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A piece of antique furniture is a collectible interior furnishing of considerable age. Often the age, rarity, condition, utility, or other unique features make a piece of furniture desirable as a collectors' item, and thus termed an antique. The antique furniture pieces reflect the style and features of the time they were made; this can be called the antique's "period" (Edwardian, Tudor, Colonial, etc.). Christie's defines it as being over 100 years old. Antique furniture may support the human body (such as seating or beds), provide storage, or hold objects on horizontal surfaces above the ground. Storage furniture (which often makes use of doors, drawers, and shelves) is used to hold or contain smaller objects such as clothes, tools, books, and household goods. Furniture can be a product of artistic design and is considered a form of decorative art. In addition to furniture's functional role, it can serve a symbolic or religious purpose. Domestic furniture works to create, in conjunction with furnishings such as clocks and lighting, comfortable and convenient interior spaces. Furniture can be made from many materials, including metal, plastic, and wood.
Cabinetry A cabinet is a case or cupboard with shelves and/or drawers for storing or displaying items. Some cabinets are stand alone while others are built in to a wall or are attached to it like a medicine cabinet. Cabinets are typically made of wood (s ...
and cabinet making are terms for the skill set used in the building of furniture. The earliest furniture was simple and practical, but as furniture became crafted and decorated it became an early status symbol. Wealthy homeowners demanded that their furnishings reflect their status and
lifestyle Lifestyle often refers to: * Lifestyle (sociology), the way a person lives * ''Otium'', ancient Roman concept of a lifestyle * Style of life (german: Lebensstil, link=no), dealing with the dynamics of personality Lifestyle may also refer to: Bu ...
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See also

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List of furniture types This is a list of furniture types. Furniture includes objects such as tables, chairs, beds, desks, dressers, and cupboards. These objects are usually kept in a house or other building to make it suitable or comfortable for living or working in ...
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Tallboy (furniture) A tallboy is a piece of furniture incorporating a chest of drawers and a wardrobe on top. A highboy consists of double chest of drawers (a chest-on-chest), with the lower section usually wider than the upper. A lowboy is a table-height set of d ...
* Bergere *
Knoll sofa The original Knole Settee (also known as the Knole Sofa) is a couch chair that was made in the 17th century, probably around 1640. It is housed at Knole in Kent, a house owned by the Sackville-West family since 1605 but now in the care of the Na ...
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Watchman's chair A watchman's chair is a design of unupholstered wood construction featuring a forward slanted seat, such that the watchman could not readily fall asleep without sliding downward and off the front of the chair. The design was developed in Western E ...


References


External links

* {{cite web, url=http://www.maltwood.uvic.ca/hoft/timeline.html , title=Antique Furniture Timeline covering the period 1650 to 1950. , archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200114064922/http://www.maltwood.uvic.ca/hoft/timeline.html , archivedate=2020-01-14 Antique Furniture Antiques Decorative arts