Antique coffee tables are more than just random pieces of furniture if they are rightly chosen. Coffee tables are some of the most overlooked pieces of furniture, but a well chosen antique coffee table would increase the elegance of your house. Since your living room can be a comfortable haven for you to host tea parties, card games or just to settle with family and friends for some quality time, with an antique coffee table as the focal point, choose it wisely.

Antique tables and antique coffee tables are rustic, yet elegant. An antique table or an antique coffee table in your living room will just look amazing, with its rustic beauty and gorgeous designs. Used extensively during the 18th and 19th centuries, these coffee tables were much bigger than modern coffee tables, as they were used for serving suppers and other meals. When purchasing an antique coffee table, look for a table for design or era. Victorian antique coffee tables are the most commonly sought after antiques, as are French Rococo ones. Antique tables and antique coffee tables are available in a variety of wood finishes like Ash-wood, Rose, Cherry, and Oak.

Antique tables and antique coffee tables can be used in your bedroom, library, living room and practically anywhere in your house. Their functional designs make them immensely useful as both centerpieces and a storage facilities. For instance, you can use the lower storage area of an antique table and antique coffee table to stow away books, souvenirs, crockery, or even wine while the upper deck can be used for serving drinks, coffee, snacks, lunches or suppers. Antique tables and antique coffee tables are the best conversation starters. Available in wood, glass, wrought iron or metal, antique tables and antique coffee tables are amazingly versatile.

It can be very frustrating trying to find a perfect antique table or an antique coffee table for your home or office. Following is a list of antique tables and antique coffee tables of the highest quality and customized coffee table bases that are most reasonably priced.

Custom Made Gold Covered Bronze Coffee Table Base: Created by the Old Plank workshop, this spectacular coffee table base is 24kt gold over solid bronze and can be created in any size to fit your requirement. The design is a free-form so every base is unique.

Custom Contemporary Bronze Console Table: This stunning contemporary bronze console table was created by the craftsmen in the Old Plank workshop. This table can be created in any size.

Custom Bronze Coffee Table Base of Any Size: The road custom bronze coffee table base is yet another Old Plank Road creation. The legs on this table are exact copies of the legs on a vintage French ’40s coffee table. This octagon shaped coffee table can be created in any shape or size. This coffee table can be customized with a top of your choice material or use the one you already have.

Custom Bronze Rectangular Coffee Table Base: This spectacular bronze coffee table has a base with fluted legs which are exact copies of the legs on a French ’40s antique coffee table purchased in France. This table is made in Old Plank workshop and can be customized for any size.

Antique French Louis XVI Style Painted Tea or Hall Table: This late 19th Century antique French Louis XVI style side table comes with its original paint and marble top. This antique table is in its original condition and is a superb example of old-world craftsmanship at its absolute finest. This antique table has intricate hand-carved details highlighted with spectacular original paint. It has its original Italian marble top that make this table a spectacular find. Use this antique table in the foyer as a hall table, as a charming console, for serving tea or coffee to guests in the front parlor, or even as a unique writing table.

Vintage French Forties Eglomise Coffee Table: This breathtaking original vintage French 1940 coffee or cocktail table comes with a spectacular scrolling gilt iron base and a phenomenal original eglomise mirrored top. This antique table is in its original condition and is a great example of French Forties’ style and craftsmanship at its best.

An antique cupboard is a closed piece of antique furniture with one or more doors and possibly shelves. An antique cabinet is more like an antique closet, and might be built into a wall or a separate piece of furniture. Antique cabinets are typically considered general-purpose storage, while antique cupboards are more for food and dishes. The two are somewhat interchangeable, and you might say that an antique cupboard is a type of antique cabinet. An antique confiturier is a small chest with one door and sometimes a drawer. An antique confiturier was originally intended to store confit, the fruit preserves or jams. Confit pots were glazed yellow or green earthenware that were stored in confituriers.

An antique confiturier can be a cost-effective way of increasing storage space in your kitchen. If your home is older and more established, antique cupboards give you more storage space, while adding to the traditional charm of every room. Most home remodels of antique confiturier add value to your house. Antique cupboards add a personal touch to your children’s room, kitchen, sitting places, bedrooms and dining rooms.

You can choose from the following antique cupboards, cabinets and confituriers based on your need:

Vintage French Oak Confiturier or Cupboard:

This 20th century antique French Oak confituriercomes with an unusual lift-up top. Originally used for storing preserved fruit and meat, this cupboard can be used in almost any room providing useful storage and great visual appeal.

Vintage French Solid Oak Confiturier:

This 1930 distressed vintage French confiturier is made in solid oak with one drawer over one door. This antique French confiturier was put to use for storing preserves (confitures). This antique cabinet is in very good condition and has a wonderful 18th century appearance with a full door hinge and a spectacular diamant decorated, gem-cut paneled door, in one stunning case. Antique confituriers have ample storage space and are often used as nightstands, sink bases, and foyer cupboards.

Antique French Carved Oak Confiturier:

This 1875 solid French Oak Louis XV confiturier comes with some of the finest hand-carved details ever seen in quite some time. These versatile antique cupboards can be put to many uses as powder room vanities, nightstands next to the bed in a master retreat, and a s foyer cabinets for storing extra shoes, boots, and keys near the front door. Full hinges and beautiful carvings make this antique confiturier a very special piece of furniture.

