Formerly Known as The Rights of Fans
ChatGPT is an extraordinarily useful tool for antique dealers, but its enthusiasm for selling furniture sometimes overrides an inconvenient detail: the truth. After hundreds of listings, I finally asked the AI monster why it keeps overlooking defects. Its confession was revealing.
by Chris Harris And now, somehow, it has become cool again. Not just fashionable, but genuinely desirable. The sort of furniture interior designers place carefully inside minimalist million-pound homes and describe with words like “architectural”, “monastic” and “sculptural”, which is a very elegant way of saying “it looks like it could survive a direct hit … Continue reading Brutalist Furniture: The Retro Style That Went From Unfashionable to Cool Again
by Chris Harris I bought the most amazing round, huge, beautiful, high-quality Victorian mahogany dining table on Thursday at Ford Airfield Market. To be honest, I only bought it because it was an absolute bargain, and I try not to buy such large pieces of furniture these days. It had started to rain, so I … Continue reading Built to Last: The Extraordinary Craftsmanship and Engineering Inside a Victorian Mahogany Table
By Chris Harris Interesting Finds: The Last Picture Palace Seats Inside the Story of Brighton’s Lost ABC Cinema There is something strangely emotional about old cinema seating. Not antique furniture in the traditional sense. Not polished mahogany or aristocratic country house pieces. Cinema seats were built for ordinary people. Thousands upon thousands of them. Yet … Continue reading Interesting Finds: The Last Picture Palace Seats Inside the Story of Brighton’s Lost ABC Cinema
by Chris Harris Even the greatest creations eventually fail. That’s the reality of age. Old things disintegrate. Not in the same way as modern flat-pack furniture built to survive three years and a house move — but even the finest, most beautifully crafted antique pieces eventually suffer structural decline. Take this huge late Victorian over … Continue reading Upcycling Project. The Deconstruction and Reworking of a Victorian Over Mantel Mirror
By Chris Harris Hey, Mr Remival man, where are the drip trays? Doh! In near mint condition and something that would have cost the equivalent of £2,500 to buy new, imagine the rollicking someone got when they lost the drip trays. Easy mistake, but rather suspect not regarded with such a casual manner by the … Continue reading Vintage Finds. Magnificent Hall Stand. But Someone Got a Right Rollicking!
by Chris Harris Painted in Farrow and Ball white, middle one on gold. Old gold furniture and picture frames often carry a certain grandeur, but they do not always suit modern interiors. Tastes change. Rooms become lighter and simpler. Heavy gilt and gold finishes that once felt rich and impressive can begin to feel dark, … Continue reading Vintage Tips: Unravelling the Mystery of Why Painted Gilt Furniture and Frames Changes Colour
by Chris Harris The Curious Pattern in Georgian and Victorian Chairs Anyone who has handled enough Georgian and Victorian dining chairs will recognise the pattern. The craftsmanship is superb. Solid mahogany, rosewood, walnut or oak. Elegant proportions. Strong joints that have held firm for two centuries. The visible surfaces are polished and refined, often beautifully … Continue reading Why Antique Chairs Only Have Woodworm Underneath the Seats.
by Chris Harris Compactums were a defining feature of late Victorian and Edwardian bedrooms, but they’re now largely forgotten — and for understandable reasons. Originally, a compactum was an amalgamation of essential bedroom furniture into one enormous piece. Typically, you’d have two single wardrobes flanking a central section that functioned as a linen press, complete … Continue reading Interesting Vintage Finds: The History of, and the Built in Compactum
by Chris Harris Any old iron? One of the things I find endlessly fascinating about vintage objects is their life cycle, why some things survive for hundreds of years, while others fall out of favour, get altered, discarded, or written off entirely and thrown away. It often has very little to do with quality, and … Continue reading From Scrap to Statement: The Decorative Afterlife of a Singer Sewing Machine
by Chris Harris Rosewood is a beautiful grained wood, it is outstanding in appearance and quality. Even when it’s old and knackered on an old piece of furniture, it still has that deep, oily richness that makes other woods look a bit humdrum. I’d say it’s the timber equivalent of a perfectly worn leather jacket: … Continue reading Rosewood: The Banned Victorian Luxury Wood and the Moral Conundrum
by Chris Harris I’ve been buying and selling art and antiques for long enough to know that almost nothing causes more confusion than limited edition prints. Dealers go on about edition numbers as if they’re the key to the city. Buyers get told that a low number like 3/200 is more valuable than 167/200. People … Continue reading I Explain Why Limited Edition Prints Confuse Everyone and Offer Some Buying Tips