Welcome to Tin House Studio, a boutique upholstery workshop specialising in antique restoration and conservation, custom fabrics and furnishings, curtains, blinds and headboards.

With over 30 years of combined experience, our design specialists rewind the clock on those unique pieces that you cannot part with. Our team includes master upholsterers and furniture conservators. We are determined to forge strong, personal connections with our customers in order to deliver individually tailored care.

Julia Burton

Having spent ten years in the corporate world, Interior design & upholstery started as a hobby that for a while combined with a busy homelife and children. Restoration of a Victorian Townhouse was followed by projects for other people including a gorgeous Georgian buy-to-let, a cute vintage café and a Scottish mansion that progressed to a small business sourcing & restoring furniture for private clients.  

Continual learning and education has always been important; Julia's time at Christie’s, studying and handling the most exceptional examples of decorative art from the Renaissance to modern day informs everything she does. 

The knowledge gained at London Met has made Julia appreciate the importance of time spent at the upholstery bench, honing & refining skills to constantly develop. Skills that are applied to traditional restorations or new contemporary interpretations of the pieces undertaken at Tin House Studio. 

Julia has had a long association with Norway and Denmark and a fascination with the purity of Scandinavian Design, Minimalism and particularly Mid-Century Modern her interpretation is however often combined with a little touch of English clutter and vintage eclectic.

Jonathan Shirley

Jonathan has been running his own business called Jonathan Shirley for 30 years, a family business creating beautiful furniture for its customers all over the country.

Passion has always been at the heart of the business. He cares deeply about his work with furniture, and his strong influence and commitment to uncompromising standards of workmanship are always evident. With a team of dedicated craftsmen, Jonathan enjoys close, long-term relationships with customers, his unassuming style ever popular.

Furniture is not just his business, though – it’s his life. He started studying design, then furniture design and making, and went on to work as a French polisher in London and locally as a cabinet maker.

In 1989, Jonathan won a coveted place on the British Antique Dealers Association course in Restoration and Conservation of Antique Furniture at the elite West Dean College near Chichester.

Now at Tin House Studio with a fully equipped traditional workshop, and a small select team of handpicked staff, Jonathan Shirley still restores furniture which includes veneer work, marquetry, traditional wax polishing and upholstery.