Testimonials

Douglas has been an invaluable support and source of expert marquetry knowledge to us in our recent dealings with him. He is a true artisan and impressed us with the quality of his work, and the time and care he takes over each project. We would highly recommend Douglas Bowman Furniture Restoration.

I am delighted with Douglas Bowman’s workmanship. He has beautifully restored my Bergère sun damaged three piece suite, carefully matching the stain and the French polishing. He has also restored and matched the inset marquetry on an Edwardian sofa and again, I am impressed by his skill and attention to detail. I have also seen some of his bespoke pieces of furniture often inlaid with exquisite marquetery and am looking forward to commissioning a piece in the future. Excellent workmanship and also a delightful manner. Thank you Douglas. Auriel Gibson.

A craftsman of the highest order, impeccable workmanship with excellent communication qualities, Douglas always kept me informed of progress with multiple furniture repairs. All repairs were completed in a timely manner and quotes were spot on!.
I can highly recommend Douglas, his work, his friendly nature and level of craftsmanship are all excellent.

Massive thanks to Douglas for the unique picture of our home he created using his marquetry skills. The attention to detail, and finish of this wall hanging is amazing. It’s a much admired piece by family and visitors.
I would recommend Douglas to anybody that wants something restored, or like us, a totally unique piece, that will never be replicated.

Douglas created a wonderful marquetry picture of our home. We consulted with him regarding colours and textures of the materials used for the picture, he engaged us in the process fully.
To say we a extremely pleased with the picture is an understatement. The word ‘genius’ is used far too often in my opinion BUT with Douglas, it is completely justified. I highly recommend him

Douglas has repaired and restored many items of furniture – particularly chairs – for our family over the last 25 years. The quality of work has been consistently high and he has never let us down. We wouldn’t dream of going anywhere else.

Douglas Bowman was recommended to me as I had 8 dining chairs that needed attention before they were reupholstered. Douglas did them so beautifully, and the attention to detail was wonderful. Each piece of furniture is returned with a detailed description of work carried out. A fascinating insight. “Dowels drilled out and new ones cut and trimmed. Washing off old glue with warm water and trim with chisel. Glue the front legs with traditional hot hide glue. This gells quickly to hold legs in place without clamps”.
I cannot recommend Douglas highly enough. His work is superb, his prices very fair and always returned on time.

We were in need of Douglas skills after a a nasty house fire. Douglas came to our rescue and managed to save several pieces that we could not just not bear to lose. His manner and work were exceptional and very reasonably priced. Our antique furniture was sympathetically restored to such a high standard and has never looked so good. Cannot recommend him highly enough. We will be returning to use his craftsmanship again.

Douglas is an outstanding furniture restorer and will always give a history of the piece he is looking after. He is also a very skilled carpenter and has done work for me with great results .

Douglas Bowman restored 6 ecclesiastical chairs for me. They were in rather a sorry state, but now look wonderful. The new wood was matched beautifully and the the finishing blended very well. I now have 6 sturdy chairs which look lovely and will last me a long time. The work was completed within the quoted timescale. A very professional service.

Douglas has looked after our furniture for the last 8 years giving excellent results to sometimes damaged items. The repaired work is impossible to differentiate from the original. I have also commissioned him to construct new pieces which have been delivered on time and within budget.

I have used Douglas Bowman for the last 10 years. He is the most excellent restorer, french polisher and his inlay work is outstanding. He has an amazing attention to detail and writes a thorough report after the completion of his task which we find most useful.

Recently had an old child’s high chair repaired and restored to its original condition. The information that I was able to give to Douglas about its original condition was very limited, however without prompting from myself he researched this type of chair and sent me pictures of what he thought the chair would have been like. We agreed what to do and I left it to him to finish the job. The result was that he carried out an outstanding restoration which involved some very skilful carpentry, staining and polishing without losing the originality of the chair. I would have no hesitation in recommending or using his services again.

We highly recommend Douglas. He took a great deal of care in repairing our recently inherited antique card table. He is extremely knowledgeable and exceptionally skilled in technique. It was an absolute pleasure to come across Douglas with his thoroughness, respect and passion for the job. The table is now restored to its full beauty and we are delighted.

The roll top desk I asked Douglas to restore has been in our family for many years. I inherited it over 10 years ago when my parents passed away, and have moved house numerous times since, dismantling the desk each time, and as a result, over the years the condition had deteriorated quite significantly.
Douglas repaired the mechanisms, fabricated new parts and tended to the wood with loving care and attention. The desk is as good as new, if not better. I’m thrilled, and highly recommend Douglas. His knowledge and expertise are incredible.

Douglas Bowman received our Queen Anne Lowboy with it’s water damaged inlaid top and broken leg which he assessed as in need of some TLC. His estimate was gratefully accepted and we awaited his call. The work to carry out all the necessary work took sometime but the end result well worth the wait for his restoration had completely transformed this little gem from a bygone age. We cannot recommend this master craftsman enough.

Douglas Bowan restored a valuable musical box and table for me- October 2023 .Here is my reply.
Dear Douglas,
Musical Box
1. What a clever fellow you are .
2. Thank you so much for a such a super job on the musical box.
3. It is absolutely fabulous and you have made the whole thing sparkle.
4. You obviously spent a lot of time on it and all your work is greatly appreciated.
5. I know now to whom I should direct any requests for cabinet work.
With best wishes
Andrew

Douglas did an excellent job restoring my table and gave a report of all the work done which was very helpful . I would thoroughly recommend using him for this type of work .

Excellent, friendly and professional service. My badly damaged chairs were expertly and lovingly restored. Highly recommended.