Old Wood

Whither Traditional

God knows my sense of design needs development; Jean and Scott would say that it’s non-existent. That said, interior design over the past several years has clearly trended toward contemporary and modern – clean, crisp, less is more, and to my taste, a bit on the cold side. Thumb through any of the shelter magazines and you will see what I mean.

As a result, antique furniture doesn’t have the same interior design cache that it did a few years ago. Our store has evolved from purely English and French antiques to include North Carolina upholstery, antique replicas (1/2 the price point) and Bolier, a boutique line of high quality, high design contemporary furniture. The net result is a great combination of the old and the new that looks wonderful in customer’s homes.

That said, my not so secret love is traditional settings – antiques (or look-a-likes) with warm patina, upholstery designed for Saturday afternoon naps and soft fabrics that look like they have been around awhile. If you read the shelter books, I’m clearly a voice in the wilderness.

I feel somewhat vindicated when most visitors to our home love the “look” that Jean has so painstakingly furnished in “guess what” style. I really, really felt vindicated after a phone call earlier this week.

Jean decorated a condo in Boston several years ago for clients who have since become good friends; see “traditional” photo attached. These folks recently put their home on the market after buying a larger home in a neighborhood they have coveted for years.

I don’t need to elaborate on the current state of the housing market. Boston has dozens of condos on the market (see “contemporary” photo) in the same price range as “traditional”; most have been listed for months.

“Traditional” sold in twenty-fours for full asking price. Is it coincidence or are there other voices in the wilderness that vote with their pocketbooks?

Mmmmmm - food for thought.

Is It Really as Old as the Seller would Like it to Be?

It takes decades and decades to really become an expert in authenticating antiques.  Even those of us in the business tend to focus on a narrow period and style, e.g. 18th and 19th century English Antiques.  If you truly want to be an expert, study, read, hit shows and museums but most importantly get out in the field to talk to dealers and other experts.

Many of us don’t have the time or inclination to become expert, but want to learn enough to avoid being pegged as absolute novices by asking:  “Excuse me, is this old or new?”

These tips are designed for people who are interested in spending a few thousand dollars on a piece for their homes and want to know what they are buying.  Old Wood believes there is good, bad and ugly in all periods and styles; choose what pleases you.  That said, you need to know what you are getting.

If you’re planning to spend big bucks or wish to acquire museum quality pieces, these tips are not for you; hire a consultant you can trust.

1)  Read the tag and talk to the dealer.  Most dealers are very knowledgeable about their wares and enjoy sharing.  The tag should contain information such as country of origin, materials, circa (translates as “approximate”), and a description of the piece.

2)  Assuming the exterior proportions, appearance, polish and brasses are pleasing to you, ignore the exterior and look at the hidden parts.  I like the surreptitious “snake the old hand around” approach to “see” hidden parts without tearing the piece apart.

3)  Snake your hand around the side and feel the back of the piece.  The older it is, the rougher the back will be (time was money even then).  18th century or early 19th c. back boards will feel rough with ridges from hand planing and minimal sanding.  That’s good.  20th century backs are smooth, the result of machine planning and sanding.  Plywood backs are a dead giveaway.  Really wide backboards usually signify an older piece as wide boards were more commonly available in the 18th and early 19th centuries.

4)  Open a drawer a few inches.  Again, snake the old hand underneath to feel the outside drawer bottom.  Does it feel old and rough? Is the chamfer around the perimeter uneven as though it was cut with a hand plane?  That’s good.  If the bottom is smooth with a crisply defined, almost sharp, chamfer, that usually means machine made, late 19th c, or 20th c.

5)  While you’re at it, check out the dovetail joints fastening the drawer front to the sides. 
English dovetails are usually finer with sharper points than American, but don’t take that as gospel.  An English cabinetmaker didn’t change his dovetail style the day he got off the boat in Philadelphia.  French dovetails are usually larger; some French country pieces have only 1 dove tail on each side of the drawer front.

