How to Acquire Heirlooms

If you have antiques or want to start your own collection of heirloom quality furniture, you need only a desire and a checking account. Heirloom quality furnishing and items make a terrific statement in your home as to the care and quality of your furnishings as well as enhance your decorations with their natural beauty.

Heirlooms

An heirloom is a treasure. It can take the form of jewelry, linens, furniture or any other item that you and your family treasure. You great-grandmother’s wedding ring is an heirloom as is your mother’s dining room table – provided they have value to you or someone else. Most heirlooms are especially well built and last for centuries with proper care.

Shopping for Heirlooms

If you don’t already have heirloom quality pieces of your own to decorate your home, you can shop for them in a variety of ways.

Estate Sales

The first is to visit estate sales in your area where families are selling items from the home of their departed relatives. These estate sales might offer you terrific bargains on heirlooms, but they may also require a bit of refinishing and care to bring them up to the quality of their past.

Antique Dealers

Another option is to visit antique options or shops. Trade fairs, displays, shops and warehouses of antiques offer a collection of items gathered by those with a presumable eye for quality and beauty. Browse the collection for items that appeal to your decorating sense and budget. Don’t be afraid to bargain and always ask plenty of questions.

Buy New

While heirlooms often seem old, there is nothing stopping you from buying items such as grandfather clocks that will become an heirloom in the future. Seth Thomas clocks, for example, are a fine statement in any home and will be treasured by generations to come. Find quality craftsman through select furniture stores or by referral from design agencies and have your furniture crafted by hand.

Decorating with Heirlooms

When using heirlooms to decorate, be sure to place the items in areas where they will be protected. Use table runners and placemats to protect surfaces and consider sheets of glass on top of dressers and tables to keep the wood preserved. Clean and polish the heirlooms regularly to protect the finish and be sure to properly insure any pieces of value.

(1 votes, average: 3.00 out of 5)
 Loading ...