Finding Your Furniture's Soul by Joseph Pubillones on Creators.com

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Finding Your Furniture's Soul

Sometimes it is hard to tell whether a piece of furniture is truly an antique or if it is just plain old. Upon closer look, how furniture is assembled and held together can reveal hints of the time period in which it was built. For some, simply the fact that a piece of furniture is 100 years old immediately qualifies an item as an antique. For others, in addition to age, the quality and the rarity of the item come into question. The name of the game is to sleuth out signs of genuine age.

The first thing to do in determining the age of your furniture is to turn your piece upside down. This simple move will allow you to have a look up close to note any markings, signatures, shipping labels or benchmarks such as square nail heads, staples or over pours of glue. A single unremarkable marking could be your most important clue in deciphering the age of the furniture at hand.

Another factor to notice is the type of wood used in the production of the furniture. Exotic woods were often used in furniture prior to the 1960s.Today's furniture manufacturers, influenced by popular trends and social awareness, have moved to woods that are sustainable and easily replenished. Also important to note when dating a piece of furniture is whether the woods used are solid material or a wood-veneer finish. Generally, veneers were used for inlay patterns on older pieces; yet they are used to finish entire pieces of contemporary furniture that are constructed of lesser quality woods.

The next thing to look at is the actual construction of the furniture.

Most furniture pieces of quality or that predate the 1960s have dovetailed joints. Any evidence of staples or perfect butt-ended joints is a sure sign of the computer-aided cutting machines associated with contemporary furniture. Make sure to inspect the runners on drawers for signs of wear. Newer furniture will be void of excess wear. Single slot screws are also a good indicator of age.

Remember to use your nose. When signs are clear as to the age of a piece of furniture, let your nose search for musty odors. Older pieces of furniture and woods develop strong scents that are naturally produced as wood ages.

When it comes to upholstered furniture, you will need to go underneath the fabric to find out whether your furniture is an antique or merely a reproduction. In antique frames, you typically will find different types of woods used to build the frame. Modern manufacturing uses the same type of wood throughout. Hand-carvings on antique frames should feel slightly imperfect to the touch. Finally, up until the 1920s, the stuffing in older upholstered furniture was made of hay and horsehair, with strappings made of burlap and cotton that were individually nailed onto the frame. Post 1920s, synthetic fills and staples became popular.

For those who love antiques, discovery and research is part of the fun. It is a bit like genealogy — finding the soul of an item.

Joseph Pubillones is the owner of Joseph Pubillones Interiors, an award-winning interior design firm based in Palm Beach, Fla. To find out more about Joseph Pubillones, or to read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.