Antique enthusiast Chelsea Mac tells us the do’s and don'ts of investing in furniture.

21.04.23 | By Antonia Day | Interiors

Your Checklist for Investing in Both New and Antique Furniture

Antique enthusiast Chelsea Mac tells us the do’s and don'ts of investing in furniture.

Our homes reflect who we are, our interests, hobbies, and values, so taking the time to find quality pieces to fill your space will make for a unique and timeless result. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to know if the pieces you are investing are really worth what you’re paying, and if the seller is being completely honest with the piece’s history and materials used to build it.

Luckily for us there are a few things we can do before investing in pieces to add to our home. We asked slow living enthusiast and antique expert Chelsea Mac her top tips on investing in antique and new furniture and put them into a checklist, so you can invite quality pieces into your home that will spend a lifetime with you.

1. Check the materials

While this can be harder to do when shopping for secondhand furniture online, checking the materials a piece has been made with will be able to tell you a lot about the quality of it, “there are many materials you should steer clear of when looking at antique and new pieces. My number one ick is laminate or veneer wood. Furniture that is high quality with beautiful craftsmanship will use real materials. Tell tale materials of ‘fast furniture’ are MDF, laminates, softwood, and melamine. They will be light in weight and usually not as beautiful as the real thing,” Chelsea shares with Bed Threads Journal.

2. Ask for the weight

Without even looking at it, knowing and feeling the weight of a piece of furniture will give you enough of an indication of how long it’s going to last, and how well it's been made. Furniture of a lesser quality will often feel quite light, while genuine pieces tend to be on the heavier side.

“The biggest red flag when I look at antique and vintage pieces is if it is lightweight. Usually, a quality piece has some pounds to it (obviously depending what it is). Usually poorly made furniture is made from cheap materials. Craftsmanship 100+ years ago was beautiful, replica materials did not exist, so these items have some weight to them.”

3. Avoid matching sets

When building a collection of quality furniture you’ll treasure and love forever, try to avoid choosing pieces that all belong to the same line, this will allow your space to feel more organic and versatile with the other pieces you buy in the future.

“It seems counterintuitive, but a cohesive collection should not look like a matching set. You never want to have your space look like you’ve just bought everything from the same place. This will give your collection only one dimension, but a collected home represents you as you grow and evolve over time, which in turn creates a timeless style.”

4. Stick to a cohesive colour scheme

When beginning to build a furniture collection it’s always a good idea to keep things fairly neutral and cohesive. Natural materials and earth tones are always a good choice because they tend to be of a higher quality and they will never go out of style.

“Focus on different wood tones, textures, fabrics and finishes. Mixing these elements consistently will evolve into a cohesive look. For beginners, I would stick to a cohesive colour scheme. This will help you identify what will mix well together. I would also suggest starting with small vintage and antique pieces – focus on a balance of lines, like curves and straight lines, again adding interest and dimension to your space.”

5. Don’t rush!

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither are beautifully curated furniture collections. It’s important not to rush and purchase all of your pieces all at once, take your time researching, sourcing, and deliberating whether or not this piece is one you will want to keep in your collection for a long time.

“You will never be ‘finished’. Over time, you will add, subtract and rearrange. This idea will allow you the space to not rush, and hone in on the pieces that you can see yourself having for decades. I’m a big believer in buying what you are drawn to, and not trying to copy someone else’s exact space. You, of course, should draw inspiration, but at the end of the day, your collection should feel and look like you.”

6. Think beyond right now

It can be hard to not get swept up in the latest trends of the moment, especially when it comes to a trendy new piece of decor every seems to be adding to their homes, but one of the most important things you can do before you decide to take the leap and invest in a piece of furniture, is ask yourself “Will I still like this in 2, 5, 10 years time?” if the answer is no, the piece you think you want might actually be an item you don’t want at all.

“Buying furniture for your home is very similar to buying a capsule wardrobe vs. fast fashion which goes out of style before you get two wears out of it. In my opinion, quality will always be timeless. A piece with a story will always be timeless. There is a reason antiques and vintage furniture are still around and in most cases, appreciating in value. They last, you don’t have to ‘upgrade’ and keep up with trends and replace something that was cool last year.”

7. Look at the finer details

While you’re inspecting the materials used to make the piece, also take a look for smaller details like scuff marks, drill holes, joinery, and nails.

“Another red flag, especially when buying wood furniture are the types of nails used. Reproductions will use new nails on old wood. You want to look for worm holes with square nails."

8. Don’t be afraid to ask questions

When purchasing furniture (especially secondhand), it's important to get as much information you can about the piece before buying it. They might not know all of the answers, but sellers can often tell you the era the piece came from, the material it's made of, and how long they think it will last.

"Ask a lot of questions of the seller. Things like ‘Where did you find this’? ‘Does it wobble or is it sturdy’? ‘What century was it made in’? ‘Is this real wood?’ ‘Is it heavy?’ Etc. It’s not a full proof plan, but it's the best you can do when purchasing online and can't touch and see the piece before purchasing."

Antique enthusiast Chelsea Mac tells us the do’s and don'ts of investing in furniture.

Your Checklist for Investing in Both New and Antique Furniture

Antique enthusiast Chelsea Mac tells us the do’s and don'ts of investing in furniture.

1. Check the materials

2. Ask for the weight

3. Avoid matching sets

4. Stick to a cohesive colour scheme

5. Don’t rush!

6. Think beyond right now

7. Look at the finer details

8. Don’t be afraid to ask questions

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Antique enthusiast Chelsea Mac tells us the do’s and don'ts of investing in furniture.

Your Checklist for Investing in Both New and Antique Furniture

Antique enthusiast Chelsea Mac tells us the do’s and don'ts of investing in furniture.

1. Check the materials

2. Ask for the weight

3. Avoid matching sets

4. Stick to a cohesive colour scheme

5. Don’t rush!

6. Think beyond right now

7. Look at the finer details

8. Don’t be afraid to ask questions

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