Spend enough time around old houses and old oak furniture and you will eventually hear some wonderfully strange stories about how our ancestors lived. Beds were short because people slept sitting upright. Chairs were uncomfortable because comfort was considered sinful. Enormous oak settles were designed to hide people from view. Chests were simply primitive wardrobes. […]
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Picture a traditional British pub and there is a fair chance you are picturing oak. A heavy table polished by countless elbows. A high-backed settle beside a fire. Panelled walls turned deep brown with age. Joint stools pulled around a table, solid chairs, wooden screens and perhaps a dark old cupboard tucked somewhere behind the […]
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Few pieces of country furniture carry the same warmth, authority and quiet grandeur as the English oak dresser. To some, it is the image of the old farmhouse kitchen: pewter plates on the rack, Delft chargers leaning against the backboards, drawers worn smooth by generations of hands. To collectors, however, antique oak dressers are far […]
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There is a reason antique oak furniture can stop you in your tracks. Good old oak furniture does not simply get darker with age; it develops depth, softness, warmth and a surface quality that feels almost alive. What collectors call patina is really the visible record of chemistry, craftsmanship, environment and human use all working […]
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