Driscolls Antiques – Antique Furniture Blog

We will be closed this Bank Holiday Monday 3^1st August but will be open as normal on Tuesday 1^st September. We will be available via email on monday.

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Buy Georgian furniture Now !

I have recently done an interview with the bbc homes and antiques magazine and my comments are printed in the September issue. We talked about how reasonable Georgian furniture is to buy as the items are over 200 years old and are made from quality timber and have stunning character. To buy reproduction Georgian furniture it usually costs a lot more than the original piece and is not as good quality and does not come with the character that an original piece comes with. Also Georgian furniture is a good investment for the future but reproduction furniture will lose a large part of the value as soon as it leaves the shop.

During the Georgian period you had the great furniture makes and designers like

Robert Adam (1728 – 1792) Thomas Chippendale (1718 – 1779) George Hepplewhite and Thomas Sheraton (1751 – 1805).

These designers produced pieces form the Georgian period and other cabinet makers copied there designs adding their own unique detail to the pieces so every piece can be different in the detail.

Georgian furniture is stylish, simple and usually well built using quality timber. It is very reasonable to buy and will last 100s of years more. It come with beautiful character and is my favourite period of furniture design. If you are looking to buy antique Georgian furniture then please look on our website as we get some very interesting and reasonably priced pieces for sale.

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Mixing antique upholstered furniture in the same room

If you like the look of an antique sofa we have for sale but you want matching arm chairs then why not try to buy similar chairs for the same room as all our antique upholstered furniture is upholstered in neutral fabrics so they will look good together.

For example we have an antique Victorian comfy settee that has a shaped back with scrolled arms, wings and two loose cushions. The sofa stands on four tapering mahogany feet with brass castors and I think this would go very well in the same room with the pair of Edwardian antique upholstered armchairs that are currently on our website. The antique chairs have deep seats and scrolled arms, splayed mahogany back legs and beautifully carved ball and claw front legs.

Both sets of chairs have been upholstered in neutral fabrics and the small sofa has a slight pattern on so this will break up the colours slightly. This would make a very comfy sweating arrangement and would make your room look interesting as the chairs are not exactly matching but still look very good together.

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Where can I buy Victorian mahogany chest of drawers

Antique Victorian Mahogany Scottish Chest of Drawers
Victorian chest of drawers can come in lots of different sizes and grades of quality. Here at driscolls Antiques we stock all sizes and only deal in the best quality. This week we have for sale an antique Victorian mahogany Scottish chest of drawers that was built in around the 1860s. This antique chest has a shaped top with a moulded edge above a deep shaped freeze drawer. The antique chest has two over three graduating cock beaded drawers with turned knobs with inlaid mother of pearl centres and the drawer fronts are a striking flamed mahogany. The chest has four beautifully carved corbels, stands on a plain plinth and is in very good condition. It is a stunning looking chest and is a very useful piece of antique furniture as it is a large size. If this chest is too large then we have some smaller chests on our website and we have a large amount of antique furniture coming into stock next month so please keep on looking in our newly added antiques section for details. You can always email us with your requirements as we wave a wanted service so we can try to find the most suitable antique chest of drawers for you.

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I read a very interesting article this week that has stated the leading accounting and business consulting firm Deloitte has stated that now is the time to buy antique furniture. They are recommending that because of the recession investers should be looking at other investments and as antique furniture is reasonable to buy and offer a long term good investment. Other investments at the moment are only offering low returns so other alternatives should be looked at like antique furniture. They are also stating that investors should put their money into a range of assets and Antiques are illiquid and they generally avoid the big price swings seen in financial markets so they are a safer investment. Also they state that for those who worry about the long-term effects of governments printing money, antique furniture offers a hedge against future inflation.

But the best statement that they made was ‘the best argument for buying old over new is that antique furniture is better made and cheaper than new furniture’ and this is what I have been saying for a long time now. They said last year that the slump in prices of antique furniture had been driven the rise of well known modern retailers and that antique furniture was starting to look undervalued, they keep the same view now.

So look to invest into good quality antique furniture rather than more risky investments and not only will you see the rewards in the future but you can also enjoy a beautiful piece of antique furniture in your home that you can use and enjoy.

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Sets of Antique chairs from the 1870s

In the Victorian period you can date antique chairs from the similar styles in design and construction. We have three similar sets of chairs from the same period 1870s and you can see the similarities not only from the pictures but also the descriptions. They are all similar but because they have been made by different cabinet makers they have very slight differences.

