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Antique and Vintage Furniture - Recycled, Eco-Friendly and Green
[Home-Improvement:Furniture] Living with antique and vintage furniture has a very positive effect on the environment. Recycling treasures from the past for our lifestyle today not only saves landfill space but also has many other positive "green" effects on our planet.

Vessel Sinks Work With Antiques
[Home-Improvement:Furniture] We all need a sink to clean up in, and the proliferation of great designer vessel sinks has opened a world of possibilities to recycle all manner of antique cabinets, chests and tables as vanity cabinets. Endless design possibilities can create a truly unique bathroom in almost any style.

What is a Classic?
[Home-Improvement:Furniture] A "classic" is hard to define, but we know it when we see it. Instinctively, we think of a "classic" as something of lasting, proven value that doesn't go out of style, something timeless and not to be discarded tomorrow.

Dovetails - A Clue for Dating Antiques
[Home-Improvement:Furniture] As the dovetail joint evolved through the last one hundred thirty years, it becomes a clue for the age and authenticity of antique furniture. The type of dovetailed joint, especially in drawers, reveals much about furniture construction and dating. With just a little study of these examples, it is easy to spot true hand made construction vs. machine made furniture.

The Humble Nail - A Key to Unlock the Past
[Home-Improvement:Furniture] Nails in antique furniture are often barely noticeable, but they are another key to unlock the history of wooden pieces. The quest for the ideal nail has taken centuries of development. As Churchill noted, "To improve is to change, to be perfect is to change often".

Finishes on Antique Wood Furniture
[Home-Improvement:Furniture] Many different finishes have been used to beautify and protect wood furniture through the centuries. Many historically authentic finishes were high maintenance, labor intensive, and not very durable, so the trend has been to more impervious and enduring finishes suitable for everyday living.

Converting an Antique Bed to a Modern Queen or King Size
[Home-Improvement:Furniture] Antique beds are rarely set up for today's queen and king sized mattresses and box springs. Most people want standard queen or king bedding, or at least the old standard, a full or double size.

To Refinish or Not to Refinish
[Home-Improvement:Furniture] That is the question, as Shakespeare's Hamlet might have said. Collectors and experts have debated the question for many years. The popular PBS "Antiques Roadshow" has brought wonderful attention to the world of antiques - explaining valuation, condition, fakes and discouraging the damage done by overzealous amateur cleaning and refinishing.

How Bad Is Wood Veneer on Furniture?
[Home-Improvement:Furniture] There is a common belief that furniture made with veneer is something to avoid, and that solid wood is always better. Veneer means a thin layer of wood glued down to other wooden boards. Cabinet makers will say that factors of thickness, workmanship and condition determine whether veneering is good or bad. Much of the finest royal furniture for hundreds of years employed lavish veneer construction, using the finest species of wood and tiny pieces of burl or exotic grain.