Driscolls Antiques – Antique Furniture Blog

Antique Mahogany Sideboards

The antique sideboard came into appearance in the late 1700s came from the idea of a table. The famous designer Adam was one of the first people to design an antique sideboard as he designed a piece of antique furniture standing a pedestal with an urn at each end of the side-table. This then led to the pedestals and tables becoming one piece of antique furniture, so became a pedestal sideboard. The pedestals would usually have cupboards or drawers and the cupboards were used for many purposes, like some of the drawers were deep and were lined with lead for the storage of wine, and some had linen trays built in for the napkins and table cloths. Both of the famous designers Hepplewhite and Sheraton designed light and elegant sideboards and some would have serpentine or bow fronted shapes and some would have the brass rails along the top edge which often stood at the back of the sideboard to hold plates.

A very nice example of a Georgian sideboard is one we currently have for sale. It is an antique Victorian mahogany bow fronted sideboard which has a bow front top above a central cutlery drawer and shaped apron. This is flanked by a smaller drawers above a cupboard all with original brass handles. The sideboard stands on six tapering legs with spade feet and is in a Georgian design. Antique sideboards are very nice and useful pieces of antique furniture.

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Small Antique Glazed Bookcases

Here at Driscolls Antiques Ltd we have beautiful pieces of antique furniture for sale and we also have some unusual pieces for the smaller areas in your home. Smaller pieces of antique furniture are sometimes referred to as antique dwarf furniture and are pieces that look like larger antique furniture but have been built to much more smaller proportions.

For example we have two very nice small antique bookcases and on the photos they look like larger pieces but if you check the measurements you will see they are actually smaller versions.

We have a small antique Victorian mahogany glazed cabinet with a rectangular top above two glazed doors with arched moulding and the sides have beautiful carved, moulded pilasters.

The other small antique bookcase is an antique Regency small dwarf walnut bookcase and this bookcase has a rectangular moulded top above two glazed doors and is of small proportions stands on four small bun feet.

These are very nice small pieces of antique furniture and will fit in any home.

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Antique Chests of Drawers and Antique Tallboys
Most chests up to the mid 18th century were straight fronted with simple lines, usually with four or five drawers, and stood on bracket feet or cabriole legs. Most of the antique chest of drawers have cock beading around the drawer edges. This design stayed the same for many years and was even copied in the Edwardian times. From the late 18th century new designs of antique chests were being made and were influenced from the French furniture. French furniture had more curves, corners, and rococo carving. Fine inlay also became fashionable and serpentine shapes. The bow-fronted chest of drawers then also became popular and is a very nice shape.

As chests progressed also string inlay or brass inlay on the drawer fronts and around the edges was used the use of a deep frieze above the top drawer, which gave the chest of drawers a look of tallness.

Antique chests of drawers were tall, small, bow fronted, straight-fronted, had turned feet, bracket feet and they came with some distinctive features like quarter columns, spiral shaped or Needed on the front corners of the chests of drawers. Antique tallboys or also known as antique chest on chests were also very popular as they were a chest of drawers on a chest of drawers so had plenty of storage.

A nice simple design of an antique furniture chest is a small antique Georgian mahogany chest of drawers that we have for sale. This chest has a rectangular top with a reeded edge above two over two graduating cock beaded drawers. It stands on shaped bracket feet and is a very nice small size.

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Antique Tea Tables

antique tea tables were very popular in the 1700s to the early 1800s. These antique tea tables came in many different forms, some were small rectangular tables or small round tilt-top tables and some were in the side table style with a swivel top like and antique card table.

Antique tea tables were all about tea presentation because at the time tea was very expensive and there ore was served whilst guests were visiting. These antique tables put in a hall or a corner of a room and then when needed they were moved to the middle of the room for displaying their exotic teas.

Mahogany was mainly used in tea table, but other woods like rosewood was also used as well.

Antique tea tables are very beautiful pieces of antique furniture and we always get them in stock. At the moment we have a beautiful antique Regency mahogany tea table for sale and it swivels and opens to double in size with rounded corners above a beautiful pedestal and four elegant scrolled splayed legs with brass castors. 

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Antique Furniture in the Arts and Crafts Design

Arts and crafts antique furniture varied massively as there were many different types of arts and crafts furniture designers and makers. The thing they all had in common was they all had the same philosophy and that was to build using quality solid timbers, use traditional methods of joinery and they were against the idea of mass production of furniture. They did however have similarities of decoration and technique in construction. They liked to use traditional methods of construction and craftsmanship and this was promoted through a system of Guilds formed of associated craftsmen. The antique furniture designers who became members were mainly architecturally trained and they mainly designed and built furniture for special commission pieces or for a limited amount of pieces of furniture but these would be quite costly to produce and sell. There hand made antique furniture was expensive, and therefore mainly did not sell to the lower class but mainly the middle class person.

Arts and craft antique furniture is very solid built and made usually from solid quality woods. It is also very reasonable to buy for example we have an antique Victorian ash Arts & Crafts antique dressing table. It has the famous makers label Gillows of Lancaster and it is only priced at £695 so for a quality piece of antique furniture buy a very good maker this is a bargain. 

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Victorian bookshelves

Antique bookshelves come in lots of different styles, shapes and sizes. A very popular style of antique bookcase is an antique open bookcase and we do get lost of these in stock in various sizes. They are very nice pieces for displaying books and are easier if you need to get to your books quickly as they have no doors on the front. The other good thing about this type of antique bookcase is they came in smaller sizes so they fit in most homes.

We have put two antique open bookcases up for sale this week and they are both of a very nice small size.

We have an antique Victorian mahogany open fronted bookcase with a rectangular top, rounded corners and beautifully carved corbels. The bookcase has three adjustable shelves and stands on a plain plinth.

