Antique Reproduction Furniture

The Merits of Buying Antique Reproduction Furniture

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Genuine quality antique pieces of furniture that are affordable nowadays are a rarity. If one wants to view true antique pieces of furniture of a bygone age then visits to museums or to various stately homes are a must for furniture historians.

Purchasing an antique piece of furniture can be a tricky business. There is a lot to take into consideration: is it genuine? What is its condition? Has any additional work been carried out on it and - if so - when? And last but not least is the valuation put on the piece correct? For a genuine piece by one of the past masters such as Chippendale, Sheraton or Hepplewhite the price for all but a few will be unaffordable. For lesser designers of some repute the price will be extremely high but attainable.

There is an alternative to trolling the antique shops and auction rooms, buy new. Antique reproduction furniture has been around for hundreds of years. In fact furniture that was originally made as reproduction or in the style of a particular period in many cases are now looked upon as classic Antiques in their own right.

There are numerous advantages in buying antique reproduction furniture replicas or traditional style furniture. For a start most manufacturers will have their ranges catalogued. This will save countless visits to antique shops or auction houses. A new antique reproduction furniture piece will also in general be made to conform to today's size and proportional requirements. Most people forget that in years gone by the general population in our country were smaller built than today so dining table and chair heights were lower. Also side tables and occasional tables that would have been used for supporting the odd glass of port wine or cup of tea would have been taller to allow the occupant of a formal looking lounge chair access to their beverage. And of course there were no such things as TV, Hi Fi sets or coffee tables to worry about.

Purchasing a new antique reproduction furniture piece from a genuine reputable manufacturer, as opposed to a wholesaler or factorer who buys from numerous sources without making or even polishing their products, has definite advantages that will bear fruit down the time line.

Making antique reproduction furniture today using modern technology and materials combined with traditional cabinet making and polishing skills as used by our predecessors can ensure that the finished article is more tolerant of heat or humidity changes than an original antique. This insures that the modern day antique reproduction is ill effected by the passing of time. This is an advantage, but not necessarily to the purchaser today as undoubtedly the piece - if made correctly - will last for many life times. Such a piece bought today can be considered to be an antique of the future!

It can be argued that a good quality contemporary piece of furniture today can be looked at in the same way as antique reproduction furniture. And undoubtedly this view, if applied to high quality pieces of modern furniture, is correct. But it is worth considering the merits between modern versus reproduction over a short period of time, say over forty to fifty years. As tastes change a modern piece of furniture today can or may be looked at in ten or twenty years as being old fashioned. A reproduction antique furniture piece on the other hand will not date - it will still be in the style of the century it was designed for. Therefore, if it is a well made quality piece, it will hold a re-sale value unlike most modern pieces that will only gain or hold a residual value beyond the owner's life time.

For those customers who cannot find the antique piece of furniture they have always longed for, a reproduction replica or a piece made in the traditional style of the period sought is the answer. Reputable manufacturers who make their products in-house will be able to offer a bespoke custom built service that allows for the antique reproduction furniture to be tailor made exactly to the client's specifications. Such pieces can carry the enviable tag of being one off unique pieces, the implications of which after time are obvious.

Above are just a few of the points that I believe make traditional style or antique reproduction furniture worth considering as an alternative to purchasing that illusive genuine antique.

Happy shopping!

Danny Bryan

Designer and Joint MD of Charles Barr Furniture