This doctor makes house calls.(Michael Waltons antique furniture specialists)

Living with antique furniture provides immense pleasure, but it also comes with responsibilities. Whether made by a cabinetmaker working in a rural town in New England in the eighteenth century using indigenous woods like pine or curly maple or by a fully trained ebeniste working in Paris fashioning luxurious pieces for a member of the royal family using rare and exotic woods like amboyna and ebony, all such furniture needs care and maintenance.

There is the usual wear and tear associated with careless vacuuming around the legs of case pieces and seating furniture, not to mention polishing furniture hardware using solvents that are harmful to the surrounding wood. Then, as furniture reacts to extremes in temperature and humidity, there are the problems of popped veneers and inlays. Routine maintenance calls for careful polishing of the wood and the cleaning of brass hardware in order to keep furniture glowing as it did when it was first made. Of course, with some pieces, such as American furniture that predates the Federal period, those in the "leave it alone school" covet untouched finishes dulled with the patina of age. No matter one's preferences, at times a furniture restorer is needed to bring pieces back to their original appearance.

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One such restorer is Michael Walton, who served a four-year apprenticeship in chair- and cabinetmaking in Ireland, where he received a National Craft Certificate from the Foras Aisenna Saothair. Walton spent part of his apprenticeship in Dublin at an antiques ...