Best advice when buying antique furniture is to do business only with reputable dealers who will guarantee that what they’re selling is genuine. The best place in Chicago for antique collection is www.oldplank.com the safest and most secured place to buy them.

There are certain things to keep in mind while buying antique furniture like choosing styles, identifying the antique furniture, reproductions, Budget and antique furniture shops.

Style plays an important role with furniture like wood, rosewood, walnut, satinwood, Mahogany etc. What will work best in your home, decor plays the most important task.

Identify the reproductions available with the antique dealers which are more affordable when compared to original antiques. Both are good but the only thing you need to find is a true piece or a mis-reproduction one by examining the imperfection, fades, cracks and wood shrinks etc.

However, one thing should be always kept in mind while purchasing antiques and old world styled furniture that it is a costly affair that will make you shell more money in comparison to conventional furniture. Therefore, while going for antique furnishings, you should be ready to part with hard earned money as these items do not come at affordable price.

In choosing the antique furniture, value plays an important role and the type of wood the piece is made from. Mahogany, walnut, oak and pine are the most sought after. If the piece has its original hardware and wood panels it will be worth a lot more than a piece that has been re-done due to broken parts. If you have a piece of furniture that is not in top condition, with scratches on the finish, leave it alone if you believe it has some value. Never strip and refinish it. If a leg is loose on a table you can leave it alone or put a small amount of wood glue in the joint. Never remove a leg and re-fit it. If a piece is a bit unsteady this is a good indication that it is truly old. Make sure you inspect the entire piece of furniture for matching wood. Sometimes the back panels had been damaged and they will be replaced with another type of wood.

These items have a timeless value that adds to the long lasting charm. Therefore, you can choose among a large option of antique furniture and fittings to beautify your home in an amazing way. In order to safeguard yourself from cheats, make sure you check out genuine antique furniture deals.

Products from different cultures, made by different artisans around the world, are special in their uniqueness and make them quite attractive to collect.

If you have old furniture, light fixtures, mirrors, practically anything that is just gathering dust, tucked away in an unused room of your home, you should get that item out, dust it off, and get an antique appraisal for it. You could have valuable antiques residing in your home that could garner you some much-needed capital for other expenditures you might possibly have. The longer an antique sits unattended, the more chance it has of becoming accidentally damaged in some way. It won’t do anyone any good then. Have another look at great-grandma’s sewing machine or your uncle’s handsome-looking carved chest of drawers. Maybe, just maybe, it is of a vintage that is of great worth to a collector of that furniture period.

What about those old dolls that you inherited from your grandmother’s estate? Or the oil paintings that hung in your grandfather’s house until it was sold and the paintings were passed down to you? Who was the artist? At what time in history were they painted? Where were they painted? Also important are the materials the artists and craftsmen used to create the work of art.

Take another look at that oriental rug rolled up in your attic that used to lie in repose in your great-aunt’s dining room. It could perhaps be of an expensive nature.

Art experts travel the country, and the world, looking for one-of-a-kind pieces, or pieces to match something else they already possess. You never know if an item you have may be just what they are looking for and the price they might pay to attain it. An antique appraisal will arm you with the knowledge you need to determine if a piece you have is highly sought after in the market place right now.

In the 1760′s, companies began manufacturing ten-plate stoves. And in the early 1800′s, initial designs of Step-top cook stoves appeared. It was in this century that box stoves became quite popular. These are just a few of the facts that you should be aware of if you’re serious about collecting ancient stoves.

Main Types of Stoves According to Purpose Domestic – Several models of domestic stoves were produced starting in the mid 1800′s. Wick stoves were powered by kerosene fuel and could be virtually used in any room. To know if an ancient stove is of this type, check if it has a noiseless burner, cast iron support ring for the pan, and permanently attached rods to serve as additional support for the unit.

Camping – It was in early 20th century that people truly found the need, time, or even the desire for stoves that were specifically made for camping or outdoor use. At the start, camping stoves used pressurized kerosene burners or alcohol for power. To make them travel-friendly, manufacturers did their best to make them streamlined, or even better, collapsible.

Industrial – As the name itself implies, this type of stove was used by commercial companies. Because of its size and features, industrial stoves weren’t suitable for home or camping use. To identify if an ancient stove is of this type, look for something noticeably larger than usual, uses a roarer burner and has no feet.

How and Where to Look for Ancient Stoves There are many land-based and online shops today that specialize in selling ancient stoves. You can contact or visit their store to see if they have anything you like. You can also inform them of what you want, and they’ll usually be glad to find it up for you. Sometimes, there are ancient stoves sold at garage sales as well. You can purchase these and have them repaired by professionals.

Over that period of time the lighting in the rich houses and castles evolved from wooden and gilded chandeliers to wrought iron or brass and bronze, crystal and later on to gas lamps and electric lights. Over this same period of time, sconces and table lamps also became fashionable and these vary in style from period to period.

The important thing to consider when choosing an antique lighting fixture is that it should not only be in a style that you like, but also that the lighting itself should be complete, as, if there is an element that is missing then it will often be difficult to find it. A missing glass shade, for instance, may prove extremely difficult to find. Another determining factor is where the light will be used and what purpose it is expected to serve.

Ambient fill-in lighting is one of the most important elements to consider. They also explain that to obtain this effect you should use a soft white light which washes the ceiling into the corners of the room and bouncing off the walls. For example, antique lighting sconces are great to create this effect

When lighting your dining room for instance what do you want? A drop or a chandelier? If you choose a chandelier, you should use low-voltage electric bulbs. And to provide fill-in lighting, you should add sconces. You’ll also have to take into account the height of the ceiling and the width of the table when choosing the height and the diameter of the light fixture. On the other hand, a drop bowl, will give your room a marvellous source of light which is not direct and washes the whole room.

To light the kitchen antique lighting pendants are perfect over islands, open counters or sinks as they are a good source of light under which to perform kitchen tasks. These can be supplemented by lights over cabinets that don’t light the ceiling.

In the bedroom at least one kind of sconce has to be used to give a fill-in lighting effect, otherwise the lighting fixtures should reflect the taste and needs of the people who use the room. Lighting fixtures near the bed will be needed.

Some dealers offer advice on the best way to light a room and on which antique lighting fixture or fixtures to choose. It is often a combination of a central lighting feature plus sconces and table lamps. The fill-in light effect is also important. This effect can be obtained using low-voltage lamp bulbs to which you add sconces.

The budget available which naturally greatly influence your choice of antique lighting fixture. Genuine antiques can be very expensive, and in fact over the last ten years, antique lighting fixtures have more than quadrupled in price. This does, however, have a positive side, as a genuine antique lighting fixture may also represent a good investment.

There are plenty of Internet sites that offer a wide range of antique lighting fixtures. Such sites and showrooms may also offer antique lighting for the exterior of the house such as lanterns and post lights, hanging lights and sconces for your porch.

When buying original and genuine antique lights it is important to buy only articles that have a warranty provided by experts who have a proven track-record for integrity in their field.

There are also dealers who are less scrupulous and claim that their antique lighting fixtures are genuine when in fact they contain just tiny antique parts, all the rest of the light being reproduction. Reproductions, have their place of course, for instance when it is necessary to buy more than one piece, such as in a hotel. In that case the use of replicas may be useful. But it is important to know whether you are buying a genuine antique or a reproduction as their value will differ greatly.