Beginnings . . .
Work of Man was founded and is owned and operated by the same party that introduced 20th Century Lighting over 20 years ago to provide the interior design community with quality recreations of antique and vintage lighting fixtures.
Showroom . . .
Work of Man (along with 20th Century Lighting) is housed in a new 10,000 sf Spanish Colonial Revival style courtyard facility - showroom and workshops — conveniently located in mid Los Angeles - just a mile off the 10 freeway (Fairfax exit).
Inventory . . .
Here you will find one of the largest collections of antique and vintage furniture, lighting and artwork in Los Angeles. The inventory ranges the whole gamut - from rare 17th Century French & English furniture to contemporary furniture, art and lighting - (a ton of antique & vintage lighting). Our curated inventory has been slowly collected over the past 20 years - stored away in anticipation of this new venture.
Many of our pieces of furniture are in need of restoration of varying degrees. The photos we show on each item page depict how the piece appears in its current "as-is"state today. Pieces that need major restoration are duly noted. Pieces that have already been restored are also noted. For these pieces, we attempt to show both before and after photos to highlight the extent of restoration.
The price posted for each item is the "as-is" price. If you are interested in purchasing a piece with additional restoration, please contact us and we will quote you a price for purchase + restoration.
In addition to our restoration work, we also customize unrestored pieces for adaptive reuse. Past examples have included converting a 4 poster single bed with great turned & carved posts into a king bed, adapting a buffet to be used as a bathroom vanity and converting an armoire into a standard depth bookcase. If you have ideas for adaptive reuse, please contact us & we can discuss options and prices.
Restoration Services . . .
Our 2 story workshop where we restore the furniture and lighting is located in the same complex as our two showroom buildings. When visiting the showroom you are welcome to tour our workshops where you can see first hand our craftsmen at work. We do offer restoration services for customer owned furniture, lighting and artwork. If you have a piece that you would like us to look at, please start by emailing photos & dimensions.
Mission Statement . . .
At Work of Man we are dedicated to preserving the Old World Craftsmanship that skilled tradesmen executed in their life work. When you look at a finely crafted piece of 18th Century furniture you are witnessing a work of art that the creator poured their heart & soul into. In todays world everything is rush, rush, rush, mass produced and devoid of human creativity. At Work of Man we take our time to make sure every restoration is done with the same pride and the same joy as that imputed by the original craftsman.
Book an Appointment . . .
We are open by appointment only. We welcome all visitors and hope to see you soon.