Here are easy DIY methods to identify antique furniture by feet. We have also added types of feet in antique furniture.
How to Date Antique Furniture by Feet? Declare the date to antique furniture by feet design, shape, varnish, and decay conditions. Compare the sample with a reference item and observe wood shrinkage. You can date antique furniture according to the density of feet ends and handmade layouts.
Multiple methods help to date the antique matter by their feet. These methods are traditional, and all of them offer you to find the age of your table, chair, or any other furniture item.
It also includes identifying the material, styles of nuts and bolts, damage polish/old brands, differentiation between original antiques.
Matching method to date antique furniture
The method of matching the antiques with other same items is one of the most effective ways. It helps to identify the originality and age of the piece of furniture.
You can take another old and dignified antique chair or table and then match it with your specific item.
Check all the relevant features like the material color of the object shape and method of making, further identify their age. The formation of a piece of furniture is a clear sign that it belongs to old times.
The manufacturing techniques identify that the pattern belongs to back times. Check and observe all the relevant tools by matching them with the reference sample.
In case all the features match with each other, then check the object age in its record.
You can declare your furniture as old as the sample in terms of matching. All the features should coordinate with each other.
In those circumstances, when a few features collapse, then your furniture is younger than the sample. There are chances of more age according to the condition of the item.
If it is older, even from the sample piece, and your chair or table is much older than the sample. There is no device or detector to check the age of a piece of furniture.
The techniques of matching are time-consuming but are effective. They give a vast picture of all the specifications and features of the things.
Make sure you match the feet more than any other substantial part. They must match with each other in all possible respects.
The formation and structure must collide with each other. In this way, you can categorize your piece as older as of the sample.
Identification of feet equipment
There are different styles and shapes of furniture and their feet. All of them vary from each other and lie in a specific category.
They have different formations and patterns in terms of centuries. You can differentiate a table, chair, or stool according to the shape of feet area, and styles.
The furniture of the 17 – 18 centuries has round and dense foot formations. It is a clear sign that the antiques belong to any of these centuries if they have such specifications.
The 17th century comprises the dense-shaped feet of items, and it is a clear clue. The furniture feet of horse foot is one of the common examples of the 18th century.
These furniture feet have no density, and they were specific in such designs.
The 18th century also comprises those antiques that have French styles legs. You can identify the shape of the specific location and then declare its date.
You cannot tell the exact date of manufacturing, but identify the date is a big winning situation.
Check and Identify the wood
The identification of features is one of the factors to determine the age of antique furniture. Wood is one of the main components of any piece of furniture.
Check and observe the feet side wood and compare it with other samples. Determine its age based on other records and their specifications.
If the wood contains the mixing of raw materials, then it is not an antique material. The presence of wax and other varnishing materials declares the item as an antique. Break the feet area from a corner or choose some technique.
The broken block goes through test and comparison techniques. You can estimate the century of things through its legs manufacturing.
The old-age appliances have the mixing of woods, but all of them are high in quality.
The appearance of the system is also appealing in antique fixtures. They were far more expensive than present wood items.
Check wood of the feet areas in all corners. If it contains the same type of woody material, then it is not an antique.
Every piece of the leg should comprise different matter or at least a mixing of wood scrapes. It is a feature of distinction and separation.
The apparent condition of the wood in the leg area of fixtures is also an essential factor. It helps in clear identification without any human or other errors.
The structural modification of the material indicates that it is not an antique. The old pieces have their specific designs, but there was symmetry.
The late centuries lacked the number of machinery and other handy techniques. They couldn’t cut and carve the object like all items.
If you find carvings and moldings in your piece, then it is not an antique. Few manufacturers use older techniques in the new elements today, but it does not make an antique.
All the features and wood structures should match when you compare them with a reference or record.
You cannot refer to a handmade object as an antique because the material is still new. The reproduction of the items includes hand carvings, but the techniques are different. There is the involvement of machinery at least at one stage.
It is a different step that isolates the new and old things. There is separation internally and externally in the woody feet.
It is due to time and age, and the wood split into halves. The shrinkage occurs that is a clear indication of antique pieces.
The new items never shrink from the feet area, and the material might break, but shrinkage never happens. The splitting is also a rare case in the new furniture and their leg areas.
These items lack their shoes, and deformity is a positive point in those situations.
