If you’ve recently purchased a new home or possibly even moved into a new rental property you might find yourself in a position where the existing furniture you own may no longer suit your needs.
Moving to a new house can be stressful not to mention expensive. With the additional costs of removalists, paying off utilities, connection fees for new services and other expenses, the price of moving quickly adds up.
On top of this, once your settle into your new residence it is common to find that items no longer fit, both space wise and style wise. Plus, your new house might be lacking storage, or even wardrobes completely. I’m sure many of us have walked along a street to see unsightly discarded belongings placed out for a hard rubbish collection – or at the whim of local scavengers. Let’s face it, your average cheap furniture pieces from the large furniture retailers are usually made of MDF or chipboard and aren’t designed to move around from house to house. They lose their shape and no matter how much glue you might apply they never quite function the same again.
This isn’t the case when it comes to antique furniture. Mostly it is constructed from hardwood, giving it an instant longevity. Then add to that many pieces were likely designed and made by an expert craftsman, someone who made a living from their trade and took great pride in their work. This is why so many antique furniture pieces have stood the test of time and are still around one hundred or more years later.
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Where to buy antique furniture?
There are a number of places where you can purchase quality used furniture, such as second-hand stores and even op-shops. But the best place to acquire quality antique goods at affordable prices is an auction house. So, if you need to furnish your home cheaply but with quality items, buying at auction is a smart choice. Living in Melbourne, we have had great success buying furniture from Philips Auctions.
There were so many more types of furniture pieces available that many people may not be aware of let alone have even heard of. Each usually being a variation of a type of table, chest of drawers, or cabinet, having a distinct look and specific use. Some examples of such items include A secretaire, Poudreuse, Gueridon, Enfilade, Commode, Tea Tables, or a Bonheur De Jour.
With items being constructed by masters of their trade, some items can look exquisite and can become a feature piece of your home. The time that some of these carpenters would have taken to make these pieces of furniture would have been weeks if not months, as opposed to the factory churned out items sold by the large furniture chain stores. Some of these features include delicate wood turning, hand carving, engraving, contrasting wood inlays, veneers, and painted panels.
What types of antique furniture can you buy at auction?
Auction houses sell a range of antique furniture items, perfect for furnishing your home affordably. These include:
- Bookcases
- Wardrobes
- Coffee Tables
- Lounges
- Desks
- Dining tables and chairs
- Buffets
- Drawers
- Chests
- Bedside Tables
- Bed frames
Often, one would be led to believe with all this extra craftsmanship and fine woods surely these antique pieces are worth a fortune? Many of us have a preconceived idea that all antiques are worth a pretty penny, from either watching TV shows or remembering visiting grandparents houses as children where we were instructed to not touch a thing! However, this is no longer the case.
There are many bargains to be had, and in some instances, you could even furnish your entire house at a fraction of the cost of modern furniture. The best part of this is that quality furniture of this nature is far more likely to hold its value. Should you decide to move on again and it no longer suits you can far easily resell it in comparison to a modern item made of faux or reconstituted wood.