Marco De Lellis is a traditionalist when it comes to fixing furniture. The Italian native feels any furniture should be restored by using techniques and processes that have endured generations, some even dating back to the 18th century.
After learning the craft of restoration from his grandfather, De Lellis traveled overseas to the United States to start his own furniture restoration company. Today, he fixes up antique and modern furniture items at Marco’s Art of Restoration, a 5,500-square-foot workshop located at 57 East 2nd St. in Mineola.
“We take furniture and get consent from the customer. We go in (the workshop) and see the furniture. We give an explanation of what kind of furniture they have,” De Lellis said.
De Lellis says he is able to look at any furniture piece and identify the makeup of it. With just a look, he is able to point out the type of wood that was used to build the piece, when the piece was actually made and what process the initial creator used in order to create it. He then takes the piece apart in order to begin looking at ways to improve it, whether it’s remaking certain parts, staining the piece, refinishing or anything else it may need.
In his eyes, what makes De Lellis’ business so unique is that, instead of going to a retail repair shop and getting your furniture remade in a machine, you can go to him to get it redone by hand.
“We try to save as much of the originality of the piece. (The different processes) covers multiple centuries,” De Lellis said.
While De Lellis says he can restore any furniture piece, his specialty is in restoring pianos, specifically from the 18th and 19th century. He can restore and tune any historical or modern piano sent to him. He’s worked with many private collectors in refurbishing string keyboard instruments, as well as schools such as The Juilliard School, Brooklyn Conservatory, Queens College and the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
“My father worked on conservatory music,” De Lellis said. “My grandfather worked in furniture and musical instruments, which is why I learned how to fix pianos. I started restoring pianos back in Italy. Restoring, rebuilding, tuning the piano, servicing the piano. A few years back, I was the president of the Piano Technician Guild (of New York).”
De Lellis has also worked on various major projects outside of piano work. One of the biggest projects he worked on in his time on Long Island was rebuilding an entire courtroom for the Nassau County Court. He also restored old furniture in the Appellate Division Courtroom.
De Lellis and his staff want customers to know that they can put trust in Marco’s Art of Restoration as the business will make sure that their furniture is taken seriously and will be handled with lots of care. De Lellis wants the customers to appreciate their furniture for generations and wants them to realize their visions. What they will get in return is an authentic reimaging of their piece.
“We don’t improvise anything,” he said. “We just apply techniques that belong to us for generations. We don’t go into any hardware store and buy a can of finisher. We do the right thing with the right material. We import almost everything from Italy. It’s what I learned in my grandfather’s workshop. You want to give customers the real volume.”
For more information, visit www.marco-artofrestoration.com or call 516-741-2163.
