Archive for February, 2010

All About Antique Desks

February 16th, 2010

It goes without saying that antique desks are some of the most beautiful pieces of furniture that we could ever add to our home or working space. It is not easy to make these types of desks and their pricing definitely the reflects the cost of their difficult nature to manufacture and produce; while the prices themselves are not unforgiving, they can run high depending on exactly what you are looking for. The wood used to construct these desks needs to be crafted and treated perfectly to get it looking its best and in top shape.

Antique desks are as usable as much as they are good for being part of a display or to actually display items themselves. If you intend to work at this type of desk then it benefits you to be aware of all of the different types of them.

An antique writing desk is the most common type of antique desk you will come across. These desks tend to run big in size by default although smaller desks can be found, they are not so much the standard. A writing desk for usage today would be perfect for doing any type of work imaginable. Putting your computer or other necessary workspace components would fit without a problem on the standard writing desk.

Antique furniture desks are still able to be used as a work place although they tend to be a bit more ornate for decorative and display purposes. Understandably some individuals would rather leave their desk as a way to decorate and display specific items in their home rather then damage it or cause minor imperfections that accumulate over time from using it.

An antique roll top desk is the classic picture that comes to mind whenever you think about desks from the past. Just like its name suggests, these desks feature a rolling top desk that is able to be open and closed to reveal whatever its owner decides to keep inside. The benefit of having one of these desks is that it is a good way to keep your workspace and belongings private and out of sight when you are not using the desk. If you tend to accumulate a lot of clutter while working then this feature is perfect to hide that extra mess. On the contrary, it is also good because after you finish doing work on the desk, when you pull the roll top down you can transform it back into a lovely piece of furniture.

An antique secretary desk is a large piece of furniture that is intended to be as decorative as it is functional for the secretary using it. These desks tend to be a lot larger and have more compartments to hold miscellaneous items and belongings.

An antique school desk does not have much practical usability these days and are mostly acquired for collection purposes. There are quite a few companies that will produce these desks for those who want to have one either for working or display purposes; these types of antique desks are smaller in size and would have everything you would expect a small school desk of olden times to have.

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The Vintage Brooch Resource

February 14th, 2010

There is nothing more elegant and noble that is able to go with literally anything you may ever wear then a vintage brooch. The most important thing to clear up before diving into these beautiful pins is exactly how the word vintage is used to define a brooch. In retrospect, anything generally from the years 1950 – 1980 would be considered vintage. With that in mind, when it comes to vintage brooches, one could say that any style gems, jewels or other materials that were in popular use between the 50s and the 80s would satisfy the requirement for being vintage. To go a little bit deeper into the subject matter to gain a good sense of clarity, a vintage brooch pin would have to be made with any type of material that was in style between the years of 1950 and 1980; while these brooches can be replicas or made to be similar to specific brooches in the past, to be deemed a true vintage brooch the pins themselves do not need to be replicas – they only need to be made from materials used between the defined time periods. Below is a list of the most popular types of vintage brooches you can buy or collect today.

Vintage Rhinestone Brooch – Rhinestone is at the top of the list because it is one of the most popular materials used to create any type of vintage pin. Rhinestones were extremely popular and were used in the majority of brooches produced around the period of the 1960s. Rhinestone is an imitation diamond produced from either glass, rock or sand. A quality rhinestone would fool anybody into thinking it was a real diamond so long as it was created and produced properly with tender loving effort. These rhinestone brooches are inexpensive and fit the bill when it comes to getting a great looking brooch for a tiny price tag. The best thing is instead of purchasing one expensive vintage diamond brooch you can purchase many vintage rhinestone brooches and still make out like a bandit in terms of what you save.

Vintage Crystal Brooch – Crystal is special material because, as they say, nothing shines as prestigious and pristine as a crystal. A lot of big name designers are starting to come out with crystal brooches and with good reason – you wouldn’t find a more luminous and bright material then crystal for your pin. Crystal has always been such a universal material and has been worn throughout the vintage period in high esteem. When it comes to a vintage crystal brooch, it is more so the design that makes it vintage rather the the crystal itself.

Vintage Cameo Brooch – This type of vintage jewelry throws a lot of people off; the word cameo is used in this sense to refer to the fact that some type of picture, either a painting or an actual photograph, appears somewhere in the brooch itself. Just like the word cameo refers to a sort of appearance of a person within a TV show, the word cameo is used with the brooch to denote the fact that some type of figure or person is present within the brooch itself. There really is no limit when it comes to what you can have inside of the vintage cameo brooch. In order to remain in the theme of all things vintage, cameo brooches during this time usually depicted paintings instead of photographs, understandably since photography was not as far along as it is now and the tiny photographs required were either impossible or too expensive to justify the cause.

