well worth the extra work. we do lots of French Polishing. We always use high quality products and materials throughout the process and pride ourselves on our work.

Post continued in comments…

06/01/2023

Friday movie night might have looked a little different for the family huddled around this treasure.

Fun fact - We actually collected old radios, phones and televisions for a while (including convincing a very kind air hostess into letting us carry an old tv on as hand luggage.. not so sure we could do that today).😬

This is an Ekcovision Television from 1951 complete with it’s original advertisement. Ready for delivery in January of 1952 it netted the homes of many appreciative families. A luxury we take for granted now. 15 inches curved glass, black and white picture and not the clearest image but still an amazing little piece of history.

We haven’t worked on restoring the timber of a TV in a while but it’s always nice to see one when it comes in.

These days many people turn old televisions into bars, fish tanks and little shelves (I will pop some pics up over the weekend in stories and save them under Fun Friday Finds for you to have a look).

Have a great weekend all. Quiet movie night in for us. Won’t lie, our TV is MUCH larger than this one.😆
But this one is a little gem of a find.
We even love the old advertisements.

Happy Weekend.

#1951

Images sources from Rewind Museum

05/01/2023

Happy New Year All.✨
Thank you for all of the support we had from our regular, loyal and new clients throughout 2022. We appreciate you more than you know and love restoring and working on all your treasures.

We came across some incredibly unique pieces last year which is always a pleasure for us to work on and bring back to life for you. We also took on some larger jobs with private schools, boarding houses, hotels and larger companies.
Every job is always different but a pleasure.

We are looking forward to an even bigger and exciting 2023. We can’t wait to work with you. Please feel free to message or contact us anytime with any job. We love a challenge, and are always here to help.

Wishing everyone a fresh start for 2023. A year full of happiness, good health, making memories, and lots of joy. 🙌

We are back!! Let’s go 2023.🙌

22/12/2022

Thursday Thought..
We didn’t get a chance to do Wednesday Wisdom so here is some info for you (just one day late). ✨

One of our loyal clients that we have done work for is Kambala School in Rose Bay. .sydney

Kambala is a vibrant independent day and boarding school for girls up to the age of 18.

A prestigious school it has beautiful grounds and the building itself is stunning. Along with the finishes inside which we have restored. The Kambala community has been going since the 1800’s and as the number of students grew it moved locations a few times.

The building in this picture though was built around 1840 and the photos were taken around 1920.
The last image is of Kambala today.

We work with many private, independent and prestigious boarding schools across Sydney.
The age and integrity of these buildings is beautiful and makes restoring them a pleasure.

We recently loved repairing and restoring parts of the Kambala school. We love restoring properties and furniture in buildings like this as it keeps the history and heritage of the Kambala Community going.

If you ever have a chance or opportunity to see Kambala it is a beautiful educational building with a long history.

13/12/2022

Tuesday Treasure ✨

If you have a treasure that you would like to keep precious and safe we can tailor a glass case or any other display piece for you.

This glass case we made for a client and the result was amazing. Happy client, Happy Us. This piece wasn’t highly unusual but was perfect for this piece and the result was amazing.

We love a challenge and have made and restored some pretty quirky things over our time (think repairing carved bears, merry go rounds, building unusual box designs that have hidden sections, and many more). Feel free to contact us with any job or idea you have that you think might not be possible and we will see what we can do.☺️

Happy Tuesday.

12/12/2022

Monday Magic ✨

BEFORE & AFTER

A transformation job for a long standing client of our ‘The Australian Institute of Police Management’. Loyal clients with lots of work.

We restored many many side tables for them recently. As you can see they were very worn, faded in colour, had ring marks and other damages.

Each side table was differed in how much we had to restore it but we sanded back, stained and polished each table so they were all matching, and ensured we fixed any marks and damages.

A big job. This is just some of many but they all came up a treat. Thank you to the Australian Institute of Police Management for their ongoing work.

Please swipe for BEFORE PICS.
Happy Monday. 🙌

07/12/2022

Thursday Thoughts ✨
(Also known as Wednesday wisdom just a day later than usual).

We usually share some facts and info on Wednesdays - but it’s the silly season so let’s just go with today…We like to teach you something, give you some tips or info each week about something to do with antiques or restoration.
This week let’s talk -
‘Dovetail Joints’.

Dovetail Joints are the most common joint used in antiques. They are used as they are strong and aesthetically pleasing. There is a difference though between handmade Dovetail Joints and machine made ones. Good antiques will be made using handmade joints.

They are often used to hold a carcass together because of how durable and sturdy they are and always used for putting together drawers.

Keep an eye out for them when looking at antiques. When making Dovetail joints it’s important to be very precise with the pins and sockets so the piece joins together accurately.

Stay tuned for another post in the next few weeks showing how dovetails are made.
Happy Thursday All. We hope you have a magical day. 🙌



Pics from Hearst Corporation, Woodworkers Guild, Craftsy, Rockler Woodworking, Pinterest and our own.

05/12/2022

Monday Magic.✨

BEFORE & AFTER 🪞
A reflection of our mirror work.
Repaired and restored frame.

Transformed this very tired and damaged frame.

We repaired, moved and fixed all cavings and damage around the mirror. Brought it back to its original shape and detail. We refreshed the mirror with new paint and finish.

Looks like a different frame and very happy client with it back up on their wall.
(Swipe for Before pic).

02/12/2022

Happy Saturday!
BEFORE & AFTER ✨

This job was a huge transformation and has a great story.

Wanting to keep in the family these chairs were precious to the client as they were made many many years ago from shipping containers by their Father. They needed a complete restoration and new upholstery.
(Please swipe for before pictures).

We brought back the original honey colour and grain of the timber. The client chose a bright funky fabric they loved for the chairs. The end result was a huge transformation and they are now pieces used in their home that have a story and are sentimental.

We love restoring pieces that have a story or have been passed down through the family.