A Stylish Way to Eat – Antique Dining Tables
Why Do People Choose Antique Dining Tables?
If what you need is simply a smooth, flat surface on which to eat your meals, do a jigsaw puzzle or somewhere for the kids to do their homework, the chances are you probably don’t need an antique dining table, for all of these things any old dining table will meet your requirements.
However, if, on the other hand, you want a piece of furniture that is both functional, and which looks good in its surroundings, then perhaps you should think about doing what many others have done and think about buying an antique dining table and possibly some antique dining chairs.
Fine Timbers – Fine Furniture
Many of the antique dining tables being offered for sale today were manufactured, usually by hand, during a period when fine and beautiful looking timbers such as Mahogany and Walnut were much more plentiful than they are now. A modern table made completely with solid mahogany would be very difficult and expensive to make nowadays due to the scarcity of the wood – reclaimed timber often being an alternative used by quality furniture makers.
Go back a century or two however and it’s a very different story. Supplies of quality timber were plentiful and craftsmen used those timbers to make attractive and functional items of furniture for those who could afford them.
Superior Craftsmanship
Long before power tools becamestandard equipment in furniture workshops and factories, most cabinet making and woodworking tasks would have been carried out by hand by skilled craftsmen who would normally have served an apprenticeship lasting several year. It comes as no surprise then that the finished items were usually of superb quality and because of the quality of their build, they were destined to last for many years of daily use by families who needed somewhere to eat, to work and often, to play.
Thankfully, Fine Furniture Lives On, Through The Years
Due to the top quality in craftsmanship and the top grade timbers which were at the disposal of the craftsmen involved, we are now able to enjoy fine items of furniture over a hundred years after they were originally made.
There are still many people who desire and appreciate the sheer quality and value offered by antique dining tables and by other pieces of antique dining furniture including antique dining chairs, sideboards and so on.
To help people find an antique dining table that is right for them and which will complement their home, or indeed thier office or workplace, (antique tables are often used as conference or boardroom tables), there are several specialist antique dining table dealers who find, restore and offer for sale a range of tables, of different ages and in different styles, to help you to find just the table you are looking for.
Here’s a Helping Hand
To help antique furniture lovers see what is available, we’ve selected several examples from the inventory of a well known London-based antique dining table and period furniture dealer, Regent Antiques.
Regent Antique’s buyers travel the length and breadth of the UK and also overseas, in order to find the finest examples of antique dining tables and then do any necessary refurbishment and restoration in their own north London workshops.
Let’s start by looking at this very beautiful, and very big, 11 metre (35 foot) Dining or Conference table that can easily and comfortably seat 36 people.
35 foot Dining or Conference Table
The dimensions of this large and very impressive table are:
Height 79cm x Width 1,070cm x Depth 170cm fully extended
Height 79cm x Width 350cm x Depth 170cm when closed
The table has been expertly crafted from burr walnut with attractive and intricate inlaid marquetry decoration to the beautiful wood grain.
In order to highlight the lovely burr walnut grain this fine table has been French polished – an age-old process that uses an alcohol and shellac polish to bring out the beauty of the wood. French Polish takes a lot of patience and hard work to apply it, but it is one of the most beautiful finishes available, producing an exceptionally high gloss finish.
This table is extremely versatile and flexible – it is supplied with eight removable leaves which can be added or removed asneeded by means of a special wind out mechanism. When all of the leaves are removed the table is a twelve seater. The detachable leaves can therefore be stored until they are needed. The table stands on 8 elegantly hand carved legs,all of which are fitted with brass castors.
The table top and sides are embellished with fine quality marquetry decorations. These decorations include bouquets of flowers as well as various musical instruments, vases, swirls and other geometric designs.
Now turning to a table of the kind of size that would suit most dining rooms, look at this 5 foot diameter Victorian Walnut Marquetry Dining Table:
Victorian Style Burr Walnut Marquetry Dining Table
This lovely circular dining table can seat six people in comfort being made from high quality burr walnut decorated with exquisite marquetry designs. Burr walnut is known and loved for its beautiful grain and this table has been expertly French polished to emphasis the beauty of that grain. The table top is resplendent with marquetry decorations, all of which would have been hand cut from various veneers before being expertly inlaid into the table by time-served craftsmen.
The fine decorations on this table include bouquets of flowers, vases, swirls, cherubs, musical instruments and geometric designs. This table is fitted with a base which is hand carved from solid walnut and which as been skillfully French polished in order to emphasis the lovely grain
So there we have just two superb examples of fine antique dining tables from one of the leading UK antique furniture dealers. Visit the Regal Antiques website to see more antique tables, chairs and other fine furniture – or visit their website here.