Whether it’s great-grandma’s hand-tufted settee or a barn sale
find, a piece of antique furniture can add warmth, history and
texture to a home, but when investing in a piece, remember the old
adage,
”
Buyer beware.
”
True, well-maintained antiques are out there, but finding them
will require a bit of sleuthing.
Whether it’s great-grandma’s hand-tufted settee or a barn sale find, a piece of antique furniture can add warmth, history and texture to a home, but when investing in a piece, remember the old adage, “Buyer beware.” True, well-maintained antiques are out there, but finding them will require a bit of sleuthing.
A bargain price may be hiding some ugly design problems – frame damage or loose supports – that could cost a buyer hundreds of dollars. And that pristinely preserved, very, very expensive “investor piece” in a retailer’s window? It may not be an antique at all.
“Do some research into the era of the piece you’re considering buying,” recommended Dave Okada, who owns Banning Upholstery in Gilroy with his wife, Cindy, and who has reupholstered numerous antiques. “Talk to a professional in the antiques business for any kind of resale. If they’re going to buy (an upholstered) antique piece, they’re going to have to redo it. Most antique furniture does not have fabric that’s in very good condition.”
For the most part, Okada says the craftsmanship of the antiques is unmatched. Frames are made from solid, high-quality wood and fitted snugly together, but time has a way of undoing even the best pieces.
Until the fabric is removed, Okada doesn’t know what he’ll find. The job could be as simple as replacing tired material, or as intensive as rebuilding the piece from the ground up – re-gluing a loose frame, re-webbing the base, replacing springs and applying new foam to the seat.
“That’s about $800 to $900 in labor before the fabric,” he said. “If their piece has diamond tufts or channel backs, that will be extra. Any kind of design that requires that extra stitching is more expensive.”
Look for a tag on the piece, said Okada. If in tact, it should list the maker or time period in which the item was made, giving potential buyers an idea of what they should reasonably expect to pay. Some types of upholstered furniture to avoid include needlepoint seats and pieces that have been reupholstered many times, according to Henry Schultz, part-owner of San Juan Woodworks.
“The real problem is structural,” said Schultz. “The older Victorian pieces can be a real problem because they’ve usually been reupholstered quite a few times. So many sets of nails and staples have gone in to them that it can be hard finding enough wood to reattach the fabric. They’re just not going to have the durability for regular use.”
To minimize the wear on the frame, advises Okada, go with an upholstery-grade blend made in the United States or Europe. Quality varieties will last 20 to 25 years versus the industry average of seven to 10, and their price will reflect it. Velvet or tapestry will run $30 to $50 a yard. Mohair, which is extremely durable, will range as high as $200 a yard.
All-wood pieces have their own problems, ranging from minor repairs to all-out horror stories of hidden damage and forgery. Forgery, in particular, is difficult to spot, even for experts.
“Some of them are obvious,” said Schultz. “There aren’t any 150-year-old television entertainment centers. But some reproductions are really excellent. The craftsmanship, the attention to detail are flawless, and you can’t tell. You can still get hand-made nails. You can still build things by hand, so it’s hard to tell.”
A flat backboard rather than joined wooden panels may clue a buyer in to the more modern origins of a dresser, as would the inclusion of plastic pieces or machine-manufactured nails. On a desk or side table, drawers joined at the corners with 45 degree angle cuts may also be fictitiously aged. Joe Duarte, who owns Monterey St. Antiques with wife Joyce, said his best advice was to buy for enjoyment.
“You have to like looking at it, because if it’s an investment, and it’s not what you hoped for, you’re not going to be happy,” he said.
For the most part, said Duarte, buyers get what they pay for. Pieces from barn sales may seem like awfully great bargains, but they have often been affected by their time in the elements.
“A lot of them will have dry rot or active termite infestations,” said Duarte. “For the termites, you’ll have to get the piece fumigated. With dry rot, you don’t want it. It’s usually really light in that area and will look porous, whereas a piece that isn’t dry-rotted will look nice and solid. The wood will be soft in that part, too – sometimes you can even stick your fingernail into it.”
In chairs, caned and woven pieces are among the most costly to repair.
Caning by hand is tedious labor, but can actually be
accomplished by a homeowner with the time
and inclination.
In Schultz’s shop, the process will cost $2.50 per hole – and there are a whole lot of holes in the average seat. As an alternative, some owners choose to replace hand-caning with machine-made cane that can be glued or nailed into place. The additional ease comes at a price though.
“These chairs,” said Schultz, gesturing to a set that is waiting for repair, “had their seats replaced with machined cane. They used to be something quite special, but not anymore.”
Loose chairs, if they’re all wood, are generally inexpensive to re-glue provided they’re balanced correctly. Any chair with uneven leg lengths will become loose again over time.
The one area where buyers really can’t afford to buy a piece as a fixer-upper is in the woven category.
Rush seats must be completely re-woven if they become loose, and should their rails break, the structural integrity is sunk.
Most antiques are fairly sturdy, though. Their craftsmanship is unparalleled in the modern retail climate, and, for the price, they can be a steal.
“Some of these hand-carved pieces – a dining set – will cost $8,000 or more, but if you tried to build that today it would probably run you 20 grand,” said Schultz. “And I wouldn’t even know where to start. It would be hard enough to build with all the tools I have now, but back then they only had hand tools. Those builders were artists.”
In picking your own little bit of history, a little common sense can go a long way. These pieces are meant to last more than a lifetime,
but only under reasonable circumstances.
Lift them from load-bearing points (like the legs of a table) rather than picking them up by their tops or dragging them.
Have pieces re-glued if they become unstable instead of risking a collapse and its resulting repair bill. And if something’s loose, look to see why.
“You wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve gone out and it’s just some loose screws,” said Schultz. “Very seldom do you find the Antiques Roadshow piece, but that doesn’t take the joy out of looking.”
An Honest Mistake
While extreme under-pricing can signal a rip-off, sometimes it’s just an accident.
“I repaired these two bronze statues,” said Joe Duarte, who owns Monterey St. Antiques in Gilroy with his wife Joyce. “We set them out and priced them at $400, and they weren’t selling. People kept commenting that the price seemed low, though. My wife was going through a book and there they were … for $8,000 a pair.”
The statues, it turned out, were sand-cast bronzes created by a European manufacturer.
“Sometimes people don’t know the value of what they have,” said Duarte. “People see such a low price and it makes them suspicious. Invisible repair items you shouldn’t sell at full book value, but once they’re repaired, the key word is invisible.”
The Duartes are now asking $1,400 for the set.
