How to identify antique wooden furniture for refinishing

When you want to refinish old wooden furniture, the best place to look is the family storeroom: Check the attic, basement, garage, or wherever unwanted furniture has collected. You may also discover a real antique or two -- pieces handed down through the family for generations. Other good sources are secondhand stores, household auctions, and garage sales. With furniture, as with anything else, one person's junk is another another's treasure.

Antique stores are a good place to find furniture to refinish, but expect to pay for these pieces. If you're interested in antiques, recent or old, research before you buy anything. Real antiques and many reproductions are extremely valuable, but there are also many imitations. If you aren't sure an antique is really antique, pay for an expert opinion. Never buy an antique, or try to refinish it, until you know what you have. In this article, we'll discuss how to assess whether a piece of furniture is an antique and whether it is worth saving through the refinishing process.

When is Old an Antique?

There are many different styles of furniture, and each type has distinguishing features. For the most part, the furniture you'll encounter will probably be limited to traditional English and American Colonial styles; you aren't likely to find a Louis XV chair at a garage sale. The basic English and American styles run the gamut from ornate to severely functional, from massive to delicate. Just remember, if you like it, the style is right.

Technically, an antique is a piece of furniture with special value because of its age, particularly those pieces embellished with fine artistry. The age factor is subjective: general antique stores label objects 50 years or older as antiques. Fine antique dealers consider objects 150 years and older to be antique.

In the East, an antique is Queen Anne or earlier; in the West, it's any piece of furniture that came across the mountains in a wagon. A southern antique is a piece made before the Civil War. Wherever you look, it's a sure bet that you won't find a genuine antique from 1500 or 1600. What you may find is a genuine reproduction, and these can be extremely valuable.

There are several ways you can spot an antique. The first giveaway is the joinery; machine-cut furniture wasn't made until about 1860. If the piece has drawers, remove a drawer and look closely where the front and back of the drawer are fastened to the sides of the drawer. If a joint was dovetailed by hand, it has only a few dovetails, and they aren't exactly even; if it has closely spaced, precisely cut dovetails, it was machine-cut. Handmade dovetails almost always indicate a piece made before 1860. 

Look carefully at the bottom, sides, and back of the drawer; if the wood shows nicks or cuts, it was probably cut with a plane, a spokeshave, or a drawknife. Straight saw marks also indicate an old piece. If the wood shows circular or arc-shaped marks, it was cut by a circular saw, not in use until about 1860.

Exact symmetry is another sign that the piece was machine-made. On handmade furniture, rungs, slats, spindles, rockers, and other small-diameter components are not uniform. Examine these parts carefully; slight differences in size or shape are not always easy to spot. A real antique is not perfectly cut; a reproduction with the same components is, because it was cut by machine.

The finish on the wood can also date the piece. Until Victorian times, shellac was the only clear surface finish; lacquer and varnish were not developed until the mid-1800s. The finish on a piece made before 1860 is usually shellac; if the piece is very old, it may be oil, wax, or milk paint. Fine old pieces are often French-polished, a variation of the shellac finish. A lacquer or varnish finish is a sure sign of later manufacture.

Testing a finish isn't always possible in a dealer's showroom, but if you can manage it, identify the finish before you buy. Test the piece in an inconspicuous spot with denatured alcohol; if finish dissolves, it's shellac. If the piece is painted, test it with ammonia; very old pieces may be finished with milk paint, which can be removed only with ammonia. If the piece of furniture is very dirty or encrusted with wax, clean it first with a mixture of denatured alcohol, white vinegar, and kerosene, in equal parts.

The wood itself is the final clue. Very early furniture -- before 1700 -- is mostly oak, but from 1700 on, mahogany and walnut were widely used. In America, pine has always been used because it's easy to find and easy to work; better furniture may be made with maple, oak, walnut, cherry, or mahogany. But because the same woods have always been favored for furniture, workmanship and finish are probably a better indicator of age than the wood itself.

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Outdoor Furniture For Garden Decoration

Who does not love to rest and unwind in a quiet and calm place at the end of a tiring day. On another note, won’t it be great to stop by in a green, clean and tidy place before you start your day? You don’t have to go out to find such a place on this earth. Just open the door and look at your garden. Some thoughtful modifications can help you transform your garden into a place of peacefulness and tranquility.

