Antique Doll House Furniture - A Doll House Collector's Treasure Trove

Doll house furniture is easier to find these days because of the internet. You can choose from the classic to modern to antique doll house furniture. The price range also varies from one store to another.

For an antique doll house collector, finding a good bargain is an advantage. The products could either be reproductions or they could be original trade-ins from previous owners. You may find good bargains from both online and offline stores and it is advisable to buy when items are for sale and when you buy in numbers.

Furnitures

When you are planning to buy antique doll house furniture online, make sure to check for the store's legitimacy. Look for certifications and approval from the Department of Trade, also check for feedbacks from other customers. If you plan to buy from other collectors, make sure they are reputable and trustworthy.

Antique Doll House Furniture - A Doll House Collector's Treasure Trove

It is truly an investment when you own a couple of antique doll houses that are fully furnished. It is not just an issue of investing hundreds and thousands of dollars on the purchases alone, but the time you consume in maintaining the quality of your antique doll house furniture are also part of your overall investment.

You need to know how to take care of your antique doll house furniture especially if it is an heirloom or you have spent a fortune in buying them. It will be such a waste if you will not take care of these items because their value is not comparable to that of reproductions. They may look exactly the same, but the real deal cost higher.

It is advisable to invest also on proper cleaning products for your antique doll house furniture. There are items made of porcelain, wood, ivory, silver, pewter and other expensive materials, so the need for proper care is essential. Schedule your cleaning to maintain a routine and of course the quality of your collection.

If there are children visiting your home and your antique doll houses were just intended for display, make sure to put them in a proper area. If you can contain them in a glass cabinet it will definitely help not just in keeping them in place but also from gathering dust and dirt.

Antique Doll House Furniture - A Doll House Collector's Treasure Trove

For buying tips on doll house furniture, visit http://www.dollhousefurniture101.com

Understanding Louis XV Antique Furniture

Period History:

Louis XV was the grandson of King Louis XIV and ruled France between 1715 and 1774. He is most commonly known for being one of France's most unpopular kings. During his reign, he managed to upset almost every social group in his country, yet surprisingly, in its own exclusive way, that segregation from his people has led to the Louis XV period antique furniture being some of the most sought after French furniture in the world.

Furnitures

Due to the unbalance of his country, the remaining Louis XV furniture is seen as a great treasure that heralds from a time of grave public unrest in France and symbolises the determination of its people as a whole but, in particular, in its furniture designers to continue to inspire, create and deliver a legacy of beautiful, intricate and detailed furniture which remains to this day a coveted style of design.

Understanding Louis XV Antique Furniture

For all the things that went wrong with Louis XV's reign as King of France, one thing that is undeniable is the detailed quality of the furniture that rose from this dark time in France's history to reer a head of something quite the opposite, both elegant and flowing, in a time of bleak misery.

What Makes Louis XV Furniture Louis XV Furniture?

There are a number of tell-tale design characteristics that articulate this style of design. It is quite common to hear or see pieces of furniture incorrectly described as Louis XV, when in actual fact, they are Louis XIV. What separates the two is actually quite distinctive, and I'll list them below.

Louis XV Furniture is:

• Designed more curvaciously
• Free flowing forms and shapes
• Not made with straight lines, straight cuts or anything that looks angular
• Intricately carved and seemingly infinitely detailed
• Hand painted
• Shells tend to form the focul points of each design
• Symbolic of romance, sensuality and love
• Light and graceful

Louis XV Furniture is not:

• Reliant on presence to state its claim, such as Gothic Furniture
• Made with straight cuts
• Big, bulky or angular
• Strong and masculine
• Machine painted
• Machine cut

You will find that Louis XIV furniture is quite the opposite in style to Louis XV, and where I've listed the points above that are not associated with Louis XV, you will tend to find these same characteristics present in Louis XIV furniture, for example, it will be more angular and less graceful, more inline with a masculine strength of style than a graceful, romantic wisp as seen in Louis XV furniture. It is a very common mistake, most probably due to the similarities in name, but it is vital when identifying your antique furniture to get the periods correct as unsurprisingly, it can cause chaos for the buyer at auction!

The next problem I tend to see quite often in my field is misselling replicas as originals.

