Miss Estelle

by JKönig

Tips on choosing antique dining tables

It’s easy to see why antique dining tables in Lancashire are so sought after. From Bury black pudding to Lancashire hotpot, the county has a long tradition of hearty home-cooking and farmhouse fare. The cosy image of family mealtimes round the farmhouse table is still the norm in many areas, and the large number of older properties means there are plenty of dining rooms where even the largest antique dining table will fit with room to spare.

It was common for antique dining tables in Lancashire to be passed on from one generation to the next, and these often find their way into salerooms. The earliest surviving style is the trestle table, common in the great halls of the Middle Ages. Originals from this period are highly sought after and extremely rare. The top was formed from long wooden planks, often taking up the length of the hall, around which the lord, lady and entire company of the manor would be seated. Later, the planks and trestles would be dismantled, and the space used for dancing.

Trestle tables disappeared with the end of the feudal system, and most antique dining tables in Lancashire date from the 16th century or later. By this time, it was common for the master and his family to dine separately to the rest of the household, and solid tables evolved. Called refectory tables, these became popular across Europe. Many designs were based on the trestle style, and while some were quite plain others (particularly those from Italy) could be incredibly elaborate, with carved acanthus designs on trestle-style legs.

It’s worth looking for British refectory antique dining tables from Lancashire’s Tudor to Reformation periods. Made from oak, with large bulbous legs, they are quite rare as, owing to the damp conditions, the legs would rot. Therefore you should look at the legs closely, as these have often been replaced. Additionally, beware of late copies, made from reclaimed floorboards. The telltale signs will be filled-in nail holes, and dowels flush with the surface. In old antique dining tables, the dowels tend to stand proud of the surface, owing to shrinkage of the wood over the years.

Although they fell out of favour in homes, refectory tables endured as library tables, popular today in larger homes. The most expensive are inlaid with rare woods like burr walnut and rosewood, but simpler Victorian styles can be found for reasonable cost in antique shops. As with refectory tables, they should be formed from 2 or 3 planks of hard-wearing wood and show a rich patina with plenty of signs of use.

As more intimate styles of dining evolved, tables became adjustable. Gate-leg antique dining tables date from the mid-17th century, and vary varied from rectangular to fully circular in design, with flaps which could be lowered when not in use. Early gate-leg antique dining tables in Lancashire can be up to 8 feet in diameter. However, by the 18th century it was normal to use several small, rather than one large table, and so later examples tend to be smaller. These are probably the most collectable of all antique dining tables, fitting easily into modern homes.

FADT-LT07-002/Antique Belgian Wood Dining Table with Unusual Block Leg Base and Stretcher
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by amanda farah

Tips on buying a good quality antique desk

Antiques go in and out of fashion. Antique desks, for example, became less popular when computer technology eclipsed more traditional writing methods. However, people soon realised that no computer furniture can ever match the beauty of an English Regency pedestal desk, or a Victorian mahogany bureau. With cumbersome desk-top PCs now largely eclipsed by compact laptops, antique desks are more in vogue than ever.

If you are looking for a beautiful piece of antique writing furniture in Cumbria, there are several dealers specialising in antique desks from various periods. These can be very valuable. Evidently, prices will vary depending on age, condition and rarity, but even Victorian desks can fetch good money today. Only last year, a Thomas Brooks rosewood cylinder desk, made in the 1860s, sold for almost £34,000 at auction in Alabama.

Antique desks, like antique dining tables, are functional pieces of furniture and some have been better cared for than others. Cumbrian furniture dealers look for several things when determining the value of a writing desk or bureau – the first one, obviously, being to see if it’s genuine or not. Reproduction antique desks are often made from thinly veneered plywood, which is easy to spot. However, some reproductions are more true to the originals, using genuine dovetailed timber rather than plywood. To carry off the deception, some are distressed to make the piece look older.

However, there are many ways to tell a genuine antique desk from a reproduction, starting with its overall appearance. The functional nature of antique desks in Cumbria means that even the best preserved will have signs of wear-and-tear. The first place to look is the drawer linings, which should be made from a timber such as oak, mahogany or cedarwood, and dovetail jointed. They should also bear signs of use – ink stains are a good sign of authenticity. The desk surface should also have tell-tale signs of bumps and knocks. Remember, a writing desk was a valuable and ageless piece of furniture, often in use for 100 years or more. However well restored it is, this character will show. Put another way, if an “antique” desk looks new, then it’s probably a reproduction.

Another thing Cumbrian dealers look for in antique desks is the quality of the wood and veneer. In the 18th and early 19th century, good quality timber was widely available, which reflected in the quality of the desktop and drawer fronts. In addition, veneers were cut more thickly and had more attractive figuring than those seen today.

The most valuable antique desks are those where high quality timber has been used throughout, and restoration has been achieved in a sympathetic manner. Leather top desks are particularly sought after. Because of their functionality, most antique desks seen in Cumbrian auctions have been restored at least once. To be truly valuable, an antique desk should have been sympathetically restored using traditional methods such as beeswax and turpentine, or French polish. Modern acrylic varnishes and resins will detract from the value, though they can be removed with care to allow traditional restoration.

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by WordRidden

Tips And Ideas For Your Very Own Handmade Christmas Cards

When you consider ways of making handmade Christmas greeting cards you could effortlessly come up with many ideas. The crucial point lies in your collection. The quantity of several collections you have to fashion your beautiful card, directly stays in ratio to the best card you would be in possession of. The assortment of decorations one could gather to make a fine-looking and eye-catching Christmas card would be the focal point of card making. It is not just a month’s labor; you have to be inventive enough to look for stuff around you right from day one. These collected works would someday prove to be useful. Before sitting out to make your card, wander around to look for materials that would make Christmas greeting card truly exceptional.

Tips for Your Handmade Christmas Cards

1. It is significant that the resources you bring together should be colorful enough. Consequently, whenever you come upon several colored sheets with various thickness and you find them of no use, take out a punching instrument and punch out small balls. The balls should be of varying sizes. Try to get a hold of them with the use of compass and scissors. These groups of balls could be glued at the borders of photographs, to make frames for any photo, to lay them as a bed for a new embedding craft.

2. Gather several different colored ribbons to create beautiful bows and glue them in your Christmas card wherever essential. It would be magnificent to tie a bow around your card to hand them exclusively as a gift to your loved-ones. These ribbons could also be placed parallel to give the impression of beautiful Christmas trees.

3. Punch out star figures and parallel strips of colored papers to attach stars and hint trees using parallel strips. It would be nice to use silver and gold colors for stars.

4. Put aside colored threads that lay unused. If the threads’ colors are, gold and silver gather them to make out your own picture. Give them a classic touch using these golden threads. You can also use the golden threads in letters printed on the card. Glue them consequently and place them tight in place.

5. Create some snow flakes in your golden and silver sheets and attach them sparingly in the card to make fine glitters in your card.

6. Get the finest glue that would aid you fixing any type of material from threads to papers.

Be it children, teenagers or adults, anybody would love to be greeted on Christmas. If the wishes were conveyed through presents and compliments then that would be much special. If it is going to bear a special touch of yours then that would be the most exceptional gift that they could ever have. It is very important that you acquire all the materials prior to making your card. It is essential to create the card at a stretch than to craft them in different modules for a number of modules. Should you make at a stretch design ensure that, you use a high quality glue that dries up with out leaving a mark on your card. Make sure they cling to everything tight in place. Else get your card plastic-coated in a nearby store. This would not upset any of your designs.