Vintage Silver Brooch – Silver was another one of the most popular materials used to create a vintage brooch for the time period. Again, when it comes to these types of pins, the least amount of emphasis should be placed on the material and the most on the design of the object itself. One of the greatest things about silver is that you will be a lot of vintage silver brooches are fashioned to look like anything from people to things you would find in nature such as trees or clouds. Because silver is a metal that is able to be shaped and molded, you will find a lot of variation on all of the different options available.

Vintage Pearl Brooch – These types of brooches were popular with members of higher society during this time period. Unlike silver, pearls cannot be worked into a specific shape, however, the pearls are almost always set around another type of precious metal or background which is open to a lot of variation.

Vintage Enamel Brooch – This is another one that throws a lot of people off. What the word enamel here refers to is the casting of the brooch as a whole. The enamel is a hard backing that usually has various types of precious jewels, gems or stones set on to it. It is common to see decorations or themes made out of the enamel using the jewels, gems or stones. For example, you might see a brooch made out of enamel set to the theme of a flower pot or even a picnic basket.

Vintage Butterfly Brooch – This was an extremely popular type of vintage brooch. This ones name says it all – the brooch was typically made to resemble a butterfly using all different types of stones, jewels and gems, usually in combination to replicate the form and shape of a butterfly in flight.

Vintage Bird Brooch – These types of brooches were plentiful and made to look like almost any kind of bird you can ever imagine. Blue jays and red cardinals were of high demand during their respectful periods.

One helpful reminder for when you are looking for a vintage brooch is to consider the fact that vintage brooches come two ways. The first way you will find these brooches is in still uncirculated and originally unsealed packaging from its respectful time period. The second way you will encounter and come across vintage brooches is from people who handcraft their own replications and interpretations. One is not any better then the other, however, uncirculated types of pins might carry more value and pull more weight with those who are looking to collect them.

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The Retro Table Resource

February 11th, 2010

Adding a retro table to your home, office, living space or even to your collection is a superb way to enhance the way that space will appear. A misconception has guiltily run rampant in people’s minds when it comes to retro tables; people tend to think of them as ugly pieces of outdated garbage from the past that nobody in their right mind would consider using or collecting. On the flip side of that statement, it is not true as you can have a retro table in two flavors: modern or true retro.

A modern retro table is when the designer takes the original idea behind something like, say, a retro coffee table and redesigns it to be a hybrid between its original intention and modern intention. To put it in an easier to understand way, the modern retro approach attempts to fuse the best design points of the original item with the best design points of modern designing to create a whole new product. A true retro table would just entail a designer recreating the original table exactly how it once was without changing anything or doing any modifications to it.

Retro table and chairs go well together and are one of the hot spots in terms of retro pieces that are still made and recreated. Another thing that holds people back from adding these types of tables into their living space is the fear that the retro design will clash with the modern elements of their home. In a sense, this could be true for some tables but you will find that more often then not a lot of the tables will fit in perfectly and even be that missing “something” you were always looking for.

A good place to start trying to go retro is in the kitchen. Try including a retro dining table or a retro kitchen table into your dining room or kitchen. Expanding your definition of what exactly it means to be retro is a good start. A lot of retro tables are made from solid and finished woods that are stunning when you see them. Adding some retro table chairs to go along with your new table will top off the look and compliment everything nicely.

Thinking about retro as something outdated or old and from the past is a bad way to approach this. Going retro involves a lot of elements and different ways to expand your space in unique designing patterns you never would have thought of before. As with anything, approaching this with an open mind and being ready to bend a little bit will pay for itself.

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The Vintage Necklace Guide

February 11th, 2010

Including a vintage necklace into your wardrobe or jewelry box is a smart idea as they provide for a unique approach to style and fashion. As for what actually constitutes vintage necklaces is open to debate for many people as it has more so to do with the design of the necklaces and not so much as far as what is used to create it. There are all sorts of different types of these necklaces and below are just a few of the most popular types. For the purposes of this article, keep in the back of your mind that there are exceptionally pieces of jewelry that are crafted using vintage parts – the necklaces below are more so focusing in on the design of vintage necklaces of the past.

Vintage Pearl Necklace – Pearls are perhaps the best place to start when it comes to considering a vintage necklace. In the past, if you owned pearls it was a tell-tale sign that you were part of the upper ranks of society and that you enjoyed the benefits of a great lift. Without chance, pearls quickly became the standard fashion accessory of choice if you could afford it. Necklaces today are still made with their vintage heritage in mind and are still one of the most sought after types of necklaces to date.