Garden Decoration

So do not neglect your garden any more. Home gardens are great places to rest or to spend fun filled moments with family members and guests. Do whatever you can to make your garden beautiful. Then, not only people, but birds will be attracted to it and you will get the chance to watch their dainty movements and listen to their songs.

Plant seasonal trees, buy some planters that go well with the exterior of your home, install a patio awning, set a fountain up at the center of your garden, put in a swing seat at a convenient location, bring in bird feeders, bird houses and bird baths, set up an wildlife pond, install suitable fencing and finally buy garden lights to make the entire place well-lit in the night.

Next comes garden furniture. You will always want to sit and rest in your garden. Many people like to have their breakfast on the lawn in the summer. Many arrange evening parties in their gardens. So you need garden chairs, tables and benches. to complete your gardendecoration.

Outdoor Furniture – Aluminium Garden Furniture

Outdoor furniture is crafted in a different way than indoor pieces. Chairs, dining tables, benches, stools and benches are made to different specifications and styles when they are going to be placed outdoors. 

Your drawing room furniture set just does not fit in your garden. Bespoke outdoor furniture specifically made for gardens should be used. Garden furniture can often stay outdoors day and night round the year. Some people don’t put a cover on garden furniture, hence it should not rust or rot.

Professional outdoor furniture makers craft the items in such a way so that it lasts and sustains the look as well. Aluminium gardenfurniture is a good option preferred by a lot of people for low maintenance metal furniture.

Outdoor furniture made of aluminium does not rust; you can keep it uncovered throughout the year putting little or no effort into maintenance. 2 to 8 seater sets, traditional garden benches, dining tables and chairs are all available in an aluminium option. Money invested in aluminium garden furniture is a wise investment.

Before purchasing aluminium garden furniture set, measure your garden or patio space so that the furniture supplier can help you find the right set of outdoor furniture for your garden.

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Interior Motives

By MEENAL MISTRY

Among other things, this spring could be known as the season when the term "fashion insider" takes on a new meaning. That's insider as in interior, as in interior decoration. As in a print of a Baroque molding blooming out of the bodice of a striped Prada dress, or Rodarte's collection of grainy faux-bois tops and skirts inspired in part by Stephen Shore's photographs of 1970s suburban interiors.

Photos: Interior Inspiration

House of Holland's palm frond print was inspired by the wallpaper at Manhattan restaurant Indochine.

You could, perhaps, chalk this decorative direction up to the deep cracks in the icy wall of minimalism, which dominated fashion last fall. Clean lines and cold hues have given way to something lush and welcoming. Come inside, it's warm in here.

Certainly young London designer Mary Katrantzou's masterful dresses, made of fabrics digitally printed with images of fantastical rooms, are nothing if not inviting. After studying images from photographers Guy Bourdin and Helmut Newton, Ms. Katrantzou was inspired not by the models and their clothing, but by their decadent surroundings. "I thought instead of putting the woman in the room, why not put the room on the woman?" she said. So she dove headlong into a pile of Architectural Digests and World of Interiors from the '70s and '80s.

Her collection is easily Exhibit A of this trendlet. The print on a precisely tailored dress lures you into the midst of a well-appointed, hyperreal space where gumball-pink Louis Quinze chairs flank a gilt console and a picture window that reveals a garden beyond. Some frocks flutter with curtain-like hems and concertina folds, and molded and crystal-fringed miniskirts are cousins to the Victorian lampshade. Twenty-five of the latter were actually bought by stores. "We went through hell in production," said Ms. Katrantzou. "But there are women out there who will be wearing them."