Identifying Real Louis XV Antique Furniture

Yes, as sad as it is, there will always be those amongst us who feel the need to misrepresent antiques for personal gain by selling copies or replicas. When buying antiques, especially online, make sure to use a respected reseller, such as LJR Windwake & Sons, or a seller who specialises in your desired style, in this case, a Louis XV Antique Furniture Specialist. It is vitally important to be utterly scrupulous when buying antiques online at auction sites or dealers, but fortunately, I have some good tips on how to make sure that the piece of furniture you're buying is the real deal.

1. Ask for Details on How the Cupboard was Made

Make sure you ask the seller to explain to you how the piece was made, making sure to get him to describe to you the joints in the wood. If they are visible, and keep in mind that the joinery of an 'antique' would not be machine cut but would in actual fact be hand cut, ask him to describe them to you. Chances are that hand cut joints will be rougher and perhaps not as exact as machine cut joints, which should be a good indication of originality and the antique you are buying is actually an 'antique' and not something that was knocked off a production line in ShenZhen, China, 2006.

The best way to find a cut is to remove a draw and have a close look at where the front and back of the drawer are fastened to the sides of the drawer. If a joint was made by hand, it would be dovetailed and have only a few dovetail joints, and they wouldn't be precisely even. If the dovetails are close together and precisely cut, it will have been machine-cut. Handmade dovetails almost always indicate a piece made before 1860.

2. Look for Imperfections such as Nicks and Cuts

Another great way to help identify the validity of an antique or hand-made piece of furniture would be to look closely for nicks and cuts on the back, sides and bottom of the draw. Nicks and cuts usually indicate a hand operated tool was used to plane, shave or cut the wood. Straight cuts, the kind you'd get from a straight saw, are also good signs whereas cuts that look circular in appearance mean that the cut was made with a circular saw, again not in use until after 1860.

3. Exact Symmetry? No way!

This is probably the easiest tell tale sign of machine made furniture compared to hand made. If something looks exactly symmetrical, chances are its been cut by machines, so make sure you request lots of pictures of the piece of furniture you're buying.

4. Ask for a Detailed Description of the Finish

The style of finish is also a great way of identifying the age of a piece of Louis XV. Certain finishes were in use in different periods which is an excellent way to identify the age of your antique furniture. For Louis XV, it should all be hand painted. Hand painting is often identifiable by slight imperfections in brush strokes or edges, although some of the finest Louis XV won't show any signs of human error, because the quality was so high, it is always advisable to ask for pictures of all paintwork, especially so for imperfections as these can actually ADD to the value of your furniture.

5. Make Sure the Seller Explains the type of Wood used in Manufacture

This is often a simple method of gauging an age because generally, as a rule of thumb, anything before 1700 was made from oak, 1700 onwards (our Louis XV era), mahogany and walnut were the choice woods. if its pine, it normally indicates an American furniture piece and is normally indicative of slightly cheaper works. The really valuable, old antique Louis XV treasures will be made from mahogany or walnut.

Conclusion

Always be careful when buying antique furniture but if you are thinking of buying, make sure you arm yourself with as much research as possible prior to attending auction houses. It is also very advisable to go to an auction with a particular object in mind. Visit the open days, make your notes, go home and research what you've seen and then attend the auctions with renewed knowledge about your purchase and always, always try to get as much information out of the seller as possible, whether buying online or at an auction house.

Understanding Louis XV Antique Furniture

Information about the Author:

Lee Rushworth is the founder of Sunderland based White Knight Projects Ltd., an investment company who specialise in helping new companies launch their products and services online with new business start up advice, web design sunderland and strategic and financial support. If you are looking to get help starting your new business and are based in the UK, have a good product idea and an insatiable drive to succeed, contact Lee at http://www.whiteknightprojects.com to see what support or investment you could get.

Antique Desk Furniture Historical Comparison

I finally realized it is not a Western desk; it is an English desk from the early 20th century. The clues are the wood itself and the hardware. English oak from this period has a distinctively different grain from the Golden Oak of American furniture of this period. The oversized hardware is also distinctly English. The odd pattern of shading was caused by someone stripping the original dark finish but giving the hardware areas a wide berth, creating the like and dark patterns in the wood as the result of really poor workmanship.

