Tips on Buying Antique Furniture

By: kensium solutions

Buying antique furniture has a dual appeal. On one hand it is the pleasure to be taken by filling one's home with antiques, fine creations of craftsmen & on the other it is the possibility of later financial gain as well chosen antique furniture appreciates in value.

Nothing adds more style & grace to your carefully maintained interiors of a home like a fine antique, especially a carefully selected piece of antique furniture that's both functional and beautiful. There are certain things to keep in mind while buying antique. For example:

• Choosing Styles


• Identify Antique Furniture & Reproductions


• Budget


• Antique Furniture Shops

Choosing Styles

The amount of time one willing to spend will play a deciding factor when buying antique furniture. The decor style will also have a role with furniture like made of oak wood etc.. Antique furniture of imported woods like mahogany, walnut, satinwood, and rosewood will be much expensive than country furniture made in regional areas.

Antique furniture of every style and aesthetic is available online. Narrowing down what you like and what will work best in your home is the most important task.

Identify Antique Furniture & Reproductions

There are lots of antique reproductions available with the antique dealers which are more affordable compared to original antiques. Both are fine but the challenge is making a decision based on what’s important to you. Here are some ways to decide if a piece of antique is a true piece of history or just a clever reproduction.

Try to find Imperfections like varying widths of boards, signs of age like ing, fading and warping Since wood shrinks over time etc as uniform board widths are a fairly modern invention

As always, if you have questions, ask the seller to provide you with additional details or photos of the piece to help you make a decision.

Budget

Our advice to buyers is to buy the best quality antiques in your budget. Any beginner buying antique furniture will make mistakes so it is better they be inexpensive ones which can be valuable learning experiences for your future antique shopping.

Antique Furniture Shops

you’ll find all kinds of antique like English antiques, Country French furniture, italian antiques etc at most of the Antique Furniture shops like OldPlank at OldPlank road Chicago who are selling antiques for more than 15 years .

Choosing Antique Furniture

When shopping for antique furniture just go to nearest antique furniture dealers. Antique dealers understand that people will hardly ever buy something on their first visit to shop. Just see their collection and especially on antiques which you would like to buy.

Pay careful attention on antiques level of imperfection, missing handles etc can be treated as minor because reproductions of antique furniture hardware are easy to obtain. But woodworm should be taken seriously this problem occurs mostly in woods like beech & pine.

Happy Hunting!

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The Best Of French and English Antique Furniture In Chicago

By: kensium solutions

Antique stores in OldPlank road Chicago, stock a wide range of European antique furniture which will surprise any antique lover or bargain hunters. Antiques are imported by OldPlank from all over the world especially from France & England.

Earlier, shopping for French & English antique furniture was too difficult, if you live elsewhere in the world. Now, there are lots of online antique stores where you can see images of antiques & buy antiques online which they sell in their local store.

Buying antiques furniture also has its won disadvantages like images on websites and in brochures do not show up weaknesses and scratches. Images can hide all manner of defects, but the human eye can find them easily!

But sometimes images on websites are really helpful & time saver because, you can easily choose the look you want and select some more antiques. After that when you visit their local store you can just ask for that particular antique, check for any imperfections or flaws & save your time in selecting your antique from hundreds of antiques available there.

If you buy an antique online without proper check and then if a damaged antique is delivered to your doorstep you would be angry and disappointed. So it is highly advised that when you are searching online for a antiques furniture dealer, keep in mind that they have a local store within your reach so you can visit, check & then buy antique furniture.
Anyone looking for French antique furniture in the Chicago area can take advantage of antique dealers like OldPlank.com on old plank road. They are selling antiques since 1992 and have stock of around 25,000 antiques and reproductions are constantly changing. They are so popular that Chicago Magazine named oldplank the best antique store in the area.

