Antiques expert talks about chairs and why we should buy an old settee

Seating is perhaps the most used piece of furniture in anyone’s house vying for position with their bed.

However, if you consider the age of a chair or sofa in a typical home, it’s somewhere between seven and 15 years old.

So why do so many of us fall out of love with our seating and dump it at the tip so soon? It seems like one moment it's posterior passion and the next it’s given the bum’s rush! So what’s the answer? And how can we save money with style?

Britain’s oldest chair, the Coronation throne, is said to have been commissioned in 1296AD whilst Hatnefer's Chair from ancient Egypt is believed to be around 3,500 years old. It didn’t get much use but it makes the point that a good chair can last for generations.

Antiques by their nature are environmentally friendly too. You can buy an Edwardian or Victorian chair for under £100 and a 17th Century side chair for around £300 and all you’ll ever need to do is love them and use them. If the unthinkable happens and you break it, there are lots of quality restorers you can get it repaired by and their knowledge will save a bodge too!

I’ve stocked many chairs, from armchairs to the quirky and interesting like the reading chair to pairs of side chairs, as well as big club chairs and library chairs.

There are designs to suit every interior often at a fraction of the cost of buying mass-produced chairs. Don’t you deserve something individual, something to be loved, something that will last longer than an average settee or dining chair?

I’ve had two hugely contrasting settees reupholstered, one is a completely restored Venetian sofa frame that had been stripped to just its timber, with a minuscule amount of its original silver gilt remaining.

I contacted Claire at CSA Gilding in Wiltshire to replace the missing gesso and silver gilt and an upholsterer to cover the frame. I chose a cut velvet cloth similar in colour and texture to a few threads that remained around a single upholstery nail. The result is beautiful.

The second came in as a basket case. A 1980s club sofa fit for Guy Fawkes night. I had it stripped, the foam replaced and the sofa itself covered in London Transport District Line and Bus fabric with black velvet to the back and sides. Let’s call it funky.

I did it because I wanted to save both pieces and also ultimately to make a profit. The big club sofa comes apart, it unbolts, making it easy to transport.

If you want something contemporary look at Art Deco, Biedermeier and 1960s furniture. It gives you three style choices of super quality. For a period house or cottage, a Victorian button-back always looks great and if you’ve space or have a converted warehouse apartment try the funky London Transport fabric club sofa for a bold statement. For a flat or a cottage, the Venetian settee looks incredibly chic and mix it in with one-off armchairs.

Around a table, my current tip, Regency chairs with their sabre back legs and rounded top rails that comfort and support. If you only have room for two chairs you could buy a lovely pair for under £280. Shop around. Find a dealer whose stock you like. In the old days ladies who lunch and young couples fresh out of university used to call it “Antiquing” now I call it a sensible bit of shopping!

There are lots of museums and country houses open to the public where you can go and see the best of the best. By having a great day out, you’ll both pick up pointers and learn about furniture too.

For the Art Deco visit Coleton Fishacre House in Devon. For Georgian dining chairs visit West Wycombe House, Buckinghamshire. For a feast of beautiful furniture, it’s the V&A in London or the V&A in Dundee. There’s the National Museum Cardiff for a wonderful variety of ideas or for vernacular furniture visit Ulster Folk Museum in Cultra, Northern Ireland.

Andrew Blackall is an English antique dealer with more than 30 years of experience selling period furniture and quirky collector's items to clients across the globe. He has written and produced award-winning film and television productions. He was born in St John’s Wood, London and he grew up in and around London. He currently lives in Avebury, Wiltshire. His love of antiques stems from an early fascination with history and from visiting country homes throughout old England and the British Isles. Many of Andrew’s clients are well known on both sides of the pond, patronising his ability to source antiquities with provenance and appeal. His stock has appeared in a number of films and TV shows. Andrew has two styles of business: one selling high-end decorative antiques at The Blanchard Collective, the other selling affordable collectables at The Malthouse Collective.

His website is chairmanantiques.co.uk/

Instagram is: chairman_antiques