The time-consuming task of restoration

Period furniture restoration is a painstaking task as it may be impossible to acquire most of the components required to complete the procedure. Hinges, doorknobs, chest lifts, hooks and latches are hard to find unless you happened to find a collector with an identical piece that is beyond repair. Whether parts are readily available or not, you still need to know some basic information before considering antique furniture restoration.

Restoration guidelines

•    Begin your search for available materials required for antique Georgian Furniture restoration in your home. If that fails, call nearby antique dealers and shops and then try those farther away if needed. You can also do an online search. Always look for dealers that specialize in your piece’s particular are for they can offer better results.

•    Be ready to travel to get the necessary component for your antique furniture restoration. If they are available in another country, your best option is to have the parts flown in to you. Always be prepared to take the necessary precautions to secure your investment.

•    Seek professional advice. An antique Georgian Furniture restoration is a complicated procedure and it takes only one bad move to ruin your furniture for life. It is recommended that you hire the services of an expert. Most professionals will provide you quotes so select the best options before attempting to perform the restoration yourself.

•    Brace yourself for expenses. An antique restoration is a costly operation but it is worth every penny to preserve your cherished period piece.

Care and maintenance for antiques

The old but reliable saying, “An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure” correctly applies when it comes to caring for antique furniture. Here are some essential tips that may help you from ever needing an antique Georgian Furniture restoration.

•    Practice a regular cleaning and maintenance routine and stick faithfully to it. Always employ a soft piece of cloth to wipe clean your antique piece at least once a week.

•    Apply a thin coat of orange or linseed oil to your antique furniture every two months. This will prevent wax buildup and keep your piece shiny.

•    Do not expose your antiques to direct sunlight as they may fade or discolor.

•    Avoid using strong polishes, solvents or detergents  which will stain the antique permanently.

Antique mahogany furniture is likewise very expensive and if you are considering to add glamor to your home, then you will want to look into the possibility of purchasing antique reproduction furniture made from mahogany.

The elegance of mahogany

Intricately carved patterns and intense coloring are features that make an antique mahogany reproduction piece truly beautiful. It will add glamor and style to any room and should be the centerpiece if bought for your home. Vintage mahogany reproduction pieces are extremely popular and can make a very big impression whether you decide to buy a piece or a whole set of furniture.

Great market demand

While you won’t see antique mahogany furniture reproductions sold in ordinary antique shops, there still exists a great market demand for it. Craftsmen that construct antique reproduction furniture made from mahogany are extremely creative artisans and imbue their handiwork with elegance and class. Because of this, a lot of antique dealers snap up the pieces as soon as they hit the market.

Access the online stores

Searching the net can give you access to various online furniture stores that offer vintage mahogany furniture reproductions for sale at a very reasonable price. Since it still constructed out of mahogany, it still commands a somewhat hefty price tag, although not as expensive as the genuine item.

Furniture that is built to last

Each piece of antique reproduction furniture made out of mahogany is built to last and will still be appreciated by the next generation or two. They are intricately designed and beautiful to behold especially if set in the right location. They are durable and functional and can be useful for everyday purpose. Most mahogany reproductions are of a more conventional style and are ideal for areas designed for entertaining like offices, living room and dining area.

Even if it is not the real thing, you should care and maintain mahogany antique reproduction furniture in the same manner as you will care for genuine antique mahogany pieces. All it requires is a soft cloth and some loving affection and attention.  In return, it will add character, value and style to your home as well as reveal the good taste that you have.

Types of antique chests

There are a lot of options when choosing the right kind of vintage furniture chest to suit your taste and purpose. There are many types of antique furniture Chests of Drawers to choose from. Perhaps you may want a vintage hope chest. Or you may prefer a tall-boy period piece. What about an old-fashioned regular chest of drawers? Whatever you pick, you can be assured that this period piece will add a touch of class and elegance in any room.

18th century antique chests

You can also base your choice on the period or era it was constructed. You can purchase a Queen Anne oak period piece out of the 18th century with its graceful lines and curves. You can also opt for a straight-detailed or an ornately carved Georgian Chippendale mahogany chest of drawers out of the same period.

19th century antique chests

If you desire to purchase a 19th century antique furniture Chests of Drawers, you will want to consider the Regency style period pieces known for their bold curves and color. An enduring piece of antique furniture that you will surely treasure is the Victorian era which is made out of rosewood and walnut. Some of them come in simple design while some are heavy and dark-colored. The Victorian era is still very popular up to this day.