Vintage Rhinestone Necklace – It is important to first understand exactly what rhinestone is before getting started on this part. Rhinestone is an imitation diamond that is made from crystal or glass. Depending on the manufacturer of the rhinestone, they can range from looking very cheap to being right up to par with regular diamonds. In the spirit of all things vintage, rhinestone was used on a lot of the jewelry made and worn by people from the 60s to the 70s. Famous icons such as Elvis and Michael Jackson wore outfits adorned with rhinestones during their performances.

Vintage Crystal Necklace – There were two main groups of people who wore these types of necklaces. The affluent members of society coveted this type of vintage necklace and wore them long before our concept of “vintage” even existed. In and around the 60s and 70s people who were part of the hippie culture cherished crystal necklaces or materials that imitated it. In modern times you can find a lot of jewelry makers who will fashion necklaces like this will all sorts of vintage patterns and designs.

Vintage Bead Necklace – These are still wildly popular today. It again goes without saying that these necklaces gained their prominence and popularity many years ago as they were worn by and represented the freedom and drive of many of America’s up and coming subcultures and groups as you could imagine. These types of necklaces feature all sorts of different combinations of colors, beads, patterns and strings combined into one necklace. Making one of these yourself isn’t hard but you can certainly find these already made.

Vintage Locket Necklace – There is nothing more vintage or even antique then the locket. The locket has become an icon of what something means to be vintage. These were used years ago to store photos and paintings of family and loved ones and have not gone out of usage yet.

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The Antique Bed Resource

February 11th, 2010

If you have been wanting to add an antique bed to one of the rooms of your home, then this is a great resource to use in order to find out the best choice and solution for you. Buying a bed in general is a big decision and when you decide to buy an antique one things can get a bit more complicated unless you go in armed with the knowledge of knowing exactly what you want. Below you will find a list of the types of beds that are the most popular choices and attached is what you need to know about each one.

Antique Brass Bed – These beds are without a question very heavy. You need to be careful when buying this type of bed and pay attention to the type of brass the bed is made out of. Antique brass is chemically treated and goes through a process to recreate the effects of an a more antique looking metal; a cheap or fake bed is going to use regular brass or a brass that has been chemically treated wrong, making it look ugly.

Antique Iron Bed – Iron is a strong metal and has been used to make beds for many hundreds of years. These types of beds are typically seen with a canopy on top, although any kind of bed can have one installed, iron was a preferred metal for bed building especially among high income members of societies years ago.

Antique French Beds – These beds are the definition of beauty when it comes to design for beds of any kind. French beds are made out of fine wood materials and feature ornate design patterns. It wouldn’t be a bad place to start looking for antique beds among these types as it would be surprising if you couldn’t find one that stuck out to you in some sense. French beds also feature canopies and a more noticeable “tent” like feature that resides on the top of the bed and acts to cover the bed top to bottom under a veil that is removable and able to be slid across to the left or right.

Antique Metal Beds – Ornate design is not something you are likely to find in this department. These beds are made with simple frames and are not anything fancy by any means. These beds are more minimalistic but if that’s what you are after then you won’t be disappointed. Compared to the other beds in this article, the metal bed weighs in less yet still does have that certain undeniable antique look and feel to it.

Antique Pine Beds – One of the most frequently asked questions about these types of wooden beds is what classifies them as antiques. If you look closely at an antique pine bed, you would notice that the wood is darker and looks more aged then any other type of wood, giving it that antique allure. Given the beautiful nature of pine wood, they make for excellent beds and while they lack the ornate designs of french beds, this type of antique bed is perfect to fit inside any bedroom without being too overbearing and powerful on it.

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Should You Get A Retro Chair?

February 11th, 2010

So what exactly is a retro chair, and should you get one? These types of chairs come in two varieties: purely retro and modern retro. The difference between a retro chair and a modern retro chair is that the modern chair is going to be a moder redesign and interpretation of what a retro chair looked like while the non-modern version is a design that is meant to look as similar to something you might find in that time period as possible. Believe it or not, a lot of thought and design goes into these kind of chairs these days. You can find retro chairs made from any material ranging from wood to glass and even plastics. As with all things, some types are more popular then others.

Retro dining chairs are one of the most popular choices you can make. Our earliest childhood memories are based around the kitchen and if that wasn’t enough, even the TV shows we watched growing up all had the main characters based in and out of the kitchen for a good portion of the running time of the show. Starting to look into retro solutions for your kitchen doesn’t necessarily mean you have to bite the dust and completely redesign everything else to match. After looking around for a bit you can find a good pair of retro kitchen chairs that don’t look out of place and enhance your kitchen. If you are going for a total retro theme in your house, you can stick to purely retro redesigns whereas most of us will end up going with modern retro redesigns.