Hand cut dovetails are never perfect; absolutely uniform dovetails is usually a sign they were machine made.  Scribe marks were used to establish the depth of hand cut dovetails but don’t take their existence as gospel.  Lot’s of reproduction furniture makers, then and now, will add a scribe mark to machine cut dovetails for “authenticity”.

6)  Brasses are always a hot topic – original brasses or not?  Unless you are dealing in the rarified air of museum quality pieces, “original brasses” on a period English piece are fairly rare.  Brasses, ie, pulls on a chest of drawers, were viewed as a fashion item and often changed with the times as fashion changed. 

One of the easy ways to partially authenticate an 18th c. chest of drawers is to look at the various hole patterns on the inside of a drawer front.  You may see a pair of holes 3” apart for the original Chippendale pulls.  Between these holes is a single ½” diameter hole drilled to accommodate a wooden knob, the height of fashion during the Victorian period.  Finally, there may be another pair of small holes that were drilled in the 20th c. to accommodate reproduction Chippendale style brass pulls.

We’re hoping these few simple tips will add to your enjoyment as you are poking around shops and auctions.  Reputable dealers are always willing to share their expertise and add to your knowledge – ask lots of questions.

Ahhhh, The Romance of Antiques

Jean and I were in the river room with friends Saturday evening having a pre-dinner glass of wine. Somehow I ended up in a chair where I normally don’t sit. It caused me to focus on a piece of furniture across the room that I usually don’t pay a lot of attention to. It’s an antique vaisselier that we have owned for 23 years. It was in our sun room in Homeland for 11 years and has been in the river room at the farm for the past 12. It’s French, circa 1780, made of walnut in a Louis XV rustique style, beautifully proportioned and as right as rain. The timbers are thick with a beautiful polish on the visible surfaces yet the hidden surfaces (ie, back, drawer bottoms) are really rough, just this side of a tree trunk. Even 250 years ago, time was money and the labor went into what shows.

As I tried to carry on a reasonable conversation about the possibility of a McCain / Obama duel in November, 70% of my brain was devoted to the vaisselier and what it has meant in our lives.

Jean bought it in a little shop in Paris on her 1st ever buying trip in France in 1984, even before we knew the Marche au Puce existed. How naïve we were in those days. I thought about our kids playing hot wheels underneath, Jean displaying a few pieces of her majolica collection, me installing stereo equipment behind the doors and searching for a mouse hole for the power cord. God forbid we would even think about drilling a hole. I still haven’t gotten around to fixing the right front leg that a 5 month old puppy snacked on 20 years ago.

Before getting back to Obama and McCain, I concluded that at least 5, maybe 10 or more French families took care of this piece before we were fortunate enough to have it in our home. I always wonder what their stories would be.

Eat your heart out Ethan Allen.

Waxing pine

Speaking of maintenance, we preach that furniture, particularly pine, needs periodic waxing to keep the wood from looking “dry” and to retain that soft, mellow look.  As I write this note in my family room, I’m staring at a pine entertainment center, coffee table and side table that haven’t been waxed in years.  As I get out the can of Briwax, here’s the best way to maintain your pine furniture:

• Depending on usage, waxing every year or two is sufficient to keep case goods looking their best.  Pine dining tables may require more frequent waxing depending on the look you prefer,.
• Start off with a well ventilated room – open windows and a bit of breeze makes the process more enjoyable.  You may want to move smaller pieces to the garage.  Briwax is strong, flammable and has a distinctive odor which diminishes over a couple of hours.  Simple precautions like breathing masks and gloves are required.
• Light Brown Briwax is the correct color for what we call “mellow yellow” pine – a golden color with just a touch of brown.  Tudor Brown Briwax is a bit darker with a touch of red.  A lighter, more Scandinavian looking color can be achieved with Clear Briwax.  Avoid Dark Brown unless you really know what you are doing.  If in doubt, try a sample in an inconspicuous area of the piece.
• Briwax is a self cleaning process.  In most instances, it’s not necessary to prepare the surface before re-waxing.  Just dust if off and get on with it.
• Apply a moderate amount of Briwax using “extra fine” (0000) steel wool with the grain of the wood using medium pressure.  The goal is to rub the wax into the wood, not smear it on the surface.  Two or three light coats are preferable to a single thick coar.
• Make sure the wax is applied uniformly to the entire surface.  Don’t make the mistake of “spot” waxing to remove a glass ring or stain.
• If the wax doesn’t seem to “stick” in certain spots, sand those spots lightly with #80 grit sandpaper to get a better “bite”.

