Dark wood furniture

[JustJam4Tea]

Newish house. We bought some Victorian dark wood furniture, beautiful chest of drawers with ivory escutcheons, a table with a marble top and a big ornate sideboard. Friends think we are mad.

Is dark furniture dead and buried or are we ahead of the curve?

Photos would be nice- I love antiques.

Who cares as long as you love it? It's your home, full it with things you enjoy.

Chances are that they'll be buying modern versions in a couple of years. Fashion, isn't it?

Well surely you buy things because you like them, whether or not they're fashionable and if you buy things because they're fashionable rather than because you like them, then more fool you.

Our Victorian house is full of dark wood furniture because we like the look of it, plus the quality is great. None of our friends have ever commented negatively and it looks stunning against lighter floors and coloured walls. Surely all that matters is if you like it?

Ahead of the curve. Prices have been gently creeping up for dark furniture, particularly in the US.

This sort of thing…we didn’t pat that much for the sideboard!

I only buy antique accept for beds and sofas. I would get yourself a few magazines - English Home, 25 Homes , Homes and Antiques. It always makes me laugh when a modern armoire is more then a real antique one. More fool those who buy new.

It's also better for the environment to buy antique rather than buying brand new items.

I think the pics you’ve posted are absolutely gorgeous!

Solid antique pieces will always be a good purchase. And they can be mixed with modern accessories for a lovely eclectic look.

Great pieces OP that will keep their value. Treat yourself to some posh wood polish.
One thing I do think looks more stylish is modern plain linen lampshades as opposed to pleated silk etc.

Ahead of the curve

I don’t like dark wood furniture because it doesn’t go with the other stuff we have but if you purposefully buy it and arrange rooms round it I think it looks great.
My parents and ILs have plenty but theirs are things they’ve owned or inherited and again they look fantastic but that’s because they have a lot of it and the dark wood stuff is not in rooms where it looks odd.
We’ve been offered some pieces but I just don’t know where we’d put them.

Personally I hate the idea of furniture coming and going every 5 years. When we’ve bought furniture we’ve bought more expensive pieces I fully intend to keep my whole life. I’m sure they’ll be dated in 50 years time but I don’t / won’t care.

Why would you be mad to be buying something that is what you like? Not being on trend doesn't make you insane. What a weird idea.

I have a mixture of old and new furniture. Just stiff we've seen and liked. I have no idea if any of it will be valuable or seem attractive to anyone else or whether anyone thinks any of it goes with the house or other bits. Never occurred to me to care.

Absolutely beautiful OP. Great taste.

Those pieces will be exceptionally well made. They were crafted to last generations, and they will.

You like it OP. I also buy old furniture and if my friends don't like it it's their problem not mine. One DD and her DH have bought all new stuff (John Lewis and Habitat) which looks boring to me; Younger DD and her partner have inherited loads from his Grandma which isn't my taste either* but it has good memories for her partner and she also likes older furniture.

• In one Victorian house I collected Arts & Crafts furniture which had to be sold when we divorced. Now I live in a 1930s built block of flats and a lot of the furniture is mid-century, lots of it much cheaper and far better quality than anything new.

Buy the stuff you like. I personally like a mix of antique / vintage and new.

we bought a mirror back sideboard a bit like that but longer for about £300 including commision at auction all solid mahogany with genuine silvered mirrors it even had the keys!
brown furniture is slowly increasing in price and true quality always sells , some later Edwardian and Art Deco stuff made quickly for mass market is not holding value and can be picked up for 20-50 but even that stuff is better made than most current furniture
Antique beds can be a problem as often the slats are missing ( you will never get replacements) sometimes they need none standard mattress sizes

Antique furniture can look fabulous in modern houses so long as you don't try and chintz it up, but a sideboard like that could work in loft apartment, if you can get it up the stairs as they are seriously heavy

it is by a long long long way the greenest most planet friendly option

I think it’s a really green option. Left to myself I’d probably have bought mid century stuff, Ercol or ercol like. But the dark brown stuff is great. We bought a whole bedroom set for £250 with lovely inlay and silvered mirror on the dressing table and wardrobe.

I’ve just been looking at marble topped bombe commodes on various antiques websites.
(Trying not to look too closely at some of the prices)
Fully agree just have what you love.
Sounds great op.

Buy it because you love it, and hope that you're not ahead of the curve or the prices will go up!

Our home is a mix of antique, a bit of modern and IKEA . We've got Art Deco, Edwardian, Victorian and modern light and dark furniture. I love it and have been buying it since I was in my early 20s (a long time ago).

I've been busy searching ebay for a Victorian or Edwardian chest of drawers like the one pictured. I love the eclectic look of modern and old furniture. The old furniture has such life and character in it compared with IKEA. (I do love ikea though!).

Our local auction house has furniture fairly regularly. We bought ours from a guy who was relocating, had a house full of beautiful victories furniture. There was an amazing tall boy I wish we’d bought. But we were having work done and couldn’t face moving it around the house to accommodate builders. In retrospect we should have bought it and put it in storage.

It was a lesson to buy the things you love when you see them.

Much nicer than ikea! And as someone said, antique/vintage is so much better for the environment