The process of applying gold leaf to furniture is an ancient craft technique that probably originated four thousand years ago in North Africa. This report considers the use of gold leaf as it has been applied to furniture in Western cultures. The tools, materials, and techniques that have been consistently used throughout the centuries in its application and the relatively recent interest in the conservation and restoration of gilded furniture are discussed. The overall objective is to organize the knowledge available to the conservator of gilded furniture toward the end of positing logical and consistent statements about the stabilization and replacement of gold loss on furniture.