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Important Tips In Maintaining Your Antique Furniture

By: kensium solutions

Taking proper care of your furniture is very important. Every piece of Antiques need special furniture care to maximize its value, appearance and usability, because the beauty of antiques is often how the wood is aged as well as the other materials used. Here is some Important tips to maintain your antique furniture


Type of cloth you have to use?

always use dusting cloth which is treated to attract and hold dust and leave furniture spotless. Also use only soft, lint-free, and absorbent cloth for cleaning and polishing.

How to polish your antique furniture?

Always use a quality furniture polish as it will lessen your chance of expensive refinishing jobs, the best advisable thing is to polish approximately once a month if possible. If there happens to be any spills, clean it immediately, use a blotting action rather than wiping.

Do you know that the temperature, humidity, and light affect your furniture?

Avoid placing furniture in direct sunlight as sunlight causes fading. Try to avoid extreme humidity conditions as too high or too low humidity can cause wood to warp or the glue lines to fail. Avoid extreme changes in temperature. Arrange furniture away from radiators, registers, and air-conditioning units.

Do you maintain the surfaces of the antique furniture properly?

Rotate accessories on furniture so they do not sit in the same spot all of the time. Avoid placing plastic or rubber objects on a wood finish as their ingredients react with those of the finish. Use pads, cloth or felt to protect the furniture surface from plastic, rubber, hot dishes, beverages, bookends, flower pots, and vases. Use protective pad when writing with a ballpoint pen. Lift and place objects, do not drag them across the furniture surface.

How do you make repairs in your antique furniture?

Make minor repairs while they are still small. Use the proper materials or professional help to repair badly damaged surfaces. Avoid wax polishes and regular use of wax polishes may result in the build-up of wax film on the surface of the furniture, this build-up may pick up dirt, smoke, and other pollutants in the air, which may result in smudges and streaks. Use long enough, this may cause the finish to soften requiring expensive refinishing work.

Wax build-up over time hardens, making it difficult to remove from the furniture’s finish. Avoid silicone polishes, the silicone oil is an ingredient used by many furniture polish makers to create a high degree of shine. Silicone seeps into even the most lacquered finishes, making it difficult to remove. Should it become necessary to refinish a piece of furniture, silicone makes it a very difficult process even for a professional refinisher. Most furniture manufactures recommend using polishes that do not contain silicone.

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Tips For Maintaining Your Antiques And Furniture

By: kensium solutions

Is your Antique furniture has started looking old and a little world-weary? It is very important to have a closer look at your furniture just like your car and your home. Your furniture needs your attention to maximize its value, appearance and usability. A little care on your antiques will last much longer then it normally would. The beauty of antique furniture lies in materials used while making it and how well it is aged. This article will help you to make your old antique furniture look like a new one without spending huge sum of money.

If you are working or if its not possible for you to clean the dust on your furniture then make sure you do dusting and cleaning on weekend and use only soft, lint-free and absorbent cloth for cleaning and polishing and don’t forget to cover your furniture if you are going away from home for long holidays .

A full scale washing or dry cleaning operation is necessary to remove the dust mites which may have gone deep into the furnishings because those dust mites can’t be removed even if you are using a good quality vacuum cleaner. So it is best to follow regular maintenance procedures which might take just few minutes a day.

The next thing in your Antique furniture maintenance list should be polish. The best advisable thing is to polish at least once a month if possible but depending on your furniture quality this can be done once in a year too. Make sure you use a quality furniture polish which suits your furniture wood.

Avoid keeping the accessories made of plastic or rubber directly on wood as their elements react with them. A little piece of cloth can save your furniture from spills and hot boils etc which your antique furniture has to undergo on a daily basis. So use table cloth or pads to protect your wooden surface from scratches by bookends, flower pots, and vases etc. Do not keep your furniture in direct sunlight it causes fading & keep your furniture away from high temperature things like air-conditioning units, radiators etc.

It is in human nature to ignore small things, but when it comes to your furniture do not ignore any minor repairs or defects. Make minor repairs while they are still small or you may need to loose your expensive antique or furniture… always use the suitable equipment & if you not familiar with tools, get experts advice & help to repair badly damaged surfaces.

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