When it comes to furniture, antique is glorious word. If you are wondering how to know if it is antique furniture, we have your answer here.

For the modern collector looking to decorate their home with antique furniture, there are many different types and styles to choose from. You can choose from the various styles of Chippendale furniture, such as the French influenced pieces, the Chinese influenced pieces, the Gothic influenced pieces, and the Queen Anne style. Or if you prefer a more American feel, you can choose Boston Colonial pieces, New York East Lake pieces, or Stickley pieces with which to furnish your home.

However with all of these possibilities, you also need to be aware of the fact that many companies, often from Asia or Latin America, have manufactured “reproductions” of these types of furniture but attempt to pass them off as “antiques”. Fortunately for you the consumer, there are a few tips and tricks you can use to tell the difference between an “old” antique, and a recently manufactured “new” antique.

The first tip to keep in mind when you are attempting to authenticate antique furniture is to remember that furniture that was actually constructed during the 18th and 19th centuries is made up of several different types of wood. Typically there was one, more expensive type of wood used on the surfaces that were exposed, and a secondary, less expensive wood, used on the surfaces that were hidden from view. In comparison, a reproduction will often be constructed entirely from one type of wood.

Another characteristic to look for is to examine the way that the joints are held together on the piece of furniture. A piece built during the 1800’s or 1900’s will have joints that are reinforced with woodworking techniques such as dowels, splines, or a mortise and tenon, or hand carved dovetails. Again, a modern reproduction will show different methods of connecting the wood-to-wood joints, with the use of a hot glue gun being most common. Additionally, the nails used in genuine antiques will be smaller “finishing” nails, with heads that are nailed down under the surface of the wood so as to be almost invisible, as opposed to the larger, more visible “common nails” used in modern manufacturing.

Finally, if you are looking to purchase painted furniture, a close inspection of some aspects of the painting techniques can also help you discern between a genuine antique, and a recent reproduction. For example, craftsmen of the 18th and 19th century only painted the exposed areas of their furniture. So if the piece you’re considering is painted on the inside of its drawers or the underside of a table, more than likely it is not a genuine antique. Additionally, the wear on the paint should be random and irregular, the kind of wear and tear that occurs as a result of everyday life. If the wear on the paint appears too regular or as if it is in a pattern, it is likely that the piece is a modern construction and was “distressed” by hand in order to make it appear older than it is.