Antique French Mahogany Art Nouveau Fitted Dry Bar:

This 1910 antique French mahogany art nouveau is fitted with a dry bar in the choicest hardware and has a beautiful shape. It has a carousel for decanters or wine bottles, cutouts for glasses, heavily patinated copper top, and a drawer for knives, openers and napkins. Due to its petite size, this fine bar would be well suited in a living room, an extravagant master bedroom suite, or in a lavish executive office. This antique French Mahogany dry bar may also be modified to hold a coffee maker in a self-contained guest room.

Antique French Gothic Style Cabinet:

This 1850 antique French Gothic Oak confiturier (jelly cupboard) comes with a drawer. Unmistakable in design, this Gothic furniture is highly sought after by the collectors. This confiturier is a special find as it takes up a relatively small footprint and offers lots of storage including a useful drawer. Use it as it was originally intended for storing extra food and spices in the kitchen, or use it for storing extra toiletries and towels in the bath. Lovely thistle carved details adorn each side of this cabinet allowing it to easily float against a wall while being seen from either side.

Antique English Decoupage Cupboard:

This 1760 charming handmade country English pine découpage cupboard comes with its original backboard attached by hand-cut nails. Its interior is fitted with its original shelves and pigeon holes. One side of this antique English cupboard has découpage the other side is faux grained. This antique English decoupage cupboard is in its all-original condition.

Identification of art pieces, antique figurines, antique furniture, reproductions, antiques and collectibles

Collectors of fine art prints, antique figurines, antique furniture, rugs, chinaware, and antique furniture reproductions take their collections seriously and enjoy seeking out new additions. There are usually a few hurdles along the way including forgeries, reprints and other scams.

If you are planning on becoming a collector of antiques, it is useful to remember the following points:

• Knowledge is power: the more you read about and research the items you are interested in the better you are equipped to deal with the seller.
• Do not assume that if something is expensive it is genuine.
• Get second opinions and expert advice on fine art prints, antique figurines, antique furniture, rugs, chinaware and antique furniture reproductions.
• Start small by buying inexpensive items, this gives you a feel for copies and reproductions before you start paying more for fine art prints, antique figurines, antique furniture, rugs, chinaware, and antique furniture reproductions.
• Acquaint yourself with a few antique sellers and get to know them. They will be happy to share their knowledge about genuine antiques and their authenticity guarantee and return policy of fine art prints, antique figurines, antique furniture, rugs, chinaware, and antique furniture reproductions.
• Go online for sellers with good reputations and plenty of information on fine art prints, antique figurines, antique furniture, rugs, chinaware, and antique furniture reproductions.
• Pay attention to the color, physical nature, style, visible stamps and provenance of fine art prints, antique figurines, antique furniture, rugs, chinaware, and antique furniture reproductions.

Black light is a useful tool in judging the identity and age of fine art prints, antique figurines, antique furniture, rugs, chinaware, and antique furniture reproductions. Black light is a form of ultraviolet light invisible to human eyes. UV light is useful because

• Glass of different types and ages fluoresces differently in black light
• Black light creates different colors of fluorescence which can be used in identification of the age of fine art prints, antique figurines, antique furniture, rugs, chinaware, and antique furniture reproductions.

Identifying modern reprints and forgeries of antique documents and other paper ephemera with black light

Black light can identify many fine art prints, antique figurines, antique furniture, rugs, chinaware, and antique furniture reproductions and other paper items that contain optical brighteners. In a dark room and under black light, optical brighteners will usually fluoresce a very bright light blue or bright white.

Starting in the late 1940s, manufacturers of many products began adding optical brighteners and other new chemicals to their products. Optical brighteners are invisible dyes that fluoresce brightly under ultraviolet light. They were used to make products appear brighter in normal daylight.

Optical brighteners were added to

• Laundry detergent and clothes to help remove stains and to toys to make them more colorful.
• Almost all white papers stocks.

Historical documents

White paper is treated with fluorescent compounds to help it appear brighter and whiter. Sometimes forgery of historical documents can be detected by placing them under a black light to detect the presence of brighteners which were added to paper after 1950. Older paper does not contain these brighteners.

Black light is helpful in identifying many types of restoration and alterations to fine art prints, antique figurines, antique furniture, rugs, chinaware, and antique furniture reproduction

• Fine art prints, antique figurines, antique furniture, rugs, chinaware, and antique furniture reproductions altered by the addition of paper, glue, paint, varnish and/or other material that fluoresces differently and can therefore be identified as having been altered, repaired or forged.
• To identify alterations to fine art prints, antique figurines, antique furniture, rugs, chinaware, and antique furniture reproductions one should also look for differences in texture, gloss, and opacity. When an art print is held at an angle nearing 180 degrees to a light, the added paint, ink or paper will often have a different texture and gloss from the rest of the card surface. The added material may also be physically raised from the rest of the surface which can be felt with the finger tip.

OldPlank.com offers incredible collection of Antique French Furniture, Vintage French Furniture, Country French Furniture Reproductions, Antiques and Collectibles imported from France and England. Antiques on Old Plank Road, 331 East Ogden Avenue, Westmont, IL 60559.