Search  for anything...

The Furniture Bible: Everything You Need to Know to Identify, Restore & Care for Furniture

  • Based on 730 reviews
Condition: New
Checking for product changes
$23.49 Why this price?
Holiday Deal · 40% off was $38.99

Buy Now, Pay Later


As low as $5 / mo
  • – 4-month term
  • – No impact on credit
  • – Instant approval decision
  • – Secure and straightforward checkout

Ready to go? Add this product to your cart and select a plan during checkout. Payment plans are offered through our trusted finance partners Klarna, PayTomorrow, Affirm, Afterpay, Apple Pay, and PayPal. No-credit-needed leasing options through Acima may also be available at checkout.

Learn more about financing & leasing here.

Free shipping on this product

This item is eligible for return within 30 days of receipt

To qualify for a full refund, items must be returned in their original, unused condition. If an item is returned in a used, damaged, or materially different state, you may be granted a partial refund.

To initiate a return, please visit our Returns Center.

View our full returns policy here.


Availability: In Stock.
Fulfilled by Amazon

Arrives Sunday, Dec 29
Order within 1 hour and 40 minutes
Available payment plans shown during checkout

Description

A Wall Street Journal Top 10 Crucial Home & Design Book for Beginners A Library Journal Best Book of the Year An Amazon Best Book of the Month Christophe Pourny learned the art of furniture restoration in his father’s atelier in the South of France. In this, his first book, he teaches readers everything they need to know about the provenance and history of furniture, as well as how to restore, update, and care for their furniture—from antiques to midcentury pieces, family heirlooms or funky flea-market finds. The heart of the book is an overview of Pourny’s favorite techniques—ceruse, vernis anglais,and water gilding, among many others—with full-color step-by-step photographs to ensure that readers can easily replicate each refinishing technique at home. Pourny brings these techniques to life with a chapter devoted to real-world refinishing projects, from a veneered table to an ebonized desk, a gilt frame to a painted northern European hutch. Rounding out this comprehensive guide is care and maintenance information, including how to properly clean leather, polish hardware, fix a broken leg, and replace felt pads, as well as recipes to make your own wax, shellac, varnish, stain, and more. Read more


Publisher ‏ : ‎ Artisan; Illustrated edition (November 4, 2014)


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 304 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1579655351


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 58


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.65 pounds


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.06 x 1 x 10.13 inches


Best Sellers Rank: #67,942 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #8 in Antique & Collectible Furniture (Books) #58 in Woodworking Projects (Books) #130 in Do-It-Yourself Home Improvement (Books)


#8 in Antique & Collectible Furniture (Books):


#58 in Woodworking Projects (Books):


Frequently asked questions

If you place your order now, the estimated arrival date for this product is: Sunday, Dec 29

Yes, absolutely! You may return this product for a full refund within 30 days of receiving it.

To initiate a return, please visit our Returns Center.

View our full returns policy here.

  • Klarna Financing
  • Affirm Pay in 4
  • Affirm Financing
  • Afterpay Financing
  • PayTomorrow Financing
  • Financing through Apple Pay
Leasing options through Acima may also be available during checkout.

Learn more about financing & leasing here.

Top Amazon Reviews


  • Great book
I don't dislike it. It's great and teaches everything you need to know about furniture
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 2, 2022 by Lexi Lipper

  • Fast delivery
Very informative book.
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 29, 2022 by Jen B.

  • Great book on how and what, but limited DIY
Great reference book to see what is possible and what different finishing techniques look like as an example. Perhaps not enough detail to successfully apply many of the techniques within, without investing in another book specific to learn the finer details. Learn how to French Polish furniture in three pages, not likely, but you can learn enough to determine if it fits your goal, skills, and workspace. Beautifully photographed, printed, and bound book. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 17, 2022 by JRulian

  • Knowing how to repair and refinish
I do not need all the information about antique furniture from Europe and eastern Europe. I want to know about US American, Canadian and occasionally Mexico, since I have always lived in the USA. The furniture from overseas isn't something I come across very often, and there is also that.
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 5, 2022 by LEAPH

  • Best Furniture Finishing Book I’ve Found!!
This quickly become my favorite furniture book of all time! I’m a decorative painter that also restores fine furniture & find a lot of books are filled with fluff that doesn't really give any new information or insight into age old practices or tries to keep their “techniques & products” a secret which eliminated the point of writing a book in this catagory. Unlike some of the others this book is FULL of information, wonderful examples, pictures, and shared tips & tricks on how to do each finish He quickly establishes his expertise in the field so as the reader you know to trust what he's teaching. Credibility & masters in their craft are becoming hard to find in a world filled with blogs & videos that will teach you how to do anything yourself. Being a master craftsman requires mentorship and years of experience, which Christophe has! The finishes he completes as examples are absolutely stunning! It starts out explaining to the reader how to differentiate periods of furniture, styles, places to shop, and how to become known in the industry as someone with a sharp eye. I particularly love the part that shows you how to figure out what the existing finish is (no matter the age) and how to fo about repairing or re-doing it. He does a wonderful job of explaining why certain pieces are worth more than others; depending on where they were purchased, the craftsman that have worked on them, and the time period in which they come from. This is a great resource for those of us who struggle to explain to people why something of value or antiquity is worth the price! I've not been able to put this down...it will live in my shop & surely be reached for over & over until worn and haggard. From someone whos purchased HUNDREDS of books in this area I can say this is a MUST OWN for anyone in the field or looking to refinish a piece of fine furniture while keeping with the period & original techniques. I’ve not found a better source to date! I cannot thank Christophe for willingly sharing his knowledge with us all and putting it into such a wonderful and easy to read format. If you want to refinish your own pieces of furniture and care for them properly do yourself a favor & GET THE BIBLE! ... show more
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 17, 2017 by Girl_Style

  • A good intro guide
I know very little about furniture building or restoration and thought this was a very approachable and practical guide. It also gave easy to understand instructions for how to undertake repairs while giving an honest heads up as to which repairs are best left to professionals. The book is about European fur inure and I would love to see this author collaborate with an expert in asian furnishings to create a similar book about some of the other styles of fur inure out there. It's an enjoyable read and a helpful manual. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 20, 2022 by M

  • A Thorough and Comprehensive Book on Refinishing
The best book I've found on the subject of refinishing for a home user. I'm a novice and have a lot of books on the subject on how to refinish furniture that I find at flea markets. This book is the best book I've found to take me from nervous novice to feeling confident enough to attempt a project. I started with a small table and the tips on sanding and filling were invaluable. I was very pleased with how the project turned out and it was my first ever attempt. I hope more practice makes it even better on future projects. Updated April 2019: This book gets better and better for my needs. Right now I smell like turpentine because I just finished making my own tinted wax to use as a grain filler. I am refinishing a couple of MCM cocktail chairs and the wood used is most likely beech which blotches terribly if not prepped properly. I took the advice of preparing a pre-treatment of shellac and denatured alcohol and what a difference it made in the staining! I custom mixed the stain because I wanted a certain color hue and the stain went on like a dream. I can't wait to see what the filler does. Not sure I'm ready for a french polish test and will most likely seal with just poly but these details have taken a couple of mass produced not very high end MCM chairs (which have great lines and are solid wood which is leagues ahead of anything now) and makes them look custom. I'm also doing the upholstery work and the videos of Upholstery on Broadway on Youtube has taught me everything you'll ever need to reupholster like a pro using old master techniques. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 22, 2017 by ELM

Can't find a product?

Find it on Amazon first, then paste the link below.