Driscolls Antiques – Antique Furniture Blog

We have just been delivering this weekend and here are some comments that have come through so far.

Hello James
Just a quick email to let you know that our sideboard and bookcase arrived safe and sound this morning.  We’re absolutely delighted with both pieces, they’re lovely thank you.
We’ll be sure to check your website regularly in the future.
Thanks again.
This was for an antique sideboard and antique bookcase to London

Hi,
Just a quick note to say thank you for your excellent service. I am very pleased with the beautiful bookcase and with all of your help.
Many Thanks

This was for an antique bookcase to London

Beautiful antique wardrobe, delivered within the promised 2 hour time slot!

This was for an antique wardrobe to Bristol

Very friendly people to deal with. We are very pleased with our wardrobe.

This was for an antique wardrobe to Kent

Quick delivery. Arrived safe and sound

This was for an antique bureau to Sussex

Lovely piece of furniture, delivered as arranged, good friendly service. Thanks.

This was for an antique bookcase to Hereford

We would always welcome any comments after delivery and we always try to deliver our antique furniture using trusted two man delivery team within a two week time scale. We always give you a 2-3 hour time slot so you are not waiting in all day. Our driver is usually very prompt so we aim to be with you on the earlier time we give you and all our goods are fully insured in transit. Please ask us if you have any queries on delivery as we try to be as obliging as possible and we ensure your antique furniture arrives safely into your home.

coming soon a beautiful rosewood Canterbury.

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Sarcophagus shape on antique furniture

The sarcophagus shape can often be seen on antique furniture especially in the late Georgian and regency periods. The best way to describe a sarcophagus shape is a rectangular coffin shaped box.

The Sarcophagus shape is often seen on box lids like on this antique Regency mahogany cellaret with moulded top and 4 beautifully turned feet with brass castors.

look at the top of this unusual antique Regency teapoy with shaped lid and stands on a beautifully shaped pedestal with quadriform base and turned feet with brass castors.

This shape is also very often seen on nice quality tea caddies like this rosewood Regency caddy with domed sarcophagus shape and 4 beautifully turned feet. The interior has fitted lids and mixing bowl.

We always have beautiful pieces of antique furniture for sale on our website and very often in the sarcophagus shape so check for our latest pieces for sale.

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Antique furniture by Marsh, Jones & Cribb

Marsh, Jones & Cribb were renowned antique furniture cabinet makers in the Victorian era. They were known for their quality craftsmanship and simple but very nice looking designs. They began as cabinet makers in Leeds and Cavendish Square, London known as Marsh & Jones of Leeds but later in the 1860s became Marsh, Jones & Cribb. They made antique furniture designed by well known designers such as Bevan and Talbert and many of these pieces were in famous exhibitions.

Driscolls antiques get some beautiful simple but well made pieces by Marsh, Jones & Cribb, like this antique oak bookcase with a moulded cornice above glazed doors and oak lined drawers with brass swan neck handles.

Or this Victorian antique mahogany desk with a moulded top above mahogany lined drawers and original brass handles. It stands on tapering legs with spade feet and brass castors.

Pieces of antique furniture by Marsh, Jones & Cribb are always displayed on our website for sale so if you are looking for a quality maker then look out for this name.

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Beautiful Antique Regency Furniture

Antique Regency furniture is a very nice period of furniture to collect and it is also becoming very difficult to find as these better quality antiques are becoming more rare and collectable. Antique Regency furniture is mostly constructed from the finest solid mahogany with beautiful inlays such as rosewood or even brass string inlay is used. They can be quite simple in design but have influences from earlier periods like the early Egyptian or roman times. They are very nice looking pieces of antique furniture and as they are earlier pieces they have been hand made by craftsmen using dovetail joints and traditional carpentry. Regency furniture comes in many different forms from antique chest of drawers to sofa tables but the best quality pieces were either oak or mahogany lined. We always have a good selection of good quality Regency furniture on our website and displayed in our showroom.