We also have an antique Victorian mahogany antique open bookcase that has a rectangular moulded top above three adjustable shelves, reeded edges and stands on a plain plinth.

They are both very nice sizes, are very useful pieces and are nice and simple in design so they will fit in an old or modern interior. Our antique bookcases are available to view on our antique furniture website along with lots of beautiful pieces of antique furniture for sale.

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we sell all kinds of antique furniture and for your study or library have a very nice selection of antique bookcase and in a study you need antique writing table or an antique library table as these will compliment each other perfectly. Our antique bookcases come in lots of different sizes from small to very large. Our stock of antiques is vast and we have some very unusual pieces like an antique card table or also known as antique games table these are ideal for playing cards or backgammon with friends and antique card tables and antique games tables come in exotic woods. If you have guests around you will need some comfy furniture like an antique armchair but don’t forget to put an antique wine table next to the antique armchairs. For small spaces around your home or small corners we do stock very pretty antique occasional table or for next to your antique sofa it is always nice to have an antique lamp table. In your lounge we do have all sizes of antique settee and to make life easy why not have an antique coffee table for your drinks. For displaying your ornaments or silver we do stock antique display cabinet or you can use an antique dresser with a plate rack to display your plates. In your dining room everyone needs a large antique dining table and antique dining chairs but for a smaller room we do have different styles of small antique table. Whilst serving your food it is a good idea to have a side server such as an antique sideboard or an antique chiffonier. After a large meal it is nice to relax and for afternoon tea rather than having to set the dining table again we do have a very useful piece of antique furniture called an antique tea table. If you have an office we do have very good quality antique desk and antique bureau. Our antique writing desk is a very useful piece and they do fit most computers so are ideal for use with modern living. For a bedroom everyone needs an antique wardrobe or antique linen press and some of our pieces are very large as we have from a single, double or triple wardrobe so they have plenty of storage. In your bedroom you will also need an antique chest of drawers and antique dressing table also known as antique dressing tables but if you need a larger piece for your clothes we also have pieces like an antique chest on chest which is also known as an antique tall boy. For your bedding we have some very early period pieces of furniture called an antique coffer or if it has drawers below it is an antique mule chest, these are very useful and their main use is an antique bedding box. Antique coffers and antique mule chests do offer some very good storage but pieces also come in a floor standing design like an antique cupboard but we do have for sale wall hanging antique corner cupboard If you need an antique side table or antique console table a good option is an antique washstand or antique washstands as they are very similar in design but are very reasonable to buy. We sock all good quality antique furniture which we deliver around the UK and are regularly delivering to London, Manchester, Cambridge, Oxford, Harrogate, York and we are usually making a delivery of antique furniture in England nearly every day. We are based in Lancashire and are on the border of Yorkshire so you can view our antiques at our large antique furniture warehouse if you prefer so see the items in person.

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Do you need more photos of antique furniture before buying from us, then just email. We can provide more close up details of the handles, leather any old repairs etc. If you want pictures of the construction or a closer look at the finish we will try our best to provide as clear pictures as possible. One of our customers has asked for additional photos of an antique desk we have for sale and they wanted to see the close ups of the marks on the leather that we have put in the description so below is examples of the pictures that we sent him so he can get a good idea of the piece. This then gives him the option to replace the leather or leave the original leather on top.

The desk is a beautiful large antique Edwardian oak twin pedestal writing desk and is a very nice light colour and I personally like to see the original leather with the marks but this is a personal choice, that is why we give the option of replacing it with a new leather.

So if you would like more close up pictures of our antique furniture please do not hesitate to ask as someone is always here to help in any way that we can.

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Should I use wax on my antique furniture?
For hundreds of years antique furniture wax has been used and is still used today because wax comes with very good natural protective qualities. Antique furniture wax has been used throughout history by many different furniture cabinet makers and it provides protection to the surface of the wood but it also enhances the beauty of wood by giving a nice sheen and enhances the colour and grain. Antique furniture wax is not really the best finish for a protective finish against water and liquids but it does act as a very good barrier and stops all the liquid from saturating into the wood and ruining the surface. Antique wax also acts as a dust and pollutants barrier as dust can dull the wood and make your piece of furniture look lifeless. Antique wax also provides some scratch resistance and can cover up some small scratches on surfaces and you can also get coloured waxes for extra help when covering up scratches. As you dust your piece of furniture over time, the polishing cloth can fill with dust particles and this can scratch and dull the finish on the surface of your piece of furniture, but wax protects the finish and the more wax you put on over time the better finish you can get. Antique furniture wax provides protection to wood but it also adds depth, colour and finish to your antique furniture. Antique furniture wax always comes with a very nice smell and will fragrance your home. Furniture wax has been used for so many years because it is a natural material that is durable and if properly maintained, will protect a finish to furniture for a lifetime.

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Victorian Bookcases

Victorian antique bookcases are very nice pieces of antique furniture and they are very useful. victorian bookcases come in lots of different sizes and woods. We always have a large stock of antique bookcases for sale and display them on our website for sale. The latest Victorian bookcases we have put up for sale are very nice pieces.

Firstly we put up for sale an antique Victorian walnut bookcase that has a moulded cornice above two glazed doors. The lower section of the Victorian bookcase has a moulded top above two mahogany lined drawers and two cupboard doors with raised fielded panels.

The other Victorian antique bookcase we have put up for sale this week is an antique Victorian mahogany bookcase cupboard and it has a moulded cornice above a deep frieze and two glazed doors with arched moulding. This Victorian bookcase has beautifully carved corbels and it has a shaped frieze drawer above two cupboard doors with arched moulding.

These are very useful pieces of antique furniture and constructed from quality woods so they will last many hundreds of years if looked after properly and they can withstand heavy books unlike a lot of modern bookcases.

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