Choosing the Right Antique Furniture Styles for Your Home
Antique pieces give any home a distinctive look and feel. If you know a bit of background about the piece, it can create conversions starter that are interesting and unique. Antiques also complement traditional buildings and lend a refreshing new angle to modern homes. The overall effect can be stunning, but it can be difficult to get the right balance when choosing pieces for the home. Here’s a quick look at the different antique furniture styles you could consider.
American Rustic or Country Furniture Natural materials and handmade are the basis for these antique furniture styles. Pieces feature solid rustic designs, handcrafted woods and strong cultural or regional touches. Rustic country styles bring comfort and warmth to any home. Done right they can reflect a warm inviting, homely and personal atmosphere. Done wrong they can seem cluttered and austere.
European Antique Furniture Styles European furniture is probably the most expensive with affordable good quality pieces the hardest to find. The favored styles of furniture feature mainly English, French and Italian pieces.
▪ Antique English furniture styles range from Queen Anne from the early 18th century through Georgian Chippendale, Adams, Hepplewhite and Sheraton in the late 18th century right up to Regency and Victorian furniture styles from the mid to late 19th century. Chippendale is probably the best known English furniture maker but rarity and price will exclude all his pieces from most budgets.
▪ Antique Italian furniture styles can offer a wide choice of materials, from good decorative woods to beautiful marbles, sculptural stone and stunning designer fabrics. All coming with a reasonably high price tag. Italian pieces can be quite ornate and quite large, incorporating designs from Roman sculpture and architecture.
▪ French antique furniturestyles often include elaborate designs, handcrafted carvings or highly ornate patterns. Again the cost of good quality pieces can be off putting, particularly if your taste runs to the more ornate.
Vintage Retro Furniture Vintage or Retro furniture designs often use teak, bakelite, plastics and have chrome embellishments. All materials introduced in the early 1900’s and used through the Art Deco period and featured in nineteen fifties, sixties and seventies British, Danish and Scandinavian furniture styles. Art Deco styles are popular if expensive for genuine period pieces. The style is characterized by highly stylized natural and geometric forms and ornaments, which are usually strongly symmetrical.
Furniture designs are original and usually have a contemporary look but some designers do incorporate traditional antique furniture styles in their designs. It could be an ideal choice for home owners who love originality and the antique look but prefer cleaner more modern pieces.
Ultimately, how you furnish your home depends on your taste and style. You should choose furniture that looks good and is durable; and antique furniture has already proven to be just that. Factor in the wide range and choice of antique furniture styles, the environmentally friendly aspects, the quality and the beautiful original look you can achieve and you’d be silly not to consider it.
