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Looking For An Antique Dining Table?

By: Kate Holston

As well as making a great topic of conversation, an antique dining table gives a certain warmth and special feeling of days gone by to your dining room. Whether your home is Victorian, Colonial or rustic in style, this kind of furniture will enhance the room in a wonderful way. However, finding the perfect antique dining table to suit your home requires a little homework on your part.

There are several kinds of dining tables which are considered to be antique. The oldest known surviving dining tables are the trestle tables from the middle ages. Designed to seat many people at one time, they are huge and made from planks set on trestles affording the owner the luxury of being able to easily take the table to pieces should a little extra space be required. More recent examples of trestle tables are smaller in size and have solid table tops.

One of the best ways to find an antique dining table is to start by visiting a museum that has samples of the type of table you are searching for. Ask questions and learn what features you should be looking for in the kind of table you want.

Once you find a piece that you think may be an antique start by thoroughly examining it. Check to see if it is put together with pegs. If so the pegs should stand slightly out due to use and settling of the wood. Make sure any hardware is the original, and that the patina or finish is worn. The legs should also show signs of uneven wear. New finish on your antique dining table will make it worth far less than retaining the original finish.

Colonial, Victorian, refectory, and gate-legged tables are just some of the choices open to you when selecting your antique dining room table. However, it is the age of the table, not the design which determines whether or not the furniture is antique. For example a table between 75 and 99 years old is considered to be "near antique" whereas a 100 year old piece of furniture is indeed a true antique and likely to cost you quite a lot more.

Once this has been decided, the next stop is the antique shops, fairs and auction rooms, or anywhere else where antique items of furniture can be found for sale. It's always worth asking your friends and colleagues if they have something like what you are after stashed away in their storerooms or attics. You never know!

Next ask questions. Try and determine when the table was made or at least how long it has belonged in a family. If this is a table that someone's great grandmother brought over from the old country in 1896 you have at least some idea as to its age. If you think you have found an antique dining table but are unsure of its age, then get an expert opinion. While hiring an expert may cost a few dollars it is worth your peace of mind knowing you got the real thing.

Finding an antique dining table isn't difficult it may just take a little time and effort to find the exact table that you want for your home.

Article Source: http://www.onlinearticlessite.com

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