A "dresser w/desk pull down" is a 20th century recreation of a variation of the 19th century "butler's desk". Legend has it that the butler in an upper class 19th century household was never seen to sit. Since one of his duties was also to keep the household accounts he had to have a desk but he did not sit there. It was designed so that he could stand and do his paperwork. The desk unit was incorporated into a chest of drawers to conserve space. That piece is in fact made of maple, probably in the 1950s or 1960s.

Furnitures

Bodart Furniture Co. was in business in Grand Rapids, from 1949 to 1973. Bodart made quality reproductions of antique European furniture forms, including desks, tables, chests and upholstered pieces. As they obviously are not in business now, you may have difficulty finding the matching chairs. But I'll bet you can find lots of nice chairs that would match this table fine. They don't necessarily have to be Bodart chairs.

Antique Desk Furniture Historical Comparison

The first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony was a man known by the name of John Winthrop. Born in Surrey, England, legend says Winthrop came to Massachusetts with an original piece of furniture that instantly gained favor with the colonists: a slanted drop-front desk. After the desk became popular, it was re-named in honor of its original owner.

While the story is nice, there is little truth to it. Governor Winthrop was a real man who ruled Massachusetts until his death in 1649, but this was a good 50 years before the first drop-front desks appeared in his native country. The famous curves attributed to the Gov. Winthrop style weren't created until the mid-1700s, when Thomas Chippendale designed the first desk of this variety.

Although many members of the public believe this style of furniture was named for a specific man, looking at this story from a historical perspective, it is obvious Governor Winthrop never owned the piece of furniture attributed to him. While Thomas Chippendale technically invented the design, he never labeled it as a "Gov. Winthrop," either.

The answer to this riddle rests with the Winthrop Furniture Company of Boston, who created a new model of the desk in 1924 and called it the "Gov. Winthrop." The name is now a common part of furniture vocabulary, and has increased the popularity of other furniture of the same design, commonly known as the "Gov. Winthrop" style. Many different types of antique furniture can be found today bearing the name Winthrop due to this unique design.

We installed a humidifier for the winter, which certainly helps the furniture, but summer we cannot control, as we have no AC. I am not familiar with Arizona, but I take it its very dry there, so yes putting some humidity back into the air should help. Other than that, keep all wood furniture out of direct sun and heat sources. A good paste waxing with bra wax for instance is about the only thing I can recommend to use on this piece. Apparently all pieces made with a particular type of imported mahogany carried the label you described.

The desk is from the late 19th century or perhaps even the early 20th century and is part of the great "Golden Oak" period. The style is very similar overall to the famous Larkin desks of the turn of the century with the open shelf in front below the drop. It could be an American piece but the decorative motif is more European or English. Also the desk is made of flat cut oak and shows none of the quarter cut oak generally seen on American pieces of this era. The finish has been redone and it looks more recent than the 1960s.

Antique Desk Furniture Historical Comparison

Victor Epand is an expert consultant at http://www.SellTheAntiques.com/. Sell The Antiques is a community of various independent antique sellers from around the world. Each antique seller represents a unique style of products. If you have antiques to sell, click here to create an Antiques Account.

Essential Knowledge About Antique Paine Furniture

Anyone who has a minimal interest in antique furniture will know that there are many types of furniture to choose from. If you are seriously considering investing in antiques as a source of profit then you really should do your research. A specific kind of antique that you should look into is antique Paine furniture.

Antique Paine furniture was made by the Paine company and has a number of unique characteristics that make it a beautiful addition to any home. It was made in Boston in the late 1800s and is highly sought after today.

Furniture

Antique Paine furniture is more valuable than a lot of other antique furniture types purely because it is in demand. Paine himself was a master craftsman and made the most beautiful furniture. It is steadfast, reliable and still serviceable over a hundred years on. Although your initial outlay can be quite large, you would be comforted to know that it actually becomes more and more valuable as the years go on so a piece in good condition can actually double in price within the space of a few years.

Essential Knowledge About Antique Paine Furniture

Antique Paine furniture can be obtained for any given room in a house. The family business made patio, dining room, bedroom and living room furniture amongst other items and so it is viable that you could fill your home with antique Paine furniture. It would certainly be a different and expensive theme, but a theme nevertheless!

