How To Bring Antique Clocks Into The Modern Home

Antique Grandfather Clocks

When looking for timeless interior design inspiration, antique grandfather clocks are a great way to start incorporating antique into your 21st century home. The great thing about antique grandfather clocks is that they are a great way to make a statement piece, whilst bringing history into your home and supporting sustainability, which is a major trend for 2021. 

Antique grandfather clocks come in all shapes, sizes and colours, so finding a clock that fits with your interior theme might be easier than you think. There might be some stigma that antique grandfather clocks are all a darkened wood colour which might not fit in with everyone’s colour theme, but this is incorrect! You can upcycle your grandfather clock to fit your home design, whilst keeping the features that make the clock so special. 

This is a perfect example of how you can upcycle grandfather clocks to fit in with your interior, an 8-Day clock has been elegantly painted in a darker shade to match the room, making a wonderful antique addition to this art deco-inspired bathroom. 

(Source: Digs Digs.)

2020 brought us more time in our home than ever before and 2021 is only looking the same way, creating a space which makes you happy has never been more important, so buying that antique grandfather clock you’ve had your eye on couldn’t come at a better time!

Interior Design Trends 2021

At LoveAntiques.com we have always been passionate about bringing antiques into the home and finding fun and exciting ways to show off these items. When discussing interior design in 2021, we are seeing a big interest in grandmillennial style, which combines modern design with the decor you find in antique lovers homes (Grindell, 2020). 

“Just as people are looking for traditional styles to soothe the uncertainty of the world, the grandmillenial style offers similar comforts”, Wood expresses, “This style pulls from classic design styles, leaning into antiques, busy patterns and preppy elements, such as ruffles”. 

Buying antique allows for a sustainable solution to home interior and can also provide a more affordable option to home furniture. When browsing antique furniture in marketplaces or at antiques markets, there are often fantastic prices on high quality items that you can’t get at your typical high street store, moreover these items are likely to last years longer than any mass produced furniture. 

Finding one-of-a-kind finds can truly transform your home into something you’ll really love.

Background to Antique Grandfather Clocks

The birth of the Grandfather clock was in 1656 when a Dutchman named Christian Huygens was the first person to use a pendulum, as a driving device, in clocks (TickTockTony, 2020). The earliest cases were made from oak and were architectural in its appearance and early dials were square and made of brass. 

During the 18th century grandfather clocks became extremely popular, with each area adopting their own kind of style, allowing us to choose from a huge variety of antique Grandfather clocks. The grandfather clock is an object of great cultural significance, its design and usefulness made it unique in the world of clocks, allowing a profound impact (Bookish Girls, 2020).

The significance of Grandfather clocks only gets more interesting, the fact that Grandfather clocks represent power is only a small part of what they represent. It is argued that the Grandfather clock could symbolise the physical lives of its owners (Bookish Girls, 2020). Many clocks were designed to show what industry the family was in or their interests. This only puts more emphasis on how special Grandfather clocks can be to your interior and what makes buying antique Grandfather clocks so special as the previous owners can tell you about the fascinating history that comes with each clock, allowing you to bring not only a beautiful Grandfather clock into your home but also bringing a part of history as well. 

Styles Changing over Different Periods

Depending on what period your antique clock was produced and what country it was produced in, there are many different factors that shape the different styles. 

The first image shows a very early, unsigned 6.5” square dial, c.1680 which is then compared with a very late 15” dial, c.1880.

There are a few different features that you can use to date your antique clock, the first to take a look at is the clock’s brass dials. If your grandfather clock has a brass dial, it’s likely to have been made between 1680 and 1730. Most of these clocks had one hand (as shown in the picture above - left) because the average person had no need of knowing the time to the nearest minute (Clock Makers and Repairs, 2011).

By 1730, the vast majority of grandfather clocks began to have two hands, one for the hours and one for the minutes (as shown in the picture above - right). One-handed clocks were mainly popular in the country areas as they had no need for the second hand, however in the cities they demanded more of a need for the exact time, hence the increase in two handed clocks. 

Clocks produced in the 17th century tended to be very basic designs and made for the purpose of telling the time with no decorative motivation in its design. Over time, specifically in the 1670s, oak and pine was used for grandfather clocks and were very slender in design. 

Around the 1760s, the use of mahogany became popular for longcase clocks and every clock designed after the 1760s was likely to have mahogany and lacquered cases (British Antique Clocks, 2021). 

Around 1770, we saw the first painted hand dial which altered the future designs for Grandfather clocks. The round dial was introduced and used extensively in London and Scotland and the square dial was introduced in the 18th and 19th century. 

What else can you use to determine the age? The difference in the wood used can help indicate what period and origin the clock is. Clocks made in the 17th century tended to be based on functions and were very slender in designs, made principally of oak or pine and veneered in fruitwood, which was then ebonised to create a black polished finish (British Antique Clocks, 2021). 

During the 18th century, the use of mahogany started to become popular for the use for longtail clocks and during the 1760s mahogany virtually took over, so depending on the wood used to make the clock you can tell the period of production (British Antique Clocks, 2021).

