A few days ago I wrote about the newly delivered oak settle that is to be our latest project, and how I was initially disappointed at the shabby state it was in. I needn’t have worried.

A couple of hours in the garden on a sunny afternoon and lots of elbow grease, soon had it looking much better, and giving us a hint of it’s former glory.

The colour was once more deep and warm and the hand carved panels were splendid, now the residue of white ‘gunk’ had been cleaned off them.

The whittled ‘rocket sticks’ made excellent pegs once we had stained them an appropriate colour, and the ‘wardrode’ seat gave us the foundation we needed for the new cushion.

See what you think of the job so far.

To be honest the picture makes the seat look a lot better than it actually is. If it really looked as good as it appears here we’d just leave it polished and forget the cushion.

But it’s pretty rough close to, so that isn’t an option. Therefore the next job is to sort out the upholstery for the new cushion. Watch this space.