In antique furniture which dates back more than 100 years, there are various styles that you can find and if you know what to look out for, you can identify antiques from replicas and reproduction pieces. This will allow you to make an informed choice when going furniture shopping for antique pieces, or determine how much to pay for a piece of furniture that you think is antique.

Looking at how old a chair, wardrobe or desk is, you can look at the wood that was used, the type of joinery, the saw markings, the hidden pieces on the furniture, the carvings, the style, and the finishes. With some elements like the styling and decorative features, it can be harder to tell how old a piece is, as there are many reproduction pieces and design features that were used over many eras.

There are lots of styles that you can choose from and they all have distinguishing markings and features. Usually you will find pieces that are limited to the America Colonial and Traditional English periods at garage sales and in second hand shops, and in some hip boutique hotels like britannia hotel manchester or Andy Thorton. However, if you want to find the genuine Louis the XV chair you will have to go to a professional dealer or antiques fair (I suggest You to have a look here: What antique furniture .com) .

Looking at the styles you get, the older English pieces are categorized into Queen Anne, Georgian Chippendale, Georgian Adam, Georgian Hepplewhite, Late 18th Century, Georgian Sheraton, and Regency.

In the American Colonial styles you get the Early Colonial, Late Colonial, Federal, Pennsylvania Dutch, and the Shaker furniture. Here you will find more detail about what each style consists of:

English pieces

Queen Anne – This style comes from the early 18th century, and is mainly made from walnut, cherry-wood, oak, mahogany, and maple. These pieces normally consist of lots of curves which are graceful and plenty of curved legs, there were no rungs or any kinds of stretchers used, and they were simple and elegant with not too much decoration.

Georgian Chippendale – This style dates back to the late 18th century, and was predominantly made from mahogany. They are a slight elaboration from the Queen Anne style with more ornate carvings and features, many of which were quite bold. Many themes were also used such as Chinese, Rococo, English, and Greek Classic. The chair backs were especially intricate.

Georgian Adam – Also dating to the late 18th century, and also using mainly mahogany, the Georgian Adam used slender lines and was influenced mainly by Greek Classical styles. As such, fluted columns were used frequently and delicate carvings were introduced, like the draped garlands which were a favored design.

Georgian Hepplewhite – This style is from the late 18th century, and uses mahogany and satinwood inlays or veneer. This style was based on the Adam, with tapered legs, and oval, heart, or shield shaped backs of chairs.

Georgian Sheraton – Also from the late 18th century, made from mahogany, this is similar to the Hepplewhite, only straighter lines were used and the Classic Greek influence saw lyre shaped chair backs.

Regency – Dating to the early 19th century, mahogany was favored and the designs were bold, simple, and more functional, with colors being used.

American Colonial stylesEarly Colonial

Dating to the 17th century, this style used maple, pine, birch, and walnut with heavy decorations and carvings. These were solid constructions and lots of square lines were used.

Late Colonial – From the 18th century, this style used mainly pine and mahogany, and the pieces were interpretations of the English Georgian and Queen Anne styles. One example is the Windsor Chair.

Federal – This dates to the early 19th century and used woods like mahogany and cherry. These were interpretations of the Georgian styles with some French influence and are heavier than the English styles. Examples are the Hitchcock Chari and the Boston rocker.

Pennsylvania Dutch – This style is from the late 17th century to mid-19th and used pine, maple, walnut, and fruit woods. They are plain Germanic styled pieces and are solid and usually painted colorfully with Germanic decorations.

Shaker – This dates from the late 18th century to the mid-19th century with pieces being made from pine and maple. They are very functional with no decoration but of excellent design and craftsmanship.

Valuing old and antique furniture is something that not everyone knows how to do and normally if you want to sell or buy a piece, you look to the expertise of a dealer or appraiser to give you an accurate valuation.

For those that do want to start learning about antiques and how they are valued, however, here are some tips that you can use when you are at the next antiques fair or visiting your local antique store. You can also learn about valuation techniques to help you discover more about the pieces you have and what they might be worth before you even take it to a shop to sell or to a dealer.

The first thing to look for is if the piece has a stamp of mark of the manufacturer. Usually pieces that have marks will be worth more than ones that don’t. You should carefully scrutinize your piece with a magnifying glass to make sure that you don’t miss any small markings. In the case of painted furniture you can also look for an artist’s signature which will help a great deal in valuing the piece.

Next you must look at the condition of the piece of furniture. Simply finding a price in an antique guide is not enough. If the piece that you have located is not in the same condition as your piece you cannot make a comparison. You will have to do some more research and see how many flaws there are including any cracks, chips, scratches, and excessive wear and tear like water damage, tears, staining, or broken legs, spindles, etc.

The next thing you can check when valuing a piece is if it is common piece or a rare item. If an item of furniture is very rare, then it will be worth a lot more, even if it is not in very good condition. Say, for instance that you have a piece of Majolica pottery but it has a hairline crack in it, it will still be worth quite a lot of money. If you want to find out about how rare certain pieces are you can ask a local dealer or find an expert in the type of furniture you want to value.

You must also remember that when valuing item, just because they are old, does not mean that they are valuable.

Much of this has to do with the demand for an item and you will find that many items classified as antiques are not in high demand, which means that they do not have a high value. Similarly, if many of the same items from the early 1900s, for example, have survived, then they will be too common to hold a lot of value.

A very important factor to consider, when trying to determine the value of a piece of furniture, is to find out if it is real or fake. Many replica items that are carbon copies of original pieces have been created and some are only a few decade or even a few years old. Usually if an item of furniture has been in your family for generations and you know the history behind it, then it is authentic, but many items sold at flea markets and second hand store will need to be authenticated before you buy them. By looking for discrepancies in the markings will be a tell tale sign of a fake.

Another factor to consider is whether a piece has been restored or repaired. If an antique has been professionally restored, this can improve the value, but a poor repair job using some glue and noticeable solders, will negatively affect the value price of your antique piece.