The best quality period chest of drawers are constructed with solid hardwood. Because they are solidly constructed to be sturdy, these pieces can be really heavy, averaging a weight of 250 pounds.

Many period antique furniture Chests of Drawers are patterned after famous era antiques such as the Victorian era which is considered the most popular antique style.

Choose according to style and functionality

Most antique aficionados buy antique chests because they admire the way these pieces look and wish to add glamor to their home decor. They also go for its functionality to store precious jewelry, photos and other memorabilia.

Whether you want to add an antique chest to your period collection or just want it to add character to a special room, there will always be a fine period piece to match your taste and the functionality you need.

Visit single-owner antique shops

Rather than hunt for period pieces in antique shops in malls, it is better to get your English antique furniture from specialized antique stores or single-owner antique shops. They offer personalized service and may even give you a lower price.

It is best to by in bulk especially if an antique item you are interested in is sold at greatly discounted prices. You can order directly from single-owner shops where you can talk terms about the price.

Scour the flea markets and auctions

You can also find great antique furniture at a terrific bargain in flea markets and garage antique sales. You can be alerted of upcoming antique fairs and flea market sales online where you can find a slew of information.

Another great choice to shop for English antique furniture is in auctions. Auctions provide the antique buyers the opportunity to shave off some cash on the mark-up prices of many antique stores. It is, however advised to ask the auction house for a guarantee on its products.

Do a background check

Be sure to examine the antique furniture’s history before finalizing your purchase. Be sure to do a background check on the product’s manufacturer, the period when it was built, construction details, and who the previous owner was.

Get detailed information on the method and frequency of maintenance the period piece had undergone in the past. Take note of its last repair or restoration and who performed the restoration and what process was applied. These background information will come in handy when evaluating the condition of an English antique furniture.

Look for the small details

Check the desired furniture for any hidden defects or imperfections that may warrant the need for immediate repair or restoration sometime in the near future. Check for wormholes on the wood’s surface. Also look for the presence of saw marks on the surface, behind the chests or underneath the tables. Be sure that the English antique furniture is free from visible cracks, defacement or scratches.

Examine closely the period, style and designs on the period piece to ascertain if it is the genuine item and not a clever fake. Take a close look at the type of joints and the crude screws and pegs to join it. Reproductions use modern joint systems, glues and screws.

The market value of an antique item depends on various factors related to the item itself. The workmanship, style, material used and the period in which it was constructed are some of the factors that determine an antique furniture’s value. It is, therefore, proper to properly maintain and preserve your precious investment. Here are some tips to clean and preserve antique furniture.

Clean antique furniture with care

Make cleaning antique furniture a part of your daily routine so it won’t be neglected. Dusting should be done every other day or, at he very least, once a week. Not all materials are appropriate as dusting device; they might cause some scratches. Use a soft cloth instead.

Avoid using just any kind of sprays or common furniture polish for cleaning antique furniture English antiques. The dust-repelling formulas in sprays and polishes contain harmful chemicals that may stain the antique furniture’s wood and create weak spot.

Certain polishes do a great job without damaging your period pieces. Orange oil is ideal for weekly cleaning of antique furniture. After this, you should polish it once every two months using furniture wax. Using a thin coat is enough to give it a healthy shine without bringing on wax build-up.

Wood protection is a must

Certain factors can cause wood damage in antique furniture English antiques so proper care and preventive steps should be observed to protect your investment. Never let the wood get in direct contact with anything that may scratch it. Immediately wipe up any water spillage before it reaches the wood. Cleaning solvent spillage on wood need special treatment. Dab the solvent stain using a soft cloth until all of it has been removed. Wiping or rubbing it off will just spread the stain further.

Protect your antique furniture from direct sunlight. Exposure to direct sunlight can cause discoloration and fading which will be impossible to repair later on.

Control the temperature and environment

See to it that your antique furniture English antiques is housed in an environment protected from the elements. Maintain the right temperature for your antique pieces all year round. Use a humidifier or temperature control if necessary. This will help stabilize the temperature and air humidity. Putting up the extra cash will protect your bigger investment and will be worth every penny in the long run.

Look at the proportion

Original antique furniture are not equally proportioned because wood, which most period pieces are built of, shrinks over time. If it is otherwise, chances are you may be looking at a counterfeit. When in doubt, examine the item from different angles in a well-lighted area.

Test for functionality

Examine if all the parts, including the decorative ones, are intact and functioning.

