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Founded 1987

Where Tradition Meets Devotion

Heritage Home Care was born from a simple conviction: the objects that carry our family stories deserve the same respect and skill that created them in the first place.

Our Story

From a London Apprenticeship to Newbury Street

Inside the Heritage Home Care woodworking workshop

In the winter of 1971, a seventeen-year-old Robert Callahan stepped into J.W. Turner & Sons, a Bermondsey cabinet-making shop that had operated continuously since 1843. Under the watchful eye of Arthur Turner III, Robert learned the foundational principles that would define his career: patience is not a virtue in restoration — it is a requirement.

After years of working across workshops in Paris, Florence, and Edinburgh, Robert returned to the United States in 1985. Two years later, with a modest set of hand tools and an unwavering standard of excellence, he opened Heritage Home Care in a converted carriage house on Boston's Newbury Street.

What began as a one-man operation now employs twelve full-time artisans, including three accredited horologists, two upholstery specialists, and a conservator trained at the Smithsonian. Yet the workshop's guiding ethos remains unchanged: every piece that enters our doors is treated as if it were our own family's most cherished possession.

Our Methods

Dedication to Traditional Techniques

Hand-planing a walnut board with traditional tools

Hand-Cut Joinery

We rely on mortise-and-tenon, dovetail, and dowel joints executed entirely by hand. Machine-cut joints may be faster, but they lack the precision fit and long-term durability that hand-cut connections provide. Many of our repairs are designed to outlast the original construction.

Applying French polish finish to an antique surface

French Polish & Hand-Rubbed Finishes

We never use spray-on polyurethane. Every surface is finished by hand using shellac-based French polish or oil-rubbed techniques that are faithful to the period of the piece. The result is a depth of luster that modern finishes simply cannot replicate.

Period-correct fabric swatches for upholstery restoration

Period-Correct Materials

From hide glue sourced from the same recipe used in the eighteenth century, to hand-forged brass hardware, we insist on materials that match the era of each piece. Authenticity is not an aspiration — it is our baseline standard.

Our Team

Experts Who Care as Much as You Do

Our workshop is staffed by specialists, not generalists. Each artisan brings a distinct area of mastery, ensuring that every restoration is handled by the person most qualified to do the work.

Margaret Chen — Lead Conservator

Margaret holds a Master's in Conservation from the Winterthur/University of Delaware program and spent eight years at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. She oversees all structural assessments and conservation plans for high-value and museum-grade pieces.

David Moreau — Master Horologist

Certified by the American Watchmakers-Clockmakers Institute, David has repaired and restored more than 1,200 timepieces, from eighteenth-century bracket clocks to early twentieth-century railroad chronometers. His specialty is rebuilding worn movements to factory specifications.

Eleanor Hatch — Upholstery Specialist

Eleanor trained at the Royal School of Needlework in London before joining our team in 2005. She works exclusively with traditional upholstery methods — hand-tied coil springs, horsehair padding, and hand-stitched decorative finishes — to preserve the integrity of each seat and cushion.

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