In this thesis, a previously made restoration plan for a decoratively painted wooden cabinet was carried out. The plan had originally been prepared in the spring of 2022, but was now expanded for the thesis. The restoration process of the privately owned cabinet was documented in detail. The focus of the thesis was to strengthen the brittle and cracked paint layer so that it could withstand normal handling in the future. The other objective of the restoration was to retouch and reconstruct the decoratively painted surface of the cabinet, thus restoring its original floral pattern.

Another aim of the thesis was to find context for the cabinet and a reason for the restoration process. The cabinet had been brought to Finland from Sweden around 2010 but its origin, time of manufacturing or the manufacturer were all unknown. The only information available was provided by the cabinet’s current owner, but most of its history has been lost to time. Finnish Museums Association’s guide for significance analysis was applied for this purpose, though the cabinet is not a museum object. The other research methods used in the thesis were qualitative methods, the main one being observational.

The project started with the thorough documentation of the cabinet, which included photographing and making technical drawings of it and examining its materials. A restoration plan was constructed based on the results. After that the restoration process started with consolidation of the surface treatment using Deffner & Johann’s technical gelatin and Lascaux’s Medium for consolidation. Following this the surface was cleaned using a soft brush and a vacuum cleaner and water-ethanol solution. The hollows left in the damaged paint and primer were filled with Modostuc wood filler and the floral pattern was reconstructed and retouched using Laropal A-81 aldehyde resin mixed with pigments.

After the restoration, the cabinet and its decoratively painted surface can once again withstand normal use. The floral pattern is significantly more coherent, and the cabinet can now be placed in Koitsanlahti Manor.