Furniture Care: Tips from an LA Antiques Maestro - Remodelista
Photography by Jessica Comingore for Remodelista, except where noted. The perennially dapper Lee Stanton is a longtime collector and purveyor of British and European antiques. After years in the business dealing with furniture care products that he was hesitant to recommend to customers, Stanton decided to create his own line, CircaCare. Photograph via Lee Stanton. Lee Stanton at his eponymous showroom on La Cienega Boulevard in LA. An inlaid mahogany octagonal table with ebonized molding and an iron base at Lee Stanton. RM: Preferred cleaning materials?LS: Use a soft cloth made of terry or microfiber and clean intricate areas with a soft brush (a hard brush can scratch and damage patina). The showroom is set up as a living room. Photograph via Lee Stanton. RM: How best to maintain furniture?LS: The best way to protect the finish of your furniture is to polish it at least once a year (twice a year for pieces that get a lot of use) with a good-quality wax, such as CircaCare polishing Balm or CircaCare Paste Wax. Lee Stanton’s CircaCare line. Try to keep your pieces in a stable environment in which the temperature and relative humidity don’t fluctuate dramatically. A polished walnut armoire from Italy, circa 1860. RM: Common mistakes?LS: Furniture should be positioned at least two feet from any heat source. The reason for this is that antique and fine handmade furniture is constructed from air-dried timber and has far higher water content than mass-produced modern furniture, which is usually made of kiln-dried wood. Photograph by Sarah Lonsdale. My own water-stained kitchen table in need of help. If the marks are deep, you can try a ring remover and perhaps the finest steel wool. Be sure to apply it over the whole surface.