An antique comprise the aging effects in all possible ways, but still, the comparisons are essential. The shape and density of feet also offer clear signs of old age. They are broad and vast in comparison with new items.
The bottoms of the legs are vast, and that they occupy double the space of pieces. They have more stability due to the excessive amount of wood. It was a typical but traditional technique of the manufacturers in old times.
You can date the object on these criteria without any hesitation. Declare them as antiques of a particular century and make a record. These records are documented proofs for other references.
Investigation of structure and ends
Investigate the complete structure and ends of the fixtures. It helps to identify the dates and years of the old furnishings.
The apparent sign with dead ends and broken bodies indicates the period piece.
Types of nuts and bolts
The old-age nuts and bolts were different from the present tools. The shapes and sizes of the antiques are bugger and beautiful.
They added to the objects as a decorative item more than a fit thing. The manufacturers use to decorate every single portion because it was a handmade thing.
The bolts of the old fixtures comprise the rose-shaped and other design elements. All of them are vast and prominent, and they seem like an additional part of the pieces.
The handmade nuts and bolts are the essence of any antiques.
It is a distinct factor, and you can date your item according. If the present sample contains the simple and machine bolts, then it is not an antique.
It has some features like rose and flower bolts. It is an antique of near times, and The feet of the furniture join with the structure through different nails.
If the metallic nails are without or least designed, then it is the nearest piece of all ages. It is a defining age factor, and leg area joints clear the whole structure without any error.
The old-age manufacturers use to install the woodblocks and pieces as joining things. The essence of wooden bolts is a clear indication of age century.
The 17th century comprises ends and layouts of legs in the piece of tables and chairs. You can estimate the age of your present item with these significant features.
Damaged polish/old brands
The polish of the furniture legs is an essential thing to determine its age. The destruction and decay of the paint and tell that the sample is antique.
There is a pattern of polish breakage and shrinking in antique matters.
It moves backward on the leg in ascending direction. It indicates that the ends and shape of the legs belong to old age centuries.
The bottom’s design can differentiate between the dates, but the polishes make it is a vintage piece.
The manufacturers used specific colors of varnishes for objects. Identify these colors from the documented records, and bring the same sample as reference material.
Check and observe the leg areas from joining edges to the varnish color. If it has light mustard brown, dark brown, or yellow-brown color, and it is an antique.
The presence of the same color all over the piece also makes it an old matter. The irregularity of paint determines old age because people use to do everything by hand.
The human errors paste their significant indications on the items. You can identify their dates and years with the help of these clear points. The new objects have wax coats, and the antique pieces have raw wood right under the first coat.
Differentiation between original and antiques
The irregularity and decayed conditions differentiate between them. The original antique can never be present in its original form.
The preserving conditions cannot affect the age of the wood. The lifespan of woody legs and shrinkage of the paint offer age signs.
It is essential to check the combining points on all the feet and top surface areas. Always observe the designs and specifications as described above.
The particular designs belong to a specific time, and you can identify them within minutes. The comprehension of layout offers knowledge about the date.
The feet are the strongest but vulnerable portions in terms of age, and the destruction affects these supporting structures more than other things in a woody item. They offer complete reference and matching properties with enormous features.
Types of feet style in antique furniture
There are multiple types of antique furniture feet. All of them help to date the item as a vintage thing.
Circular ends
The circular ends of feet are one of the earliest forms, and they belong to the back times in the first or second row. It belongs to the centuries of 1500 – 1700.
The shape is casual with a spherical end, and it is dominant. The stability is much in such furniture, and people identify the old-fashion designs.
It seems like the bottom circular portion is carrying a tiny ball inside it. The bottom area is flat, and it is without any instability.
Triangular shapes
They were popular from the 1800s to onwards. The ends of the feet areas are like a triangle, but the last point is tiny.
It is vast enough to bear all the relevant weight of the structure. The building of the woody items depends on these sharp-looking edges.
They are stable and have separations through round objects. The styles are appealing and reliable. If your stuff has the same ends, then it is an antique in these years.
Flat feet
The design was popular in the 1700s, and it has a basic layout. The end of the feet area is flat, and it blocks a specific space.
They are stable on the ground surface, and the flat feet furniture off a vintage appearance. All the features and shapes of the sample should match your matter.
