BY ELLEN S. WILKOWE
Wanted: Good home for antique furniture.
Such is the case for Richard and Margaret Logan of Rockaway who are trying to unload a circa 1900 antique loveseat Sette bench for $175, simply because it does not meet their present needs.
“Our present preferred decor is contemporary,” he said. “We like it because of its simplicity and straight lines. Although we like some antiques, the items we presently have for sale do not fit in our present lifestyle.”
With no vested emotional interest, the Logans’ antique may pose as a future heirloom for its next owner. From Aunt Ethel’s dining room table to Uncle Fred’s graduation ring, heirlooms generally have a connection to family, said Herb Stocknoff, owner of Heirloom Restorations.
“The narrow definition of heirloom generally refers to something handed down in the family and is purely sentimental,” he said.
Buying back time is the phrase Ken Urban applies to heirlooms.
“Heirlooms are generational,” said Urban, owner of Pegasus Antiques in Chester. “You want to buy back memories. The things you grew up with that interest you are different from the things your parents grew up with.”
Or not.
Self-proclaimed contemporary furniture enthusiasts, the Logans inherited the unwanted antique bench from Rich’s grandmother.
But what’s an antique anyway? And what about a collectible?
“You can go into 100 antique shops and find only 10 antiques,” said Stocknoff, who professionally restores antiques and heirlooms with his son Mike. “There could be lots of 100-year-old furniture that was mass produced or reproduced. Does it have value? Yes. Is it collectible? Yes.”
Crafted before 1860
Using historical periods as a guideline, Stocknoff defines antiques as furniture crafted — keyword crafted — prior to the 1860s.
“This is pre-furniture store, pre-manufacturers,” he said. “From the late 1800s on virtually everything was made in a factory or factory-like setting. This is not to say a red oak pedestal table from the 1890s has no value.”
While all antiques are collectibles, not all collectibles are antiques.
Highly collectible period pieces, for example, tend to cycle, said Karen Gunzel, a vendor at Iron Carriage Antique Center in Dover.
“The 20 and 30somethings are leaning toward the ’70s with the avocado greens and the oranges.”
Gunzel, a purveyor of eclectic furniture, costume jewelry and “everything in between,” caters to a varied customer base, many seeking that perfect accent piece to a period-themed room.
“Say they have a ’50s and ’60s living room and they want that accent piece — the cocktail table or vase to fill that corner,” she said. “Sometimes customers will come in for an accent piece, a missing dish from a set that grandma and grandma left them.”
Ellen S. Wilkowe can be reached at (973) 428-6662 or ewilkowe@gannett.com.