We currently have a Regency card table with rounded corners and rosewood cross banding. It has a beautiful turned central pedestal with 4 splayed sabre legs and brass castors.

We also have a Regency mahogany sofa table again with rosewood cross banding and this has 2 mahogany lined drawers, stands on shaped sides with splayed legs and brass lion paw casters.

We also have a Regency mahogany linen press with shaped cornice above 2 moulded cupboard doors with figured central panels. It has 2 over 1 oak lined drawers with turned handles and it stands on turned bun feet.

For the latest Regency furniture for sale please check our website or come in our showroom to look around at our beautiful antique furniture.

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Solid Mahogany Antique Furniture

Driscolls antiques always stock the best quality solid antique mahogany furniture and we put these items up for sale on a daily basis on our easy to use website. On average we put up for sale around 10 to 20 pieces of solid mahogany antique furniture on our website every week from the Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian periods and all pieces are in very good original condition. We have put a few particularly nice pieces up for sale like this set of eight Edwardian mahogany dining chairs ca with shaped backs and moulded uprights. They have been beautifully upholstered.

for some good storage space we have an antique solid mahogany chiffonier with a moulded back above a moulded top and cupboard doors.

The ideal chest for your office due to the unusual tall slim size is this antique solid mahogany chest of drawers with graduating cock beaded drawers and brass handles.

One of the nicest solid mahogany antique bookcases we have had for some time is this Victorian bookcase with glazed doors, moulding and adjustable shelves. The lower part has a moulded top above cupboard doors with arched moulding.

These pieces of solid mahogany antique furniture are in good original condition and are very sturdy solid quality items. antique solid mahogany can come in different shades from a light golden, medium brown or a rich red so they can match with many other pieces you may have in your room.

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Keep the patina glowing on your antique furniture

Many antique dealers and antique auctioneers talk about the impotence of keeping the original patina on a piece of antique furniture.  The patina is on antique furniture which is caused by the age and the years of polishing using wax polish over many years so the patina builds up gradually over time. The patina is the enhancement of the natural colour of the wood from wax, dirt and years of use so this cannot be reproduced.

You will never find two pieces of antique furniture the same as they are kept in different atmospheres, have been looked after and cleaned differently and may have had repairs and restoration over time so every piece is a one off.

Different grain of wood can stand out much nicer with a good patina and the more wax you apply the better it can look.

We suggest only use good quality natural beeswax like Fiddes available on our website. Never use spray polish as this will build up a layer of dullness over time.   The good quality wax will bring out the colour and grain plus also protect your wood.

We suggest waxing every three to four months sparingly as over waxing can sometimes cause a dull look especially if not buffed up correctly.

The patina on your antique furniture, weather it is an antique bookcase or chest of drawers will add to the value so never strip away the old finish.

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How can I tell if my antique furniture is an antique or fake?

If you own a piece of antique furniture or are looking to buy a piece but are not sure whether it is a real antique or not how can you tell if it is an original antique or a fake reproduction piece of furniture?

It is not always that easy to tell but here are a few tips to make sure you have are looking at a real antique.

Firstly look at the timber the antique furniture is made from as the most pieces of antique furniture will be in mahogany, rosewood, oak, and walnut or if it is a country piece, pine.

These are the main woods used but there are more rare woods used but you would need much more experience to recognise these.

Check the construction and screws used in the furniture as in antique furniture the screws will be handmade and have uneven threads and off centre screw heads. Check on the undersides of pieces to see if the wood is new looking and unfinished. Check the edges and if they look very sharp and newly cut then this can be a good indication of a fake. antique furniture usually has very thick veneer used where as modern usually has very cheap and very thin veneer (almost paper thin). upholstered furniture can be difficult but if you can peel back some fabric look for old nail holes and check the corner brackets for older screws. Check for old repairs as this can show age, whereas new pieces will have no repairs what so ever.

