Antique bookcases & display cabinets are very valuable piece of furniture for its multi purpose uses. They come in numerous forms. Your valuable documents, family pictures, souvenirs from your holiday vacations, all those classics inherited from parents and elder siblings, and other such cherished treasures survive the onslaught of weather, dust, bad handling and neglect if you choose the right bookcases & display cabinet. Once they are in the right place they keep increasing their antique value. Antique Bookcases & Display Cabinets feature darker wood grain finishes, crown molding, carved details, or elegant accents, traditional bookcases provide grand, luxurious design.

Display Cabinets

The practice of storing and displaying, precious objects in glazed cabinets dates from the first half of the 18th century when wealthy people began collecting fine porcelain and books on a large scale. Fine pieces were designed solely for display. Money spent on antique bookcases & display cabinets are worth it. You cannot beat antique bookcases & display cabinets in storing your books and displaying your memorabilia.

Quick tips for displaying your rare and precious treasures book collection

When displaying your book collection:

• Stand them straight on the shelf
• Do not pack the books tight which can only increase the tear and wear
• Lay tall and oversized books flat
• Do not face the bookcases or the Display cabinets towards the sun or rain
• Hand pick insects and their cocoons but do not use any insecticide
• Do not let the dust accumulate because dust sucks the moisture from the paper to make it brittle that crumbles on touch

Antique french bookcase in mixed woods, antique English pine bookcase are the best to highlight the collection of the books you have as a proud owner of the both. Antique bookcase storing the antiquarian books, priceless family heirlooms, or research volumes, will preserve your treasures for generations because these are high quality insect resistant wood. Choose from antique glazed corner cabinet, antique French painted cabinet, reproduction french display cabinet, vintage french glass or steel display cabinet.

Visit www.Oldplank.com for incredible collection of Antique Bookcases, Vintage Bookcases, China Cabinets and Display Cabinets imported from France and England.

Give your home an Arabian Nights setting with genuine Persian or Oriental rugs.

• Oriental rugs come from many parts of the world.
• Genuine Persian rugs are oriental rugs made only in Iran.

Persian rugs were first made as early as the fourth century B.C. The earliest Persian rugs were hand woven by knotting soft woolen yarn onto a woven base. This process is still in use for creating genuine hand made oriental rugs.

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Oriental rugs come from many regions of the world. The famous Kilim rugs that come from Iran and its neighboring countries like Turkey, Afghanistan, India and Pakistan, are often known as the Persian rugs. The best rugs ever produced were woven in this area.

Oriental rugs withstand years of hard wear because of the quality of materials and craftsmanship employed in making them. The Persian rugs and the Persian styled oriental rugs such as Oushak rugs are famous for their durability. If taken good care of, these Oushak rugs can last longer than 100 years. This character of durability is attributed to the use of top quality Kurk wool. Kurk wool is shorn from the shoulders and chest of mountain lambs.

Persian rugs and the Persian styled oriental rugs were originally made by wandering tribes who carried their looms wherever they went.

Rugs are now also manufactured in villages, towns and cities and are hugely popular in Europe and the US.

Traditional oriental rugs include

• Tibetan rugs
• Oushak rugs
• Coarse Persian rugs

Karastan rugs were the mass produced rugs made in the early part of the last century in factories to cater to the growing popularity of oriental rugs. Nowadays both hand made and factory produced rugs are widely available.

When choosing an oriental rug or a Persian rug there are several points to consider:

• Quality of the knots and pile
• Color
• Design
• Shape of the rug
• Age and history if it is an antique/hand made rug

In order to get the best out of Persian rugs and oriental rugs they should be taken good care of:

• Regularly vacuum on both sides
• Periodically check for moth damage
• Treat the fibers with a stain repellent to prevent marking

A huge selection of genuine Persian rugs and Persian styled oriental rugs are available. If you choose the right rug you will have many trouble free years of use.

Modern wool rugs such as Tibetan rugs from Nepal are unique:

• They come in a varied shapes and sizes
• Are available in traditional Tibetan style and contemporary design
• The craft of Wool based Tibetan rugs is centuries old

Why wool for rugs?

Weavers of the first Tibetan Rugs chose wool because wool is

• Elastic and strong
• Water repellent
• Anti static
• Dirt resistant
• Imparts great looks

Hand woven oriental wool rugs are Eco friendly because of the

• Longevity of the final product and use of natural materials
• Vegetable dyes used to dye the wool

If you are planning to re-decorate your home, antique tapestries and vintage tapestries will help you achieve a unique look. They will add color, texture and warmth to any home. Tapestries were originally used in big stone built houses and castles as decoration and to keep rooms warm/cool.

In today’s houses you can use them as a floor covering, a bed covering, a table covering or on the wall.

Tapestries started as a sketch

• The design of a tapestry was first drawn on a paper or cardboard, this drawing was know as the “cartoon”
• A craftsman or weaver used the sketch as a guide to create the tapestry
• Each thread was hand-picked
• Unlike a framed print, tapestries may not have perfect 90 degree corners
• They are individually woven on a loom
• Like any other piece of artwork, hand woven tapestries are unique and individual
• Tapestries are the paintings without the paint.

When choosing tapestry there are a number of things to remember

• The colors in a room should blend in with the colors in the tapestry
• Other antique items in the room will add to the ambiance
• Other items in the room should compliment the tapestry and not detract from it

Despite the availability of less expensive, beautiful and intricately detailed factory made tapestries, the expensive vintage and antique hand made tapestries are of higher quality and class.

Hanging, Care and Maintenance of your hand made Tapestry

On the back of your tapestry, there is usually a sleeve or rod pocket running the width of your tapestry. This is sewn in to accept a rod or dowel, which should be securely mounted to the wall with appropriate brackets in the same way a standard drapery rod is installed.

Adding elegance to the tapestry

A pair of corded tassels attached to the two bottom corners of the tapestries add elegance to the tapestry and would be appropriate for more formal home décor.

Taking a crease off the tapestry

Always test a small section of the tapestry for the correct heat setting before ironing.

• Lay the tapestry on an ironing board or anything other soft surface
• Place a soft muslin cloth along the crease
• Carefully and gently steam iron over the crease

To help the tapestry hang better

• Use a steam iron to lightly iron your tapestries
• Flatten the ends

Common problems of and solutions for your hand made Tapestry

Cleaning of an antique or vintage tapestry

When a tapestry is mounted on a wall, it is not subject to the same abuse as a carpet or an upholstered seat so it needs less frequent maintenance.

• A gentle annual brushing with a soft brush is sufficient to dust your tapestry
• Vacuum the front and back of your tapestry once or twice a year with a hand-held vacuum nozzle with soft brush attachment
• For more thorough cleaning and repair, consult an expert in this kind of work

Humidity can wave and curl vintage tapestries

Hand woven tapestries are heavy and this helps to keep the tapestry taut but may cause

• Excessive stretching on the sides
• Distortion of the shape

Drapery weights across the bottom of the backing or evenly placed weights can help to regulate the way the tapestry hangs

Tapestry is a textile and may fade as any textile would

To minimize fading:

• Avoid hanging your tapestry in direct sunlight
• Close drapes or blinds
• Reduce UV radiation by applying tinted film on windows

www.oldplank.com offers incredible collection of Antique Tapestries and Vintage Tapestries imported from France and England.

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