Antique Furniture Buying Tips

By Author: John Cory
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Purchasing antique furniture demands a bit more work than is required when you buy modern furniture. Making a good purchase means that you need to be able to make a decision of value based not only on style, age, and maker but also on condition, history, and rarity. That can make buying antiques slightly difficult, especially if you are not an antique expert. Because determining the true value and validity of an advertised antique is difficult you need to either be an expert or hire one. That is why it is best to purchase from an honest and specialized antique dealer when you are in the market for antique furniture pieces.

In order to spot an authentic antique on your own; however, you can look at a number of things on the piece of furniture before making an assessment on its validity. The first thing that you should notice is if there are any signs of aging. Wood does specific things as it begins to age so this should be something that is easy to see.

Wood that is aging and constantly undergoing the drying procedure will cause it to wrap or crack. The degree to which this takes place is largely dependent ...
... upon how dry the wood was when the piece was built. You may additionally notice that the edges may be slightly jagged and not quite as perfect as one would expect from a modern furniture piece. Authentic antiques should not be very perfect. Imperfections should be expected due to the tools that were used to create it. When boards are all of standard thickness and edges are too perfect, be weary.

While it is a lot easier to make a determination of validity on antique furniture in person, you can still make a good judgment call by looking at pictures provided by an online antique seller. In addition to looking at prices, you additionally have to decide whether the rest of the house décor will fit with any new piece you are thinking about adding. In general, you will find three distinct types of furniture styles: elaborate, simple and rustic. Purchasing furniture pieces will require thought on style as well because these different styles cannot generally be combined together in a single room without looking strange.

You should likewise determine whether the antique items can serve a valuable purpose in your home. A number of examples of useful pieces include cabinets, benches, chairs, and bookshelves among other things. Even though decorations are great, having purpose for them can be even better.
More interesting points regarding this subject are available at antique furniture and you may also want to check reproduction furniture. Heartfelt appreciation to Keith B. Moulder for his continuous support for the success of the subject.