Handcrafted Luxury: Making our Gilded Candlesticks
handmade from reclaimed chair legs!
Handcrafted candlesticks, made with love
We love crafting these stunning gilded candlesticks from reclaimed furniture so we thought we’d share some details of our design and making process.
Sourcing
First we source the reclaimed chair and table legs – these are typically pieces that have been salvaged from broken or discarded furniture. We look for particularly attractive shapes – barley twist and bobbin turned legs are our favourites! We sometimes also use other parts of furniture such as this chair back.
Preparation
Next we trim the legs to remove the ends before cleaning them thoroughly. The cleaning process is very important as if the wood is dirty or greasy the paint won’t adhere well.
Any dents or cracks are then filled with wood filler and the whole piece is sanded to ensure a smooth finish.
Then a sanded wooden base is attached to give the piece stability and a hole is drilled in the top of the chair leg for the candle holder.
The candlestick is then carefully primed and then painted in a colour to match that of the chosen metal leaf. We sand the candlestick between coats to get a great finish.
Gilding
Now for the fun part – gilding! The candlestick is gilded by hand with real silver leaf. This involves painting a special glue, or ‘size’ on the candlesticks before carefully applying the metal leaf. The dyed silver leaf is particularly brittle so needs to be handled with care. Once all the loose flakes have been dusted off and the leaf smoothed, or burnished, with a soft cloth, the candlestick is degreased and several coats of specialist varnish are applied to protect the leaf and prevent tarnishing.
Finishing Touches
Finally a metal candle cup is glued into the hole ready to receive the candle and cork pads applied to the base to protect both the candlestick and the furniture it will be placed onto.
It is a long process and a lot of work but we think it’s worth it! The result is a beautiful, handmade piece of luxury, sustainable homeware.
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