The first is a set of six Victorian mahogany antique dining chairs. They have oval shaped balloon backs, stand on splayed back legs and beautifully turned front legs. The second is a set of six Victorian mahogany antique dining chairs which have shaped moulded backs with central carved back supports. The chairs stand on splayed back legs and beautifully turned reeded front legs.

The third are a set of six Victorian mahogany dining chairs has a moulded shaped back above a back support with a central floral carving. The chairs stand on splayed back legs and beautifully turned reeded front legs.

All these sets of chairs are serpentine fronted and are upholstered with a stuff over upholstery. So you can see the similarities and if this type of antique chair design is what you are looking for please see our antique furniture website as we get lots of quality antique chairs like this in stock.

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Why are lots of your antiques sold on your website?

We always have a large number of pieces of antique furniture for sale on our website but we also display our sold stock. This is because people use our sold section as a reference to show us items that they are wanting to buy and we can then put them onto our wanted book and let them know when similar pieces of antique furniture comes in stock. All the pieces of antique furniture that is for sale is always displayed first in all our categories on our website and then the sold stock is shown, clearly stated sold. We also have a section of all antiques for sale so you do not have to go through each different section separately. We have a newly added antique furniture section displaying our newly added items for sale. Our antiques do sell very fast but we do update our website daily so please keep on looking on our website and let us know what items you are looking to buy so we can send you suggestions when suitable pieces come in stock.

On a final note we also have a monthly mailing list that updates you on new pieces of antiques for sale so if you would like to be added then please email us and we will add you to our database.

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Stylish Antique Painted Furniture

For modern interiors some people are opting for painted antique furniture and this can work very well as it has a unique painted look that can fit in with modern design and also it is still reasonable to buy but as it is antique it is still going to hold its value for future investment. Modern painted furniture can look good but is usually poorly built and will not last very long. It also will hold no value so we believe antique painted furniture is a much better buy. It is more solid in construction as it is built in solid wood so it will last another 100 years if looked after properly.

This week we have some interesting painted pieces of antique furniture for sale.

We have a Victorian antique painted chest of which has three graduated drawers with moulded edges and turned knobs, stands on shaped bracket feet and is a very usable chest.

We have an antique Victorian painted pine occasional table which has a pine scrub top above a painted base with turned bobbin upright supports, a turned cross stretcher and four turned feet. We also have an antique painted pine bench which has a shaped back with scrolled arms and unusual open sides.

All these pieces of antique painted furniture are stylish, solid and unique. They are painted in unusual colours and would look good in a modern interior or a farm house so they are very versatile.

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Who buys Antique Furniture?

Who buys antique furniture? Is old or young people? Well people from all ages now buy antique furniture. We have people from there early 20s to some customers who are much older. Some people buy as investments and some just like the items as pieces of furniture. We cater for all ages as we sell very early pieces, traditional antiques, arts and crafts items and painted furniture. All our pieces of antique furniture are solid, usable, ready for use and are reasonably priced. They make a great investment and are usually cheaper to buy than reproduction furniture.

If you are unsure what kind of antique furniture to buy, I always give the same advice, buy the style that you like, buy quality and buy items that you want to use and that you are not scared of touching. If you need any advice or help choosing styles for you or your home please do not hesitate to contact us as some one is always here to help and we will try to advise you on the best antiques to suite your home and lifestyle.

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Antique Library Tables a Good Investment

Antique Library tables are very difficult to find and especially to find matching pairs.

We have for sale a pair of Victorian oak antique library tables and these antique tables would have been built for a very grand library room as they are of superb quality and were probably built by Lambs of Manchester as they are the same construction and quality of a lambs piece and they came from the Manchester area. Each of these quality library tables have rectangular moulded tops with a red tooled leather writing insert which is in very good condition. They have a deep moulded frieze and an oak lined frieze drawer on one side which is working and has turned knobs. The tables have beautifully scrolled carved corner brackets and stand on turned tapering legs with brown porcelain castors. It is very unusual and rare to find a matching pair of library tables and especially of this quality and in such good condition. antique furniture is a good investment but it can be a better investment if you can buy more rare pieces and that are matching. They are usable pieces, very nice to look at and are going to be a very good investment for the future.

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