Let's say a wooden table has been passed down to you for several generations. Over the long years, this table has been painted many times, bumped countless times and simply sits there without any life to it. But the story that goes with it is that your great-great-grandpa saved his hard earned coins over a long period to get his wife this special table. It cost more than anything else in the house, but it was bought with love for a special lady. The original intent was lost, however, over the succeeding years and now it's just a multi-coated table in the attic. You now have the opportunity to bring it back to life, back to the way it looked the day your ancestor brought it home to his beloved wife. It can't just be stripped down in haphazard fashion. Some thought must go into it.
To start restoring anything, the restorer must be familiar with the original intent of the design. This can be discovered through the Internet or in person with antique dealers and aficionados. If there's a picture, better still a photo, of an original, the work will be easier because there is a defined goal to reach. Anything from a piece of furniture to a building must be handled with care. This means fine instruments such as a toothbrush or a smaller brush, delicate sanding and careful application of new materials.
The restoration of a building is a major undertaking. For example, the Glove Theater in Gloversville, NY, was built in 1916 as a vaudeville and moviehouse in the small industrial city. It was used and abused for many years until, with the old city dying, it lay empty for two decades. Then a group that wanted to bring life back to the theater got together and began to work. The first and most obvious problem was the collapsing roof. But other things like missing or broken classic theater seats, peeling wallpaper and the rotting stage all had to be considered. This group got grants to start the restoration more than a decade ago, but has not finished yet. The grants, however, allowed the group to search for skilled artisans who could do each piece of the restoration. Fortunately, there were many examples of similar theaters still in use, so photos from these were used along with photos from the Glove's heyday. After the roof was fixed, work began on the seats, the stage and the walls, and the chandelier, with artisans working on parts that fit their expertise.
People specialize in restoring paintings and other works of art, often studying in school and then under masters of the techniques. Technology has helped this because with X-rays and other viewing mechanisms, restorers can get a feel for what the original looked like. They then can begin the painstaking work. With paintings in particular, the wrong chemicals or the wrong use of chemicals can cause damage to the original paintings. When restoring something like the Mona Lisa, this is unacceptable.
Old homes have so much character, many people who buy them want them to look just as they did when they were built, sometimes 200 or more years ago. Here, a lot of new techniques and implements can be used, especially power tools. For some fine art work, finer and sometimes older techniques must be used. This includes fine molding, staircases and outside trim. Still, for the big jobs, such as restoring hardwood floors or painting or wallpapering ceilings and walls, modern equipment can be used.