The retro aspects are not limited to the kitchen – you can go as far as looking into retro lounge or even a retro office chair if you have the space or even a home office or small business. It’s good to keep in mind that some of the newer and more modern retro redesigns are abstract and able to fit in with all different types of furniture and backgrounds. Keeping an open mind when looking for your chair will help you to catch some real winners that will work better then anything else while saving you from the dullness of plainer looking chairs.

A retro leather chair is another good way to bring a bit of that retro look into your space while giving the owner of the chair a lot of comfort and a special kind of style. It just so happens that a lot of chairs are designed using leather and for good reason since it is such a quality material.

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Willow Tree Collectables

February 11th, 2010

Trying to find figurines and other masterpieces of art outside of willow tree collectables would leave you searching up and down, high and low to try and match the elegance and beauty of these great items. The Willow Tree company specializes in creating everything from beautiful scenes to angel figurines; while they do create other things such as ornaments and other household things, they are most well known for the foremost mentioned items.

Willow tree collections are not that expensive to build and they look terrific as they are able to decorate and fit inside any room or place you can ever put them with a presence all their own. These collections are able to be expanded upon nicely and it is fun trying to collect all of the pieces offered. People have generally assembled their own collections because you simply cannot find anything more beautiful then what is offered by Willow Tree.

Attempting to assemble your own willow tree collection is fun and will leave you with a profound feeling of satisfaction and joy as you embark to make your own. Having each and every single piece is not what it is about – you should try to collect only the pieces that resonate and mean the most to you. Quality should be given due note in this as it weighs far more then quantity. Each piece should mean something special to you and give you a sense of peace and warmth that you can then reflect back out to the world by displaying it or keeping it close to you with a story on hand as to why it touches you so profoundly.

One example of a willow tree collectible that means a lot to many people is the willow tree nativity collection. This collection includes piece from the nativity scene that also expand outwards to include angel figurines and other beautiful pieces of artwork. These sets are designed with the intention of portraying the scenes in which they depict with great emotion, uniting people with a common belief under the same roof and bringing them closer together through their beliefs. Since this collection is based off of such a widely known story, almost everybody in the world, whether a believer or not, can come to identify in some way with these collections.

If you have decided to take up willow tree collectables as a hobby, you should do some research to see all of the great pieces of art they have to offer and then decide which ones appeal to your most. When you have found what you love or what moves and touches you the most, then you know where to begin your search and your collection.

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Why You Should Use Antique Brass

February 11th, 2010

Antique brass is a particularly attractive type of brass that must withstand a certain chemical process to change it from a regular brass to that of an antique looking one. You can try to turn a regular brass item into one with an antique looking finish but the process is difficult and involves many variables that could offset the entire process and ruin the item you are trying to convert. Luckily enough, you can purchase some common household items that have already been through this process for you. This article is dedicated to touching base on the most popular choices that this type of brass is found in.

Antique Brass Bed – Believe it or not, despite the heavy weight on a bed like this, they are popular. If you ever wanted to take a trip off of the beaten path and divulge yourself into something both remarkably beautiful and stunning, get one of these beds. They can be custom made to your exact specifications or you can order them already assembled and aged through the antique process. The best types of these beds come from a company that will not only offer a delivery service, but installation also since they beds unquestionably tend to be very heavy.

Antique Brass Chandelier – These are a bit more practical then a bigger bed and are a great way to include the antique looking brass into any room of your house. Not only are these easy to install, but they are easy to find for sale. People tend to get creative when it comes to these types of chandeliers and you can include almost anything you want. Diamonds, crystals, replica parts or anything else you can think of can be worked into the design.

Antique Brass Lamp – Practical in their design and use, these lamps are another great way to bring the look of antique brass into your home. The benefit about these lamps is that they can also be configured in an unlimited way. Vendors have these ready to sell online and at local lighting stores.

Antique Brass Hardware – Bathrooms are a common place to see this type of brass being used and worked into the overall design of the room. Antique brass door handles are the most easily recognizable type of brass hardware we are all familiar with. An antique brass faucet is another type of hardware we have all seen and used quite frequently before.

Before you decide to take a step towards adding an antique touch to your house, unless you already have existing brass wares in your home then you should consider buying already done antique brass items for you since the process to do it yourself is intense, involves harmful chemicals and is not a guaranteed outcome for the inexperienced hand.

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