It is worth taking time over the antique Paine furniture pieces that you will eventually choose because they will prove to be focal points of your home. They automatically attract attention because of their gorgeous colour and fantastic design. You should exercise patience if you on a limited budget because there may be several items that take your eye when you can only afford one or two.

Antique Paine furniture is extremely valuable so it may be worth assessing the value independently from the store that you plan to make a purchase from, just to double check that the value is actually as advertised. You should also check for any imperfections, as just one would significantly lower its value. A given price should reflect the condition and age of each individual antique Paine furniture piece so beware of any problems before handing over cash.

Buying any antique furniture is an investment today, whether you mean it to be or not. Antique Paine furniture is one of the types of antique that is worth ever penny. Beautiful and powerful, it can fit into any home and enhance it significantly with few problems. Have patience, buy the right piece and make the most out of it!

Essential Knowledge About Antique Paine Furniture

You can also find more info on Antique Furniture Dealers and Antique Furniture For Your Room. Antiquefurniturersource.com is a comprehensive resource to know about Antique Funiture.

Vintage Furniture Vs Antique Furniture

How do you distinguish the differences between vintage furniture and a true antique? The easiest way is to consult a dealer or serious collector. But there are a few things you can look for that will help you identify some of the differences.

WHAT IS VINTAGE FURNITURE?

Furniture

The term "vintage" is often used loosely just to mean "old". There's more to vintage furniture than that. One way to define vintage is "representing the highest quality of a past time".

Vintage Furniture Vs Antique Furniture

Vintage furniture is usually very well made with a great attention to detail. It's characterized by maturity and a sense of appeal that withstands the test of time. A wide range of furniture styles can be considered vintage. Some furniture sellers use this term to refer to all sorts of furniture, including modern. It is used to describe originals and reproductions that can't be identified as antique. Some modern pieces are acknowledged as classics of the twentieth century and are labeled "vintage classics".

WHAT MAKES A PIECE OF FURNITURE ANTIQUE?

A piece of furniture is considered antique if it was created at least one hundred years before the date of purchase. It is a unique piece of furniture that has been left in its original state. Some people may like to buy old pieces of furniture with the purpose of refinishing them, but it is a good idea to find out their true value before making any changes.

HOW DO YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN VINTAGE FURNITURE AND ANTIQUE FURNITURE?

Authentic antique items are usually not made with a single type of wood. Upholstery may be stuffed with horsehair or hay.

One way to distinguish the difference between vintage and antique furniture is by examining drawers. Furniture parts were not machine-cut until 1860, so a drawer that was constructed using hand-made dovetails was produced prior to that. Nicks and marks may have been left in the wood from using hand tools such as planes and draw-knives.

True antiques have been created solely by hand and are imperfect. Small details and imperfections may be spotted, such as rungs and spindles that may not be uniform. Once furniture began being created by machine, pieces were reproduced identically. Also, wood shrinks with age so a true antique piece will not have uniform dimensions.

The finish on an old piece of furniture offers another clue as to whether it's a true antique. Oil and wax were used on the oldest pieces of furniture and later replaced by shellac. Lacquer and varnish became popular in the mid-1800s.

An antique is an investment, and it will continue to gain value with time. Both vintage and antique furniture pieces are well made and usually of excellent quality. Before you make any modifications, make sure you find out whether a piece of furniture is truly an antique. Many people purchase valuable pieces at yard sales without even realizing their value. If you suspect a piece may be a true antique, consult an antique expert. You may want to have the furniture appraised to find out its actual value, particularly before altering it in any way.

Vintage Furniture Vs Antique Furniture

Looking for vintage and mid-century modern furniture? Check out the selection of new and used vintage furniture at the buy and sell marketplace at Lushpad.com

Vintage Furniture Vs Antique Furniture

How do you distinguish the differences between vintage furniture and a true antique? The easiest way is to consult a dealer or serious collector. But there are a few things you can look for that will help you identify some of the differences.

WHAT IS VINTAGE FURNITURE?

Furniture

The term "vintage" is often used loosely just to mean "old". There's more to vintage furniture than that. One way to define vintage is "representing the highest quality of a past time".