If in doubt I would suggest to only buy from reputable antique dealers like us at Driscolls Antiques as we have been established for over thirty years and are LAPADA members. We only deal in quality antique furniture.

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The Pleasure of owning antique furniture

Antique furniture can be a please to look at and especially if you own it and it is sitting in your home to see every day. This is why you should always buy something you love the look of and it must be in good original finish so you can beautifully clean for many years to come. If you are on the lookout for buying antique furniture please check out our website as we update it daily and add beautiful pieces of antique furniture for sale in many different periods and styles.

It might be worth looking through our entire website, even the sold pieces to get an idea of the types and styles you like.

There are many different styles and woods to choose from mahogany, rosewood, oak, walnut, elm, ash, satinwood and many rare woods, some have unusual inlay or brass decorations. Most people like to get matching pieces of furniture in the same room like a mahogany and mahogany chairs but I like to have a mixture of woods as this can offer a very nice contrast.

You can trawl around many different shops, antique fairs and auctions but you have to consider most shops will only have one or two pieces of furniture at one time. fairs are difficult to arrange transport from and are usually un restored items and with auctions you have no come back if you change your mind, most items are un restored so you have the additional cost of restoration and transport, plus you have bidders commission. If you look on our website we have hundreds of quality pieces in restored condition and we can deliver to your home with a 28 day money back guarantee. All our antiques are clearly photographed and described and we only stock the best quality.

You can be certain that if you purchase antique furniture from us you will have a the perfect piece and you will get many years of pleasure owning a quality piece of antique furniture.

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Collecting Antique Furniture as an Investment for the Future

If you are collecting antique furniture as a future investment to hand down to your children it can be a very nice hobby, looking around at the beautiful pieces of antique furniture. This is one of the best ways to invest as you will get years of use with beautiful antiques in your home and then the older the furniture gets the more valuable it will become, especially if cared for properly. At the end you then have something very special to pass down to your children.

One of the best pieces of advice when you start collecting is firstly buy what you like the look of as you will be living with this for many years. Always buy quality furniture and in original condition not over restored pieces. Always buy from reputable antique dealers like us at Driscolls Antiques as we have over 30 years in the trade.

Check over each piece of antique furniture carefully to make sure there is no bad damage or is a marriage.

Be very careful when buying from non LAPADA dealers or at auction as they do not have to tell you if pieces are restored, marriages or have been messed around with.

Over time your collection will start to grow and you will learn all about them as it can become a very interesting and addictive hobby. 

Try to place your furniture in the right area in your home to protect from sun damage or heat, we have some very good articles on looking after your antique furniture on our website and blog so have a search for good tips.

Don’t forget you are also helping the environment when buying antique and not new as basically you are recycling.

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Simple but Beautiful Regency Furniture

Regency antique furniture is one of my favourite periods as they can be very simple in design but very beautiful to look at especially as they come with fine details. Regency furniture usually is constructed from quality woods like solid mahogany or rosewood but comes with interesting veneers like rosewood or kingwood cross banding and string inlays. some pieces are more elaborate with metal plaques but I think the nicer pieces are the more plain looking with simple lines but you can see the quality in the piece. I have just put up for sale on our website two very nice regency pieces like this and they would look stunning in the same room together if you have room as they are both very nice quality and have a similar look.

We have a beautiful antique bookcase from the Regency period and constructed in stunning rosewood. It has an elegant moulded cornice with 3 glazed doors and adjustable shelves on the interior. The antique bookcase has lower cupboard doors and stands on a plain plinth. It is a real beautiful piece with simple lines but very nice curves that gives it that elegance.

To fit in the same room we would suggest the antique sofa table constructed from mahogany and from the regency period. It has drop leaves and rosewood cross banding around the edges with string inlay so this is a really nice feature. The antique sofa table has elegance with shaped sides and splayed legs with brass casters.

Both pieces of antique furniture are truly beautiful pieces and are in extremely good condition for their age, we also have many more quality pieces like this on our website.

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