Changing her day job in a chameleon-like way is nothing new for Juliet Lawrence Wilson. The former journalist, chef, restaurant owner and hairdresser is now turning her hand to something new in furniture restoration.
She buys second hand pieces of furniture, having cast her expert eye over them in the auction room or shop, and brings them to her base at Broughton Place where they are made into something much more spectacular with a completely refreshed look.
The new business allows her to do her bit for the circular economy by refurbishing older pieces of furniture which might otherwise have come to the end of their useful lives.
Juliet said: “Some of these pieces of furniture would otherwise be unwanted. What would anyone do with these in their original state? I reclaim them and give them a future.”
A cocktail cabinet is for someone who entertains and who mixes a cocktail or two at home. Juliet casually explains that she removed a couple of shelves to make more room for the bottles and glasses it will hold, put in some lighting, painted it and added glass shelving and mirrors. Telling me what she has done to completely transform the piece into something very elegant, she makes it all sound pretty easy, but each piece takes days to complete. The cabinet was already unusual, but has been made even more so with double hinged doors which lie flat against the sides when in use. Juliet said: “There is a big difference in serving drinks from your kitchen, or serving them from something which looks like these beautiful cabinets.”
She has also refreshed some mirrors which would suit any New Town apartment with the addition of new gold or black and gold paint. Juliet said: “I like black and gold as a colour combination and think it looks really classy. That’s why this other piece is outlined in gold on black.”
She is referring to the walnut topped cabinet below the mirror, which has been polished up and also given the black and gold touch to refresh it all topped off with new horse’s head handles. She explained: “This piece would only have looked good in an older property before, but now with these details it would now look good in a modern setting.”
And then there are the lamps which began life as billiard table legs. The shop at 2a Broughton Place was formerly a coffee shop and the table below is made from the counter top left behind.
As well as finding old furniture to reclaim them for the 21st century, Juliet is also happy to discuss with customers any furniture which they have which would benefit from a makeover, or she is happy to be commissioned to find something which would suit a particular interior. She can also make ottomans to any size, covering them with material and securing the buttons by “tufting”.
Juliet says she uses a lot of Craig & Rose paints as they are of “good quality and have a good colour range and a nice finish”.
One of the loveliest pieces was formerly used to store a church organist’s sheet music next to the organ itself. It had slanted shelves to put the music on, and the metal railing round the top kept the sheet music in place there. This cabinet has been given a new finish and revved up with tropical wallpaper inside. Again, a piece for the mixologists out there.
The Charles Rennie Mackintosh style chairs shown above are sadly already sold, but Juliet explained: “They were just so old-fashioned looking and I thought they needed something very different because of the detail on the backs. They are now very eye-catching and have attracted a lot of attention.”
The standard lamp above has been overhauled and Juliet stripped the varnish off the wooden base, giving it a new finish with wax. She then made the bespoke top out of wooden batons sewn together onto a lampshade.
The art in the shop is also Juliet’s own work – for example the Owl in Half-light shown in the photo below. One thing that interests her a lot at the moment is creating decorative pieces of art which are all for sale and which are hanging on the wall in the shop. Again these can be commissioned in any size.
Upstairs in the shop is Juliet’s workspace where she has a large Georgian-style dining table with “horrible” varnish on it. She explained: “I stripped the varnish off, sanded it down and will apply a compass design to the surface in blue and gold. It would be nice for a boardroom or a dining room and has a terrific base with huge feet.”
She is also just beginning to make some coffee tables from scaffolding boards, saying: “This range will be a bit more modern a bit more masculine. I quite like the vintage furniture but it’s good to have a choice for customers living in modern properties.”
A League of Its Own Furniture 2A Broughton Place EH1 3RX Thursday to Saturday or by appointment.
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
