A great chair is more than just a place to rest your weary bones, it is a focal point in any room and helps set up the overall feeling and tone of that room. Even more, a great chair usually becomes a treasured workhorse and even a loved part of the family. And when it comes to warmth and love and feelings of security and being grounded, nothing does it better than antique furniture.
When choosing antique or vintage chairs there are naturally endless choices for you from armchairs to Windsor chairs, hall chairs to dining or kitchen chairs. But in each case rest assured these items from the past were designed to maximise their use. Kitchen chairs had wide splayed legs to minimise wobbling on the hard uneven floors, armchairs kept away the chill and dining chairs were the very epitome of elegance to impress even our most judgemental friends.
Ever wondered how to begin to date Antique Chairs yourself? Our blog post here will be able to help you.
At LoveAntiques we have one of the best selections of antique and vintage chairs on the internet to suit any of your sitting needs.
Prometheus Antiques
Superb Pair of Gilt Salon Chairs ex Clumber Park
£ 1,350
artsncraftsfurniture
Pair of Arts & Crafts Carvers
£ 100
artsncraftsfurniture
William Morris Sussex Chair
£ 100
Verdi Art & Antiques
Edwardian Button Backed Easy Chair
£ 125
Harmony Antiques
19th Century French Napoleon III Armchair
£ 295
Victoria Antiques
Substantial 19th Century Swivel Desk Chair.
£ 280
Victoria Antiques
Pretty Pair of French Walnut Armchairs.
£ 450
Courtyard Antiques
Set of 6 Farmhouse Kitchen Chairs
£ 820
Courtyard Antiques
2 Windsor Stickback Armchairs
£ 235
Fernyhough Antiques Ltd
Pair French Painted Bergere Armchairs
£ 895
Marlborough Antiques & Interiors
A Victorian Walnut Nursing Chair
£ 795
£ 350
LT Antiques
Regency Mahogany & Leather Armchair
£ 1,650
£ 300
£ 325
Harmony Antiques
Pair Of Vintage French Armchairs For Re-upholsery
£ 495
£ 275
1960's Set 4 Stools Louis XV Style Painted White. Green Stripe Upholstery
£ 275
Pughs Antiques
Newark Antiques and Interiors Ltd
Leather Wing Armchair
£ 870
Victoria Antiques
A Clean Matched Set of Four Elm/Ash Country Kitchen Chairs
£ 295
Marlborough Antiques & Interiors
An Edwardian Nursing Chair
£ 645
Georgian Antiques
Georgian Style Walnut Wing Chair
£ 1,250
Marlborough Antiques & Interiors
Victorian Slipper Chair
£ 935
Driscolls Antiques Ltd
Elegant Pair of Edwardian Hepplewhite Design Antique Carver Chairs
£ 795
Elegant Pair of Edwardian Hepplewhite Design Antique Carver Chairs
£ 795
Driscolls Antiques Ltd
Witch Antiques
Primitive Lambing Chair
£ 465
Hingstons Antiques
Antique Mahogany Library Chair
£ 1,875
Salisbury Antiques Centre
Pair of Walnut & Leather Armchairs
£ 7,995
Salisbury Antiques Centre
Pair of French Armchairs
£ 2,500
Camden Antiques
Georgian Walnut Childs Chair
£ 450
London City Antiques
Superb Quality Set of 6 Antique Regency Mahogany Dining Chairs
£ 2,250
Marylebone Antiques
Antique George III Barrel Back Leather Wing Armchair
£ 3,750
Marylebone Antiques
Pair of Art Deco Swedish Satin Birch Armchairs
£ 3,500
Salisbury Antiques Centre
Set of 6 Regency Faux Rosewood Chairs
£ 1,295
London City Antiques
Set of 6 Antique Victorian Quality Mahogany Dining Chairs
£ 1,885
Hutton-Clarke Antiques
Chippendale Period Gainsborough Desk Chair
£ 1,250
Penderyn Antiques
Set of Four Antique Oak & Leather Dining Chairs
£ 595
£ 325
In a Nutshell Antiques & Interiors Ltd
Set of 6 Regency Ebonised Rope Twist Trafalgar Chairs
£ 1,250
Set of 6 Regency Ebonised Rope Twist Trafalgar Chairs
£ 1,250
In a Nutshell Antiques & Interiors Ltd
Sturmans Antiques Ltd
Fine Regency Mahogany Carver Armchair
£ 349
Wickersley Antiques
Rare Set of 8 Victorian Dining Chairs 2 Carvers
£ 1,395
Marylebone Antiques
Pair of Antique Swedish Leather Club Armchairs
£ 3,750
How do I identify an antique chair?
Chairs have been around for thousands of years so working out just how old your chair is may take a bit of experience. The best way to start is to look at a chair you already know the age of to look at how it was constructed and how it has aged. Looking at the details helps. Even classic designs such as wingbacks or dining chairs will often contain elements that were fashionable at the time. Ecclesiastical elements were popular during the Gothic Revival period c1850-1880, simple elegant oak during the Arts & Crafts Movement of c1880-1920, minimalist and modern materials such as chrome tubing from the 1920s-today. Original patina (a natural finish which emerges over time) will give you a clue about how old the chair is but just because the chair is dark don’t assume it is old. Chairs were fumed with Ammonia during the 19th Century to artificially darken them and we have used spray stain since the 1920s onwards.
Are Vintage Chairs valuable?
The simple answer is yes and no! While all usable old chairs will have some value, age is rarely a core reason. Condition will naturally play an important part, but rarity and desirability are the most important variables. A very plain chair that was made in large quantities will naturally have less value than one designed by a leading industrial designer or company and limited to only a few examples. Because all chairs basically do the same job, the overall style and look of each vintage chair matters. Chairs say a lot about a room, so people really like examples which are somehow sculptural or stand out visually. When it comes to exact values, then it is best to research other similar examples via the internet to help you understand its financial desirability and then adjust that price depending on the condition. Re-upholstering or re-caning a chair can be quite expensive but also add real value.
Are antique Rocking Chairs valuable?
Love them or hate them, antique rocking chairs can be great fun to own and use. Because they have a very specialist role, most rocking chairs tend to be worth only a few tens of pounds to a few hundred pounds depending on the look. There are some more valuable examples but these are usually by key designers or are historically important. You can usually do a bit of research online to find the value of other similar chairs, but mostly rocking chairs are loved and purchased for practical use and are far less desirable if damaged.
Where can I buy Antique dining chairs from?
Dining chairs are always one of the most sought out chairs but need to be strong enough for daily use. Although the construction is simple, old dining chairs often require quite a lot of TLC to ensure they are in great usable condition. For this reason, when shopping for antique dining chairs online it is always best to purchase them from a reputable antique dealer such as those on LoveAntiques who will usually do that hard work for you. Although auctions may seem like a good way to source cheap chairs, the subsequent restoration costs can make it an expensive decision. Overall large groups of matching chairs are always more desirable than single or odd examples, but today we are happier to mix and match different chairs so buying odd examples can be a great way to save money and create a unique look.