Vintage furniture is usually very well made with a great attention to detail. It's characterized by maturity and a sense of appeal that withstands the test of time. A wide range of furniture styles can be considered vintage. Some furniture sellers use this term to refer to all sorts of furniture, including modern. It is used to describe originals and reproductions that can't be identified as antique. Some modern pieces are acknowledged as classics of the twentieth century and are labeled "vintage classics".

WHAT MAKES A PIECE OF FURNITURE ANTIQUE?

A piece of furniture is considered antique if it was created at least one hundred years before the date of purchase. It is a unique piece of furniture that has been left in its original state. Some people may like to buy old pieces of furniture with the purpose of refinishing them, but it is a good idea to find out their true value before making any changes.

HOW DO YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN VINTAGE FURNITURE AND ANTIQUE FURNITURE?

Authentic antique items are usually not made with a single type of wood. Upholstery may be stuffed with horsehair or hay.

One way to distinguish the difference between vintage and antique furniture is by examining drawers. Furniture parts were not machine-cut until 1860, so a drawer that was constructed using hand-made dovetails was produced prior to that. Nicks and marks may have been left in the wood from using hand tools such as planes and draw-knives.

True antiques have been created solely by hand and are imperfect. Small details and imperfections may be spotted, such as rungs and spindles that may not be uniform. Once furniture began being created by machine, pieces were reproduced identically. Also, wood shrinks with age so a true antique piece will not have uniform dimensions.

The finish on an old piece of furniture offers another clue as to whether it's a true antique. Oil and wax were used on the oldest pieces of furniture and later replaced by shellac. Lacquer and varnish became popular in the mid-1800s.

An antique is an investment, and it will continue to gain value with time. Both vintage and antique furniture pieces are well made and usually of excellent quality. Before you make any modifications, make sure you find out whether a piece of furniture is truly an antique. Many people purchase valuable pieces at yard sales without even realizing their value. If you suspect a piece may be a true antique, consult an antique expert. You may want to have the furniture appraised to find out its actual value, particularly before altering it in any way.

Vintage Furniture Vs Antique Furniture

Looking for vintage and mid-century modern furniture? Check out the selection of new and used vintage furniture at the buy and sell marketplace at Lushpad.com

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Essential Knowledge About Antique Paine Furniture

Anyone who has a minimal interest in antique furniture will know that there are many types of furniture to choose from. If you are seriously considering investing in antiques as a source of profit then you really should do your research. A specific kind of antique that you should look into is antique Paine furniture.

Antique Paine furniture was made by the Paine company and has a number of unique characteristics that make it a beautiful addition to any home. It was made in Boston in the late 1800s and is highly sought after today.

Fantastic Furniture

Antique Paine furniture is more valuable than a lot of other antique furniture types purely because it is in demand. Paine himself was a master craftsman and made the most beautiful furniture. It is steadfast, reliable and still serviceable over a hundred years on. Although your initial outlay can be quite large, you would be comforted to know that it actually becomes more and more valuable as the years go on so a piece in good condition can actually double in price within the space of a few years.

Antique Paine furniture can be obtained for any given room in a house. The family business made patio, dining room, bedroom and living room furniture amongst other items and so it is viable that you could fill your home with antique Paine furniture. It would certainly be a different and expensive theme, but a theme nevertheless!

It is worth taking time over the antique Paine furniture pieces that you will eventually choose because they will prove to be focal points of your home. They automatically attract attention because of their gorgeous colour and fantastic design. You should exercise patience if you on a limited budget because there may be several items that take your eye when you can only afford one or two.

Antique Paine furniture is extremely valuable so it may be worth assessing the value independently from the store that you plan to make a purchase from, just to double check that the value is actually as advertised. You should also check for any imperfections, as just one would significantly lower its value. A given price should reflect the condition and age of each individual antique Paine furniture piece so beware of any problems before handing over cash.

Buying any antique furniture is an investment today, whether you mean it to be or not. Antique Paine furniture is one of the types of antique that is worth ever penny. Beautiful and powerful, it can fit into any home and enhance it significantly with few problems. Have patience, buy the right piece and make the most out of it!

Essential Knowledge About Antique Paine Furniture

You can also find more info on Antique Furniture Dealers and Antique Furniture For Your Room. Antiquefurniturersource.com is a comprehensive resource to know about Antique Funiture.

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