Styles Changing based on Country of Origin

What makes Grandfather clocks that extra bit exciting for collectors is how styles of clocks change based on where they are produced. We gathered the most popular types of Grandfather clocks and where they were produced to narrow down the differences between countries of origin.

Comtoise Clocks - France

These can also be known as “Morez Clock”, (Home Stratosphere, 2021) is one of the most common types of grandfather clocks. Comtoise clocks originated in the France region, Franche-Comte and were produced for almost 230 years. 

A sudden decline in comtoise clocks arose in 1871, when German clocks were allowed in Britain without any taxes which greatly affected the trade of comtoise clocks and led to a fall in their popularity (Home Stratoshpere, 2021).

(Above) is an example of a comtoise clock, a French wall clock made in France - Comte region, 1900. You can purchase this comtoise wall clock on LoveAntiques.com for £80. 

Bornholm Clocks - Bornholm, Danish Island in Baltic Sea

The production of Bornholm clocks began in 1745 and lasted until 1900 (Home Stratosphere, 2021). Before the creation of these unique clocks, Bornholm wasn’t known for their clock reputation but due to the clocks’ rare commodities, sailors decided to save these clocks from the Island which led to their transportation to Ronne where the Bornholm Clock came to exist. 

(Above) is an example of a Bornholm clock made in Denmark c.1960. You can purchase this for £245 on LoveAntiques.com today. 

Mora Clocks - Sweden

The origin of Mora Clocks go as far back as the 18th century, in order to regain economical status, people in Stockholm learned numerous skills to help support their people and one of these skills was clock making. Many families began to specialize in making Mora Clocks, and Mora clocks reached their peak time in the 19th century. 

Mora Clocks stood out due to their distinctive identity and personality, making them extra special and unlike any other clocks (Home Stratosphere, 2021). When browsing through Mora Clocks, you can appreciate the uniqueness between each clock, Mora clocks were only ever created by individuals, meaning no two Mora clocks will be the same! (Vinterior Blog, 2021).

Mixing the Old & the New

So now we have looked at what makes grandfather clocks so special, the next step is to understand how to best bring them into your home interior. The word ‘grand’ comes into mind when we think of grandfather clocks.. Unsurprisingly.. But you don’t have to have a certain type of interior to fit them into your home. In 2021, mixing the old and the new is a great theme to bring antique grandfather clocks into your home without having to change everything about your interior, which brings us on to our first tip!

Add some contemporary decor along with your antiques

You can layer your favourite antique items with some more modern furniture or decorations, this helps create a look that your room has been designed over time and not just slotted out of a magazine page!

Make a statement

If you’ve found an antique grandfather clock that you love, it can easily become your statement piece to show off its beauty without overcrowding the room! Even statement pieces should still mix with your colour scheme of the room, mixing different coloured furniture can be difficult so start with your statement piece of furniture and mix the colours around that! 

Or, use antiques as accent pieces

Accent pieces are any piece of furniture that is not the main focus of your room, so you can use your antique grandfather clock as an accessory in your room without making it the main feature. 

LoveAntiques.com favourite Grandfather Clocks

LoveAntiques.com has a large variety of grandfather clocks to choose from, we’ve tried our best to select our favourite antique grandfather clocks from the website, it was very difficult as there is just so much choice!

Our first pick is this 17THC Pin Wheel English Longcase Clock. This 8-Day clock has an incredible thick Pearl Oyster Veneer and has a slim line case to help fit it into a variety of spaces in the home. What makes this piece so special is its rare pin wheel escapement feature, which was invented in about 1741.

You can purchase this 8-Day clock on LoveAntiques.com for £4400, in very good condition.

Secondly we take a look at a bold Mellow Sounding 1920s Triple Weight Westminster Quarter Chiming Musica Grandfather Oak Longcase Clock. The detail in the clock’s face is exceptional and will definitely make the owner feel like they have added a grand addition to their home. 

We recommend mixing this antique grandfather clock with accessories that fits the attractive colouring, for example a striking brass firescreen or a more modern art deco gold lamp!

You can browse accessories for your home on LoveAntiques.com that will help highlight your statement pieces without taking the attention away from them. 

We could sit and choose our favourite Grandfather Clocks from LoveAntiques.com for hours, but we’ve managed to narrow it down to one last favourite!

This Mclaren of Edinburgh Longcase/Grandfather Regulator Clock is a bit different from others, it features a drumhead case veneered in curled mahogany, this makes the design a bit sleeker than perhaps more classic grandfather clocks.

The sleekness of this grandfather clock allows you to place it in your home without having to worry about it being too bulky or taking up attention from your other accessories, allowing you to play around with your space more! Browse more antique clocks on LoveAntiques.com today.

There we have it! 2021 is all about being brave with your interior and simply expressing your style the way you want, that’s why LoveAntiques.com is perfect for all your interior needs, choose from thousands of items and have peace that all our items are great for the environment and of the highest quality.