Customising Traditional Furniture: Yes or No?

It’s clear here at Distinctive Chesterfields that we love all things handmade. After all, our beautiful collection of chesterfield furniture is made entirely by the fair hands of our talented team of craftsmen.

On a daily basis, we take gorgeously soft bovine leather hides and transform them into something to cherish forever – a stunning piece of furniture. For that reason alone, we take our proverbial hats off to anyone who spends time creating something lovely by hand.

Division of Opinion

But what about customising furniture? Of course, in our Honley workshop we’re fans of traditional furniture – and you don’t get pieces more traditional and authentic in style than the chesterfield – but we’re not sure where we stand on the customisation of older pieces into something more modern.

It’s something which has divided opinion in our busy office, with half of the staff saying they think old furniture deserves to be treated to a wave of a magic – and crafty – wand. Others, however, think it should be preserved and truly appreciated for what it is, and how it looks.

Pictured: An upcycled piece from Tudor Oak Furniture

We put a question out on Twitter a few days ago, asking our followers what they thought of the trend to customise old and unloved pieces of furniture. The people at Kent-based Tudor Oak got back to us straight away, saying customisation got a big ‘thumbs up from them’. They told us: “As you can see from the photo [above], this is exactly what we’ve been doing.” Above, they’ve taken an old piece and added a lick of paint here and there to it to transform it into something truly unique.

Trina of the blog Let’s Build a House says ‘family heirlooms should speak for themselves’ and be left alone, but garage sale finds are a ‘free for all’.

And in an article on the Daily Mail’s website, customising recycled furniture is seen as a ‘beautiful way to help the environment’. But where do you stand on the subject? We’d love to know what you think.