Bringing beauty to life

A furniture piece’s true beauty is brought to life in the finish process. Baker artisans prefer an Old World method of hand coloring, using an artist's palette of color applied with a small pad and a simple brush; adding one very thin layer at a time, applying and reapplying until it is perfect.

This method creates a remarkably clear finish that reveals the wood selected for an item and allows us to see it in the appropriate context of color, breakup, highlighting, antiquing, and sheen. The collective effect of these techniques is to nurture and coax the full beauty of the furniture to full, illustrious life.

Gilding

Whether traditional or contemporary, the luxurious furniture styles of every era have used gilding as a way to focus attention or provide an accent color. Combine the cost of gold leaf with the extraordinary skill required to apply and properly burnish it, and you can see why this remains highly specialized work that is today practiced by only a few artisans.