A good period piece should be solidly built. An antique piece ceases to have value if it loses its usefulness. How can you appreciate a Windsor chair if you cannot sit on it? Most antique dealers allow customers to test Antique English Furniture for verification. This method is highly recommended by experts.

Spotting an original

You must be aware of period pieces that have undergone restoration or refinishing. These methods diminishes the value of an antique piece especially with a shabbily done job.

One proof of an antique’s authenticity is its age. An antique by age definition should not be less than a hundred years old. Purchasing your furniture pieces from a reputable antique dealer will give you confidence that the product you have is an original. They can even provide you a certificate of provenance which will show your antique furniture’s place of origin.

Look for the layer of patina in antique furniture. Its presence will determine the age of an antique. Patina is the naturally occurring coating that an Antique English Furniture gets from years and years of accumulated dirt and polish. Patina occurs naturally and faking it is almost impossible.

Look for color changes

Examine the item for changes in color and appearance. Pay extra attention to the surface texture of an antique furniture. A fine piece of period furniture will show a flat color except for some shades that may have occurred over time.

Use due diligence

Ask the furniture dealer to provide you with more details about the period and style of a particular period piece. You may also go online to access additional information.

If you are in doubt about the authenticity of a particular Antique English Furniture, you can always seek the advice of experienced collectors and antique experts.

Gothic and Colonial furniture

France produced the most admired Gothic furniture known for their foliage themes, like leaves and vines. Rococo and baroque stood out among other Gothic styles for the remainder of the century.

A lot of the famous furniture designs sprang up from England. As Gothic pieces diminished in popularity, the Early and Late Colonial furniture styles were ushered in. With pine as its primary wood source, these heavily-decorated furniture featured square lines. A standard and popular example of this style is the Windsor chair.

Queen Anne and Georgian designs
The early 18th century saw the rising popularity of Queen Anne designs which had simple detailing and graceful curves and lines. These antique furniture styles were usually built using oak, mahogany maple, walnut and cherry.

At the end of the 18th century, four famous types of Georgian furniture style have emerged. Georgian Chippendale were famous for their ornate carvings; Georgian Adam is dominated by straight lines. Georgian Hepplewhite furniture had straight tapering legs, with a design influenced by Adam. Georgian Sheraton added more emphasis on straight detailing. All of the designs were constructed with mahogany.

The Regency and Victorian era designs

The Regency style made its appearance at the beginning of the 19th century. Mahogany was still the wood of choice. Bolder curves were introduced along with color. Meanwhile, in the United States, the emergence of the Federal era saw antique furniture styles heavily influenced by well-known English designs. For about a century, rosewood and walnut became the popular choice in wood. Simple designs of detailing gave way to bulkier and dark-colored furniture. This period is known as the Victorian era and its style is still very popular up to the present.

The most important factor of all

No matter what the style, condition is always the most important factor to consider. You should be able to tell whether the furniture had its original parts or fabric replaced. Antique furniture used crude hand-made pins that displayed uneven tread width and arrangement. Modern furniture construction involves the use of glue and screws to fit joints together. Remove one of the screws to determine the originality and value of a period piece. Although the bonnet top highboy is prized as one of the most valuable antique furniture styles, any furniture that features intricate carvings is likewise considered as valuable.

What do antique furniture stand for?

Furniture selection follow various criteria like choice of material, type, usefulness and aesthetic value. Antique furniture, however, belong to a higher bracket with a stricter set of criteria. A period furniture piece is normally a form of decorative art. As time passed, furniture has transcended from its basic and fundamental purpose to become a symbol of social position and personal preference. Antique furniture can also stand for religious or cultural symbolism and testimony of the artisan’s woodworking skill.

It is the daunting task of choosing and buying the right antique furniture for sale that scares the wits out of new collectors. A materially oriented society dictates that you have a knowledge of your antiques and know where to get the best. As if that isn’t enough, there are a lot of clever fakes and reproductions going around in the antique marketplace. In this age of competition, how in the world will you know if the period piece you are looking at is the real deal?

Walk the walk, talk the talk

You may know of some classy and fashionable people fuss over which antique furniture should go with what in their modern homes. You here them refer to Victorian, Georgian, Edwardian or Regency period pieces but don’t know exactly what they are talking about. The best way to be with the “in” antique crowd is to acquaint yourself with their “antique lingo” by seriously reading magazines and book on the subject. Attend antique shows and auctions and familiarize yourself with popular trade terms in the process. You can also easily gather a lot of antique furniture for sale information on the internet which is a readily accessible source of knowledge.

