Share. - Other indications that a piece of wood furniture is a recent make include consistent color, factory-rounded corners, and modern screws. Whether you have inherited a piece of antique furniture or enjoy antique shopping, it can sometimes be difficult to identify a particular piece, including even its original intended usage. If you’ve got a piece of Amish furniture from Pennsylvania, chances are more likely that the wood will be made of something like black walnut or cherry, and not African wenge or jatoba. When going shopping for antiques, it's a good idea to bring along a notebook with room dimensions, pictures and fabric swatches. Print. But what about everyday pieces that don’t come with a provenance. You can read all about that beautiful Eastlake piece of furniture here. ThriftyFun is powered by your wisdom! Finding beautiful pieces to complete your storied setup, isn't always as easy as taking a stroll to your local flea market. There are over a dozen common furniture foot styles that can help you determine the approximate age and style of a chair, dining table, or chest. For example, we currently have a set of solid teak nesting tables that weigh A LOT. If your furniture has drawers, pull them out and inspect the backs, sides and bottom of each drawer. Phyfe was one of the rare early century cabinetmakers who actually used paper labels and tags to identify some of his work. By hand, it’s just not going to be perfectly uniform. Here’s a different drawer from a different antique piece of furniture I have: That is an example of a handmade dovetail joint. The first step to finding out if your attic clutter is actually buried treasure is to identify the maker of the furniture. By gbhutchinson, 9 years ago on American Antique Furniture. How to Tell Who the Furniture Maker Is on Very Old Furniture. Located at 513 Northwood Road 561-633-7999. Pin. Please HELP identify this strange piece of furniture???? It really was not a labor of love to create a factory built piece as was that of the great furniture makers of pre-1860. Machine Made Dovetail. Just going on the photos it would seem to be a magazine / news paper rack with a lower shelf for books. How a piece is constructed is a common measure of age. 2. Find furniture with good bones: Look for furniture with good bones. See more ideas about antique furniture, furniture, furniture styles. Share . For example, you can use old wood and create a new piece of furniture. Her love of ornate styles is well known. How to identify if your furniture is an antique . Shopping for Antiques and Identifying Their Value. Look at the bottom, side, or back of a piece. Especially when the object gives me clues like numbers stamped on it. 1; His timber has space to ‘breathe’ Chippendale had a superb understanding of timber and its qualities. Identifying Antique American Furniture. Antique Furniture Values and How to Sell a Piece. Add your voice! Quality furniture lasts for decades or even generations with proper care and ideal conditions. Nov 18, 2020 - Explore Brenda Rains's board "Antique Furniture Identification" on Pinterest. Follow these steps and you should be able to determine quite a bit about any older piece of furniture that you have. A new piece simply smells newer. If you find yourself looking at something with a decent amount of heft, you might be on to a winner. It has this lovely scallop and peg joinery on the drawers. Reproductions are symmetrical, smooth and the flaws are contrived rather than authentic. 9 years ago. How can I identify an a piece of furniture? Flag. You should look at the screws, nails, wood, joining and hardware. The undersides of pieces can tell us a great deal about a piece and sometimes is a major factor in determining the pieces age. 1 > Recognizing Hand Carved Furniture Recognizing Hand Carved Furniture | by Wayne Jordan I n our age of flat-panel, knock-down (KD), assemble-at home furniture it's hard to imagine the amount of work that went into creating the hand carvings on pre-industrial age furniture. Mar 2, 2020 - Explore Momsthename2018 mk's board "Identifying Furniture pieces -Handy Info", followed by 276 people on Pinterest. The main types of finishing treatments are oil, paint, shellac, polyurethane, lacquer and varnish. Answer . Follow. Email. You should look at the screws, nails, wood, joining and hardware. Here are some clues and tips to help you analyze whether an antique is authentic: Time period: A piece of furniture can look old and still be born yesterday. It is also common for the materials of an antique piece not to match completely. For instance, drawers should slide out easily, and upholstered pieces should have good sturdy frames. Another thing to note: Odor. It's not that this is an important piece of furniture (famous last words! Finding an antique piece of Stickley furniture today is akin to winning the lottery. 1. Determining the age of antique furniture is not an exact science, but there are certain indicators of age evident in furniture. Cleaning Antiques. 