Buying antique furniture

Jan12

Purchasing antique furniture is always risky if we are looking for original, old pieces. What can we do before going to a shopping trip, if we haven’t got sufficient professional knowledge?
First read about it. If the style, age and type of the desired furniture is decided, let’s search some comprehensive, furniture history books which detail the specification of a given piece or a given ages. They describe the types of pinnings, the thickness of varnish, or the applied materials specific to the era. Not necessary to purchase all these books, they can be borrowed from a library, but we can find lots of sources also on Internet. The essential pages should be copied or printed to be available at shopping.
If we don’t want special pieces, but simple old furniture, there are also some issues to deal with. Check the piece for possible damages, especially at marquetry and carvings, painting / varnishing and at the corners. If there is any damage, we have to decide to buy it or not, will it be fixed later or left as is for the old feeling. Restoration by the proper expert can be expensive! Let’s search the marks of previous fixes and restoration, e.g. parts made of different wood (like a part of the carved decoration or one of the legs etc.), or metal parts having different colours. In case of drawers, always check the pinning and try to pull the drawer. The weight of the furniture also can indicate if it is a modern copy. If the piece is extremely worn, later it can be renewed by painting, but in case of real old, unique furniture don’t change anything, instead of let them restored by experts, thus keeping or increasing their value. Common pest of wooden furniture is woodworm. Typical signs of it are the small holes on the surface. If these marks can be seen on a relatively great area, the furniture shouldn’t be bought.
If our budget allows, let’s purchase items at an official auction, because the authenticity of an object and its origin are guaranteed, but flea markets and internet auction sites also can be visited, since beautiful old furnitures can be found also there. In case of uncertainty, an expert can be involved when making the deal.
A unique, antique piece can be the decoration element in any home. For choosing the proper one, ask for help from an interior designer.

House numbers

Jan11

Does the house/door number’s style befit to our home?

Inner pool

Jan10

Elegant inner swiming pool for the home recreation

Brown

Jan9

Brown is gained by mixing red and green colours, thus all the three base colours are involved. This is the most liked ground colour. It has warm and cold hues, the laters have greyish tone. Brown is considered as masculine colour.
This colour is associated to force, safety, maternity, simplicity, diligence. According to physiological effect it is relaxing, protecting. It’s also a food colour, first we associate to the fine cookies. In ancient Egypt, good dreams were marked with brown colour. In the medieval and early modern Europe it was one of the basic colour of the clothing of poor people, since they couldn’t afford the dyed fabrics. In England however brown was the determining colour of the wardrobe of the perfectly elegant gentlemen for long time.
Since natural wood and leather are also brown, in interior design this is generally and frequently used. Using as wall paint, it gives depth to the space, as floor cover it gives stability. Dark hues can replace black – as its warm tone alternative – when we would like to emphasize something. It can be used in any room, but in case of dark brown walls, the proper lighting should be also provided. It is regular in historical styles, mainly the deeper hues. Combined with gold, a luxurious interior can be produced. Together with white, cream or beige, the result is classically elegant. Nowadays it is still very popular, it fits to practically any style.
Feng-shui associates brown with the earth element. Light hues are assigned to Jin, the feminine side, while dark hues to the Jang, the masculine side colours.
For advertising, it is used by companies that providing luxurious products or services to their customers, e.g. sweets, wellness, etc.
Most people like brown in their homes, but to avoid “cave like” result, it has to be used with sense. If you would like an elegant and stylish brown interior, ask for the help of a colour adviser.

Fleur-de-lis

Jan8

Fleur-de-lis is the symbol of french kings – meaning of it’s three petals: faith, wisdom, chivalry

Firewood

Jan7

Storing firewood in a matching way to classic interiors

Shaker style

Jan6

The shakers are a religious community established in the 18th century. The members moved from England to North America. They are famous about their love of peace, puritanism and the equality between the genders.
Shaker style is simple, practical and thrifty. All household objects are produced by themselves. Forms are determined by function. Ornamentation hardly used, if they do, they are most often the heart, hand and star motif. Paints are made of natural materials. Most characteristic colors are rust brown, aquamarine, ocher, sage green, claret and beige. Most of the fabrics used are made of wool, cotton or linen, which are simple and monochrome textiles, sometimes with a small chequered pattern. From warn fabrics they sew patchwork blankets or rag rugs.
Furnitures are simple, wooden ones. Door panels of wardrobes have frame insert structure. Ladder backed chairs can be hanged up when out of use. They make wall-mounted hangers on which almost anything can be hung securely. Also characteristic item is the thin sheet box, which has a round or oval shape and requires high skills to prepare.
The function and simplicity oriented way of thinking of shakers can be actual even todays modern world. Kitchen furnishing in shaker style can be a definitive element of classic or rural style kitchens. Placing some shaker storage boxes can decorate a work room, living room or bathroom. Using their color palette we can realize a warm, friendly interior with natural feeling.
Ask an interior designer to help implementing shaker style in your home.

Windows

Jan5

Build in extraordinary windows for our home’s more elegant look

Cushion

Jan4

It is easy to change or perk up the mood of a room with cushions

Pictures

Jan3

When decorating our home, walls are important issue. The simplest way is hanging paintings on them. But what can we do if we cannot afford really expensive paintings in our classic style apartment or house?
First possible solution is using empty frames. We can purchase several, decorative old frames in different sizes (e.g.: blondel or Florentin style) in the same color. They can be placed on the walls together, visually acting like several pieces of one artwork. Symmetry is not a perquisite; they should only look nice together. Don’t be afraid to repaint the less valuable frames if required.
Remaining wallpaper or fabrics can be also used for decoration. Cut them into the frames best fitting to the interior, and hang them up covered with glass. Since the same wallpaper or fabric already has been used at another point of the flat, the view will be reflected making the space much more organic. Old newspapers, handworks, nice wrappers, postcards, dried flowers or maps also can be framed such a way.
If we have the talent for painting, we can create some paintings ourselves as well. Defined topic or expression form are not required, the essence is the color harmony with the style of the room. We can paint even single stripes, squares or patches. With the proper frame, we can get a perfect DIY accessory.
Family photos are also available for decorating a classic interior. Have your favourite photos being processed in black and white or sepia, not to disturb the mood of the room with their bright colors. Montages can be assembled from them fitting into a bigger frame, or they can be arranged in several different smaller frames side by side, covering a larger surface.
Nowdays many companies provide large scale, quality printing of any picture. We can chose photos from their database that are fitting to our home. There is a huge selection of color, theme, size as well and they even offer framing too as a service. Blind framed canvas print is also an available solution. Ask help from an interior designer for the selection of pictures, paintings fitting perfectly to your home.