Why Buy “Old” Furniture?

The word “old” is very subjective. It might mean over 100 years old to a true antique
collector or from a couple of decades ago to a person in their 30’s.

We in the antique and interiors business much prefer furniture made in the old-fashion
way -- dovetailed, inlaid veneers, 100% wood. It’s a true fact that older furniture is
made better and will stand the test of time.

When buying furniture, we want you to ask yourself several questions?
Where am I going to use this piece? Am I going to keep this piece for a long time and
possibly pass it down to my children? Am I drawn to the piece by its wood grain, patina,
or character?


Most of the furniture available today in antique and interior shops is not over 100 years old but more in the 40-75 years old. Does this make it a bad purchase? No. This type of furniture is made very well and in a price range that is affordable.

Today many designers are mixing styles of furniture to include different types of woods
and even some painted pieces. There really is no written rule that says that if you have
one oak piece that everything in your room has to be made of oak. The motto of the
2012 is “go with what you like and works best for you and your family”.

Painted furniture is hot right now. Many dealer-merchants are taking very well built pieces of older furniture that might have some blemishes and giving it a fresh coat of paint, allowing the furniture a new lease on life. These painted pieces can be incorporated into any decor.

We challenge you to experiment with your decorating . . . freshen a room with a new piece -- painted or not. All three Queen of Hearts locations have furniture arriving daily and the sales staff is always ready to help with locating that perfect piece that you will cherish.

How do you tell if a chest of drawers is old or an "antique" reproduction?

Have you stumbled across a beautiful chest of drawers and been told that it’ s a true antique? Do you know how to tell how old something is?

On the chest, you will need to pull open the drawer and look at the joint where the front meets the sides. Do you see a joint that looks like a "dove's tail?” Is so, look closer — if the dovetail is a tight "V" shape it is an early antique. Perfectly cut and consistent dovetails are modern. Butt joints are used in primitives and poor reproductions.

Old American oak roll top desk

with hand carved dovetails

Victorian mahogany sideboard with

large and small hand carved dovetails

Very old oak linen press with

hand carved dovetails

Earlier made furniture such as Eastlake pieces date from the 1880s and have "spoon" carving on the front and sides of the piece and "pin and cove" dovetails joining the front and sides of the drawers.

Eastlake "pin and cove" dovetails

Eastlake chest with spoon carving

In the 1890s, American furniture began to be mass-produced and it was too time- consuming to hand cut the dovetails. So the "tail" and "pin" started to match precisely since they were being machine carved. However, European cabinetmakers continued to produce hand-cut dovetails through the 1930s.

You are invited to learn "how to tell if something is a true antique" on March 12 at the Buford Queen of Hearts at 1 pm. Al Carrato will be speaking to the public free of charge. Please RSVP at 678-714-0643, as seating is limited.