Sporting those ensembles might be just a paint-chip sliver less challenging than wearing Hussein Chalayan's famed table skirt of 2001. Yet, for the most part, wearing an interiors-inspired look isn't difficult. It's an entirely manageable and stylish hop from wall to dress when it comes to the multitude of wallpaper-style prints. Take the immediate appeal of the neat and ladylike dresses from Jonathan Saunders. Their fruity-hued prints hint at flocked floral wallcoverings. Some do more than hint. Designer Henry Holland plucked his decadently glamorous banana leaf print straight from the walls of iconic New York restaurant Indochine after picking up the tome marking its 25th anniversary, "Indochine Stories: Shaken, and Stirred." And at Rochas, designer Marco Zanini's endless parade of ornate florals may reference scarves but they undeniably began in the homewares department. Clearly he had the topic on the brain when he asked fabric mill Bucol to recreate a vintage 1930s wallpaper for his following collection.

What's interesting is that the fashion world is giving wallpaper something of a second wind. "Wallpaper has been saturated in terms of interiors," said set designer Stefan Beckman. "But I think now fashion designers are looking at those kinds of prints in different ways to reinterpret them." Mr. Beckman stands squarely at the intersection of fashion and furniture having worked closely with Marc Jacobs on his elaborate runway environments for many seasons and on photo shoots with Karl Lagerfeld, whose historic mansion on Lake Champlain he decorated. "Most designers have a clear vision of things they like and dislike," Mr. Beckman said. "Their personal spaces reflect that." He reported that Mr. Jacobs, who is renovating his New York apartment, is currently jonesing for '20s-era antiques. "I feel like there's an appreciation, and a lot of designers can take and reinterpret their design in an interior space," Mr. Beckman said of the two aesthetic disciplines.

Clockwise from top left: "Room 316, Howard Johnson's, Battle Creek, Michigan, July 16, 1973" by Stephen Shore (Uncommon Places, Aperture 2008); Bridgeman Art Library; Graeme Boyle for The Wall Street Journal; Courtesy Pierre Frey

Clockwise from top left: THE LOOK: Faux bois at Rodarte. INSPIRATION: Stephen Shore photographs (shown) and suburban California in the 1970s; THE LOOK: Weaving patterns at Proenza Schouler. INSPIRATION: Native American textiles; THE LOOK: Palm fronds at House of Holland. INSPIRATION: The wallpaper at the Manhattan restaurant Indochine; THE LOOK: A trompe l'oeil print at Balenciaga. INSPIRATION: Vintage floral wallpaper.

Looking forward to fall, fashion's obsession with furnishings continues to evolve. At Balenciaga, creative director Nicolas Ghesquière—whose refined eye has long been trained on the decorative arts— traded the Formica and Eames-inspired plastics of last fall's collection for a vivid floral print, an idea that grew out of the vintage Pierre Frey wallpaper he used in the presentation of his print-centric pre-fall collection. Mr. Ghesquière emphasized the two-dimensionality of the stuff, and added a sharp modern twist, by backing the pieces in black. And if you look closely at the edges of the draped skirts, you'll see a trompe l'oeil tearing away of the paper.

Elsewhere, Jil Sander designer Raf Simons conjured the work of furniture designer Jacques Adnet, creating architectural booties in Mr. Adnet's signature black leather and metal. At Marni, geometric tile prints, which recall modern architecture, worked equally on both the actual flooring of the runway and the clothes that came down it. Meanwhile Jason Wu found inspiration for his clever Baroque sportif collection from Robert Polidori's book of photographs documenting the 25-year restoration of Versailles, "Parcours Muséologique Revisité." "You'd have modern equipment next to really traditional, beautiful décor," said Mr. Wu. "It gave me a new take on Baroque, which is such a well-worn reference."

But not all of the source material is so precious. Mr. Beckman points to Proenza Schouler's updated Native American prints. "To me that's definitely coming from an interior base, things that would normally be used for rugs and sofas," he said. There's certainly nothing overdone about the humble crocheted Afghan motifs that Christopher Kane used for his fall show.

Ultimately, it's a porous border between the two worlds. To wit, Rick Owens designs beautiful furniture, and former Emanuel Ungaro designer Vincent Darré now devotes himself entirely to the same pursuit at his Parisian shop Maison Darré on Rue du Mont Thabor. Those examples are just the tip of the iceberg. "There is a literal connection in a way [between clothing and interiors]," said Ms. Katrantzou. "Both cover you and your body. They have the same qualities of perfecting you and making you quite comfortable."

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