• Allow five to 10 minutes dry time, then buff with a clean soft cloth.  Again, medium pressure with the grain is the most effective technique.  Continue buffing until the surface is dry with a bit of a glow.  If this process takes too long and seems tedious, you probably applied too much wax in the first place.  Dry steel wool (extra fine 0000) will remove excess wax.

That’s it for this session.  The next issue will contain a few simple tips for determining whether an antique is really as old as the seller would like it to be.

Living with Old Wood...

OldWood is a sometime commentary created by Gaines McHale Antiques for lovers of antique furniture and newly made furniture crafted from recycled timbers.

This blog is for people like us; people who appreciate the romance and history of antique furniture, the patina of an old finish and the look and feel of well executed craftsmanship.  OldWood’s main interest is in mid-range antiques that have survived for 150 to 300 years in daily use and will remain so for our children’s children’s children.

There’s lot’s of talk about “Green” in the furniture industry these days.  Come to think of it, antiques are the ultimate “green” solution to furniture.  Why argue the definition of sustainable, growth rates of various strains of bamboo, carbon footprints or the cost of transportation from China?  Use stuff that already exists, made from trees harvested hundreds of years ago.  Second best is furniture made from re-cycled timbers.  Furniture made from timbers salvaged from old sheds, barns and factories has the antique look, generally a lower price point than antiques yet saves thousands of trees.

Antique furniture is well made, crafted from quality woods and, if properly maintained, will last for another two hundred years.  We don’t own antiques; we’re caretakers entrusted with the responsibility to preserve them for future generations.

Enjoyment and daily use of antiques carries a maintenance responsibility.  Periodic care, cleaning and necessary maintenance ensures that the piece will be available for generations to come.  Here are a few simple tips we’ve learned in nearly thirty years of answering customer questions:

• Daily dusting with a soft cloth is advisable.  Clean up with a barely moist soft cloth and avoid soapy water.  There is no need to “scrub” dining tables after every meal.
• Avoid commercial products like EndDust, Lemon Sudsy whatever and any spray product containing silicone.  Silicone attracts dust and causes a sticky mess over time.  Train housekeepers.
• Antique tables are made to be seen, used and enjoyed.  Nothing bugs me more than to walk into a home on Tuesday afternoon and see a beautiful antique table covered with pads or sheets “to protect it”; it may as well be plywood.  Leave the table exposed so you can enjoy its beauty every day.
• Place mats, trivets and coasters are made to protect finishes – use them.  Always use a hard placemat and a trivet for hot serving dishes.  This will prevent steam from damaging the table finish
• Just because a chest of drawers is 200 years old doesn’t mean that you need to wrestle with sticky or jammed drawers every time you need clean boxers.  Drawer glides are maintenance items, just like tires on a car – keep them in good repair.  It could be as simple as soap or candle wax on the glides.  Or if the glides are really worn, have them replaced by a competent professional.
• There are lots of home remedies for repairing finish damage – toothpaste, ashes, linseed oil and turpentine and a dozen other solutions.  The proper technique depends on the finish type and the skill of the restorer.  Unless you finished the table in the first place, protect your investment by calling a professional.
• Dining chairs “loosen up” periodically due to a cloddish guest or wood shrinkage caused by changes in humidity.  Repair them promptly to prevent serious damage or even injury to that cloddish guest (not necessarily a bad thing.)  Unless you are a skilled craftsman with the knowledge and tools (clamps, scrapers, proper glue) call a professional.

Hopefully these tips will save you some time and trouble.  Remember, antiques are for your enjoyment, make them a part of your daily routine!