4,443 4.4K. Look over your furniture in areas such as the backside or underside. The more learned furniture buff and collector who enjoys the truly antique museum quality pieces will always sway toward the hand built and primitive pieces. ), but I have a very bad habit of declaring war on objects that I can't identify. If you want to refinish a piece of wood furniture or even wood trim, the first thing you have to do is figure out what type of finish is on the wood. Retail vintage stores often reupholster pieces of significant quality, but you will pay a price for this. This is why factory built pieces had a great upswing. So, here are a few tips and tricks of the trade to help you find vintage, midcentury modern furniture that'll add oodles of character and charm to your stylish digs. See more ideas about furniture, antique furniture, antiques. It can be difficult to identify the kind of wood used on sight but certain woods can be heavy. Hand Cut Dovetail What to look for to help determine a piece of furniture's age. Identifying them is a bit more difficult. When trying to identify a piece of antique furniture, you may begin with the foot. Identifying Antique Furniture or Good Reproductions. By izabellowings [1 Post] I am not sure exactly what this is and its age; can you tell me? - Generally speaking, square nails and worm holes together in a piece of furniture would indicate an antique. Listen as Barabra from Touch of Nostalgia gives a few vital tips to finding a true vintage piece of furniture! Here’s what to look for.GENERAL RULEReal antiques are imperfect and the flaws are inconsistent due to natural use and human construction. I become obsessed with an object- need to win the identity war. By continuing to use this site you consent to the use of cookies on your device as described in our … Queen Victoria’s reign affected the design styles of furniture, clothing and all sorts of items used in daily living. These irregularities indicate that an antique piece is made by hand and not by machine. Click below to answer. But whether you are looking for a piece of antique furniture for your home or looking for something to sell on; to become knowledgeable about identifying antique furniture takes research. It took six years and thirty craftsmen to construct and was sold for £19 million ($31 million). Even if it isn’t a genuine piece of mid century furniture, it might be a good piece in its own right. Find similar antique furniture values in print. By Judy [657 Posts, 16,983 Comments] November 24, 2017 0 found this helpful. You don’t have to be an expert to identify a genuine antique from a good reproduction — if you know how to spot a few indicative details. Determine the style. Below, we offer a guide to some of the hallmarks of construction that put Chippendale’s pieces of furniture in a class of their own. Follow these tips on how to determine if a piece of furniture is really an antique. Many times we forget common sense and logic when attempting to identify wood. Again this kind of furniture is not for everyone. 0. Behind doors and inside the crevices are good places to look for these characteristic irregularities. And that is even if you are focusing on only one aspect of this very diverse subject. I can't find what this piece was used for? Please HELP identify this strange piece of furniture???? Whether you visit the library, a bookshop, or purchase a book on Amazon, there are a ton of publications about identifying and valuing antique furniture. You are in: Magazine > Issue 1 Vol. Determining the age of antique furniture is not an exact science, but there are certain indicators of age evident in furniture. 1. - Answered by a verified Antique Expert - Answered by a verified Antique Expert We use cookies to give you the best possible experience on our website. How to Identify Stickley Brothers Furniture. Photos of hardware and joints are also very helpful. Save. Share. As technology and the ability to reproduce items become more advanced, identifying the authentic antique becomes more difficult. PHOTOS Several if possible especially the underside of furniture. Is it an Antique, a reproduction, or a fake. If you find plastic furniture, it should not be on the verge of cracking. Identifying a Piece of Antique or Vintage Furniture? 3. A while back I showed you a Victorian piece of furniture my parents have. The most expensive antique furniture piece sold in recent years was a Badminton cabinet that was crafted during the Medici years in Florence. One of the most intriguing aspects of collecting American furniture and antique furniture, in general, is that it often isn’t considered “collecting” at all. While restoring your antique furniture might be purely a labor of love, when done correctly it can also increase the value of your piece, which might be beneficial in the future. After you figure this out, you'll know if you can apply the new finish you want over top or if the wood has to be stripped. 4. I need help identifying a piece of furniture, All I have is a photo - Answered by a verified Antique Expert We use cookies to give you the best possible experience on our website. How a piece is constructed is a common measure of age. The condition and quality of materials are used to gauge the age of a piece. Furniture making in America in the 19th century ranged from the small shop, like that of Duncan Phyfe in downtown New York at the turn of the century, to the huge factories of Grand Rapids and Buffalo at the turn of the next century. However, not every piece of furniture can be dated or definitely identified, so the generic term “Victorian” will apply to those pieces. Add to that show off your antiques we love to see them. This is a guide about identifying antique furniture. American Furniture Styles and Tips on Collecting. answer #2. ntpd4. Advertisement. Hunting for antique American furniture is a popular pastime, but how do you really know what you're buying is a true classic, such as a Shaker or Chippendale piece? Furniture is really an antique piece not to match completely off your antiques we to! Wood used on sight but certain woods can be difficult to identify if your furniture has drawers, them. 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