Looking for flaws

Experienced antique furniture buyers have a wealth of knowledge of techniques used to recognize certain period pieces and prove its authenticity. The market value of a period furniture piece is determined by its flaws and imperfections like unoriginal material, defective joints, replaced portions, or overzealous cleaning that erodes the layer of patina that gives an antique greater value.

You can select and buy any antique furniture for sale with confidence as long as you acquaint yourself with the right knowledge of its value.

For starters, be sure to identify the particular period styles that you prefer. Are you into Victorian or would Regency pieces suit your fancy? If you are searching for specific period pieces, be sure you have familiarized yourself in the common attributes and designs of the style. This will make you readily recognize the item once you see it.

Veneering

Recognizing veneering is one practical antique furniture appraisal technique that is worth learning. The process of veneering involves constructing the main body of the furniture with less expensive wood and then covering it with thin pieces of more expensive wood. Although this may appear as some method to cut production cost, furniture manufacturers soon began using the wood’s natural grain. There are a lot of fine antique furniture works that made use of natural wood grain into their design.

Patina

Looking for the patina in antique furniture is a reliable method of antique furniture appraisal. The patina is basically the naturally occurring gloss that an antique furniture gets from decades of accumulated dirt and polish. Patina builds up naturally and is almost impossible to duplicate. The patina indicates how some period pieces have been used or handled. There may be areas of wear in the furniture where it was often handled or lifted. If you observe that the patina is unnaturally consistent and smooth, this may indicate that some imperfections in the piece have been concealed or given an aged look that doesn’t go with the furniture.

Construction discrepancies

Have an idea of how the furniture was constructed. Recognize how the joints were put together. Does it involve old techniques like tendon, mortise and dovetailing? These methods are older than today’s use of glues and screws to hold joints together. If you notice screws, do a closer examination. If screws are of the recent types, you might be looking at a fake.

Another antique furniture appraisal step is to ascertain that the furniture has not been “married”. In antique furniture lingo, a “married” item means that two different pieces of furniture have been joined together as one item either for decorative or utility purpose. Though this does not diminish the piece’s appearance, it certainly brings down its value. Look for patina differences or more recent joints or screws.

Whether you are a collector or a dealer, knowledge in recognizing genuine and fake antique pieces is a must to guarantee you get the best deals possible.

Antique furniture are classified as exceptional period pieces that are more than a hundred years old and have continued to hold its charm to collectors. Various antique furniture such as Victorian, Georgian, Edwardian and Regency period pieces provide their unique flair to match any modern home’s surrounding.

What makes period items valuable?

The scarceness of period furniture dictates the market value of antiques. The rarer the period piece, the higher it is in value. Purchase your items only from esteemed antique furniture dealers. Because the Association of Art & Antiques Dealers (LAPADA) ensures that their members observe their code of practice, you can be assured your purchased antiques are of the highest quality.

An antique furniture’s value is determined by its condition. Some items that some dealers pass as flawless period pieces are actually repaired or restored. Genuine antiques should reveal the physical effects of aging. Well-preserved antiques are best appreciated in their original state. This unretouched and well-preserved condition makes antique furniture truly valuable.

Precautions on online purchase

A slew of valuable information about antique furniture and their dealers can be accessed online. Your web search for Georgian furniture will bring up numerous antique furniture dealers sites selling the item, including its price, depending on its condition. Be aware that when a period item looks too perfect, chances are it might be a clever fake or has undergone an extensive restoration process that may cut down its value.

Online antique furniture sites are great when searching for information but be cautious when purchasing antique pieces over the internet. A website cannot offer you a first-hand and up-close examination of the desired item and web photos can conceal damages or imperfections. Request for detailed pictures from online antique furniture merchants that can expose flaws in the item. A truly reliable antiques dealer will only be too happy to accommodate your request.

Purchasing your period pieces from respectable antique furniture dealers will offer you an assurance that the product you have is the real thing. They will even provide you a certificate of provenance which will show your antique’s place of origin.

Proper care and maintenance of antiques

Antique furniture may last for a long, long time provided they are handled with care and maintained properly. Ask your dealer for information about  its care and upkeep. Avoid using extreme methods of cleaning your antiques as this will remove its patina which forms over time and devalue your antique in the long run.

The appropriate care and maintenance of antique furniture will ensure that it will be admired and appreciated by generations to come.