Yes? No? Maybe So?

Could it be? What is old is new again: antiques are coming back in favor? For about the last decade, modern furniture and interiors have reigned. Modern and contemporary furniture have fetched incredibly high prices at auction and asking prices at retail have been higher than a four-year private college education. Perhaps, people are seeing the warmth, beauty and historical importance of antiques once again?

After all, many “new” furniture pieces by designers have been inspired by old designs. But that is a post for a later time.

Antique furniture has had it rough lately, and especially in the last eighteen months. Although 2008 saw some high prices at the higher end of the market, the middle market tanked. With the collapse of Lehman Brothers, fewer homes sales and a plunging stock market, sales of antique items showed even larger decline. Items were barely moving at auction, and if they did some pieces reached a quarter of the hammer price from just a little over a year ago. Some retail dealers priced their stock significantly lower. By the fourth quarter of last year, the top end of the market has also bombed.

Personally, I was so pleased to read about designers beginning to incorporate antiques into their designs. Wendy Moonan wrote about this in the NY Times on the annual Kips Bay decorator show house. (You can read this here)

So, what do we think? With a little creativity and some cash in our pockets, would any of you incorporate the following items into your homes? What would you pair one of these items with? How would you recover some of these chairs for a cleaner, more stylish look?

1. A pair of Directoire Fauteuils? (Christie’s, Paris - April 7, 2009)

2. A Late George II Giltwood Overmantle Mirror. (Christie's, London - July 12, 2007). Would you use this? It is big – 66” x 66½ “.

3. A George III Satinwood, Mahogany and Amaranth Marquetry Demi-Lune Commode (Christie’s, London - March 18, 2009)

4. A Neoclassical white marble, green-painted, parcel-gilt and faux-marble decorated console table. Swedish? German? (Sotheby’s, NYC April 3, 2009.) Would you put a mirror over this? A painting? A series of etchings or old maps?

5. A Regency Mahogany Daybed (Christie’s, London - June 7, 2007)
Where would you put this? And what upholstery would you recover it in? (I think the lines on this is fab…)

6. A Pair of George III Black Japanned Armchairs (Sotheby’s, London - May 17, 2005)

7. Vargueno?

8. A Swedish Neoclassical ormolu, cut-glass and sea blue twelve-light chandelier, (Sotheby’s, NYC - April 3, 2009). I forgot to document the size, but I recall the diameter was not that big. I was searching for this stuff very late at night. Make up your own size? Would you use this in a saucy bathroom? Bedroom? Foyer? Modern retractable glassed-in room?

9. A Pair of George Mahogany Hall Chairs, (Sotheby’s, NYC - April 5, 2006). Oil the wood a bit and then place them against a wall in a wide hallway and marry it with a bright, bold graphic rug? Yes no? Intriguing or unsettling?

10. Papier-Mâché Table - (Stamford Auction, Norwalk, CT, February 11, 2007). In an all-white room?

11. An English Mahogany Gout Stool from the eighteenth century? (Canterbury Auction Galleries: West Canterbury, Kent, UK - September 16, 2008)

Recover it and push up against the window for a little dog or cat to recline and gaze out to watch the birds outside? Or the traffic? Or so they can watch for that particular mail man that they detest?

Just for fun:

12. Would anyone want this? Those who don't would you at least dare yourself to touch the bellies of these little frogs? (Desert West Auction Service: Mimbres, New Mexico, US - November 22, 2008). Cool or creepy?