Thakeham Furniture

Welcome to our shop, Thakeham Furniture, in Petworth, West Sussex, UK. Established in 1987 by Tim and Belinda Chavasse, we are a small family firm specialising in fine English antique furniture from the Georgian and Victorian periods. We stock a good range of 18th and 19th century antique furniture with an emphasis on originality, good colour and patina. Browse our extensive, user friendly website, known as one of the best antique furniture websites in the UK.

Thakeham Furniture is a small, family business, established by Tim and Belinda Chavasse in 1987. Tim and Belinda met at college, whilst studying to become antique furniture restorers - Tim coming from Agricultural College, and brought up with antiques, and Belinda with a degree in Art History. Our colleague Anthony Tester, a highly skilled restorer, has been with us from the start. The business, started at Thakeham in Sussex, has evolved from gaining experience working on furniture for dealers and collectors, to trading ourselves: firstly from premises in Pulborough, along with antique fairs.

The finish, or 'patina' of a piece of antique furniture is crucial. Here at Thakeham Furniture we specialise in preserving the original patina as much as possible; not only is it intrinsic to the value, it is often a great part of the beauty of a piece. Years of polishing with beeswax builds up a lovely soft sheen and includes the marks and stains of its life. Sometimes we find the outline of a little pair of embroidery scissors! Occasionally, if the original finish is beyond repair, we do French polish, but most of the furniture that comes into our showroom just needs a good clean and a wax.

There's a lot of wonderful content in the November issue of Homes and Antiques. We are chuffed to have a couple of our pieces featured in "Buying Brown Furniture" in which Dominique Corlett talks to Brownrigg UK about its resurgence. It's so great to see people are waking up to the value and undeniable quality craftsmanship of "brown furniture". A fan of Queen Anne and Georgian pieces, George points out that "Georgian furniture has appealing straight lines, and goes well in a contemporary setting".