A flat-end feet table is a basic structure with handmade carvings. The designs are simple without multiple modifications.
They are casual with single or multiple doors, and the size varies according to the demands.
The wood color for such a layout is light brown with a single layer of varnish. The raw wood appears from a specific distance.
Round and stable mix
These object ends are round, but they are dense. The bottom portion is flat and not flexible. They never lead to falling or breakage as the wood is rigid.
There is a mixing of material in the round end. The prominent specification is carving even on the end area. All of the designs are handmade, and the joints are woody as well.
These styles belong to the 1600s – 1700s, and you can date your furniture in this regard.
Specific shape ends
These styles comprise the design and versatile ends. All of them have carvings without any electric tools.
The color of the furniture is dense with single-layer paints. They have a specific odor, and the object ends are sharp.
These items are drag-able, and you can accommodate them in small spaces. They remain popular in the 1600s because of their sleek layout.
The wood is stable, and it never breaks. There is a pattern if split into these pieces of furniture.
Elongated
There are few feet styles with elongated shapes and flat ends. The endings are stable on a stable surface. These are non-breakable and fantastic on a material basis.
The structure comprises mixing of matters with beautiful designs, and you can date your piece according to this design.
They were the most popular items of the late 1600s. Few of them reached the mid-1700s. The shape of the legs prevails from the top surface to the ground in the long supporting factors.
Dense
The dense feet of items are fantastic in terms of support and appearance. They have a composite of wooden material at the end areas. They are circular/ round at their bottoms, and it enhances stability.
They were popular in the same eras as elongated foot designs.
The items were unique and glorying and a contributing factor to date the vintage stuff.
Fashionable
All of the feet are fancy and full of design. They occur in tables, chairs, and may other supporting items.
The handmade carvings and floral layouts identify that they belong to old ages.
The decency of the pattern indicates the reproduced furniture.
Vintage
Few feet styles are absent nowadays. There is no manufacturing company that brings such designs in the new things.
The ends are of animals and bird designs in the vintage structures. The vintage plans have maximum authenticity despite unique styles.
The items belong to the late 1500s and never reach the 1600s due to complex designs.
Manufacturing is time-consuming and handmade things are impossible to manufacture in such complex formations. You can date the vintage stuff through these rare animal layouts.
Horse foot
The horse foot of tables and closets means the paw shape of woody matter. The bottom of the support joint contains a mixing, and they were one of the expensive feet types.
Signs of antique furniture feet
There are few symptoms of old age furniture that depend on visual inspection. You can identify vintage things only by checking their appearance.
The signs are the worst wood condition, decay, rare feet shapes, and irregular forms.
Worst wood conditions
It is one of the prominent indications of old items, and the wood shrinks and splits into equal portions. The cracking is in symmetry due to wood mixing and other stable materials.
The wood seems raw but attractive even in the old condition, and it is a sign of vintage items without any other significant test.
Decay
The decaying conditions of the ends may have lost their shapes. The irregularity and missing parts are a difficulty of access the exact design.
The patterns help in these conditions. The arrangement of puzzle pieces makes the whole structure. The deformed items are known as antiques despite their missing parts.
The manufacturers and storage companies add the missing parts beautifully. The material can never be the same as the old and golden things.
Once the declarations occur, then they repaint and turn it into its original form. The shapes are not the same as the old ones, but they are closer to them in all respects.
Rare feet shapes
The ends and their formations are significant symptoms of old age wood structures. The section identifies the years and centuries without the complex identification methods.
It is one of the dominant portions when you date them according to feet. These shapes are rare, and they only belong to old ages.
You can make the vintage models today by following the same design, but they are different. The absence of raw material and mixing handmade techniques are not available.
The addition of machinery in the manufacturing process has decreased the vintage properties, and the feet are with beautiful designs, but in a reproduced form.
Irregular forms
The irregular forms of furniture are a result of age impact. The temperature and other environmental conditions lead to such deadly changes. The structure changes completely, and identification becomes impossible.
The parts help in the identification process with complexity and effort. It is a clear indication because the new furniture never molds.
You can break them with force, but they never change their shape. The vintage pieces of furniture feet have this ability, and you can date them.
Related Articles:
How to make a bedside table with drawers?
How to make sofa covers at home?
How to treat wooden furniture for outside use?
Is it easy to remove excess oil from wooden furniture?
