Oceans....not all antiques are splinter filled, decrepit things ready to fall apart at any minute. I don't have antique dressers, but the antiques I do have are in very good condition. I have no splinters on any of my pieces. As with everything, you get what you pay for. As far as antiques being less popular now, I think that's true. All decorating trends come and go, and right now, transitional style is in. People will get bored of that look eventually, and good antiques will come back in again. Frankly, I suppose, due to the economic downturn, in our area, furniture stores in general have closed left and right. It's more difficult to find nice furniture anymore. Most of the stores that are still in business are the ones who carry the cheap, low quality furniture.

I would agree that most people today, (most, not all, so please no snippy comments) prefer simpler lines than the more ornate styles that most consider antique, not just young people! Senior here, and I prefer a more industrial, iron and wood, style of furniture. But that doesn't stop me from lusting over my neighbors Duncan Phyfe table, handed down from an ancestor who was a Phyfe contemporary. LOL!

And we Americans are used to changing our styles as often as we want, so cheap, poorly built furniture allows us to be traditional one day, modern the next, without the pain of breaking the budget.

I think it depends how fragile they are. My family has a gramophone that is off limits because the wax cylinders break quite easily.

I have one antique china cabinet(circa 1890s) which was my grandmothers. I love it and it brings to mind many Sunday dinners at her home, and I am as careful as I can be with it. I will never part with it, and I do love her china which was with it when I inherited it,. The china has not had much use, due to the fact it can not go into the dishwasher. but it is lovely to display.

To bad the dishwashers don't have a gentle cycle for our good china and crystal.

Hmmm. I can't imagine having anything "hands off" in my home. Can we reserve that for museums?

I have many vintage item, and a few antiques, in my house. I use most of them regularly. A few fragile things that I love are kept where kitties and others can't accidentally knock them over. To me size is a determining factor; keeping an antique teacup behind glass is no problem. An 1830s piano is another matter; some things do belong in museums.

I love Japanese design and use antique Edo era tansu throughout my home - one as a china cabinet in the dining room and one as a bureau in my bedroom for example. When I redid my kitchen, I had cabinets made to look like the tansu and used tansu hardware on the doors and drawers. Using antiques is part of the joy of owning them.

I have a house full of antique furniture and love it. Also cabinets full of beautiful collections of antique art glass, china and pottery. Some of it may get used for special occasions but have no problem just looking at it either as a decorative object. I enjoy beautiful things and frankly find homes with no antiques or decorative items pretty boring and cold.

I had some beautiful Egyptian antiques for the walls but gave them away as so much work had to be put into them to keep them clean and dust free, what we have now is mainly collectibles from our travels-not much but just enough. I still have small Egyptian table cloths which I still use and the cotton is excellent as they have lasted so long. There are ancient Egyptian illustrations on them.

I have an 1863 farm house with several pieces of furniture, lamps, dishes, utensils, pictures, etc. from my great-grandparents. Many are used and some items are for decoration. Makes for interesting conversation. Most of my house style leans towards French Country. The Family room is a mix of Country Contemporary. Have been in this old fixer-upper house for 30 years. It is now time for some updates!

I used to worry about the antiques in my house. My mother was an antiques dealer so I've been collecting for 50 years. But I have two relevant stories: I ran a large housing program for people living with AIDS back in the early nineties. I needed to purchase 28 beds and dressers. I decided that I didn't have to make the house feel institutional. Instead I bought antiques assuming that if they lasted the last 100 years, they'd do just fine. Huge mistake. Huge. The second story is that I adopted a cat. She is big. She is feisty. She will not let anyone clip her claws. She has made a mess out of so many antique pieces of furniture that I've decided to just give up worrying about it. You can't teach a cat to leave furniture alone. While I use antique bowls and other functional antiques regularly, I draw the line at things like old Tiffany or anything made in the 1700 or early 1800's. My house was built in the mid-1700's. The cat shouldn't be here. But what can I say....

ptown you piqued my interest...what happened to the 28 beds?

Of course you use them. They almost always look nicer and built to last twice as long.

CORRECTION: I commented yesterday about the use of Japanese antiques in my home and realized today that I stated the wrong period for the chests in the photos. The y are from the Meiji period which ran from 1868 to 1912. The Edo period I mentioned is the one that proceeded it.

Phyllis you are a shining example on how wonderfully timeless antiques look with the proper balance. What a very stunning not to mention functional living space you have created. I love how you have echoed your taste through your rooms.

I say use them and enjoy them but take care to use respect and honor their history.

Yes...use and enjoy them with respect like we do with this treasured old rocker made by hubby's great grandfather. .

Our antiques at home are hands-off but we encourage children to handle expensive items!

With few exceptions, most of the things in my house are antique or old. My philosophy is that if it lives with me, it has to LIVE with me. A few more dings and scratches just add to the history. I have a few fragile paintings and American Indian crafts that I am careful with - but they are out for anyone who enters my house to enjoy. Even the fragile things occasionally end up in tablescapes so they can be appreciated and help to educate the "unenlightened".

Constant use. Every single day. Mostly Eastlake furniture, older than my 1905 house. The look I go for is as if the best stuff got saved every time the house was updated. In fact, it mostly was. 1915 Hoosier Cabinet & 1938 gas stove. Everyday use, many times a day. This stuff holds up! Funny contrast with Danish Eco-Fridge, but it's a contemporary classic which also works well and holds up.

what is the use of having things if you don't use them. Somethings I use for special occasions, but they are used.

I grew up in an old house with antique furniture: big family, rambunctious dogs, lots of visitors. Everything was used and people felt comfortable in our home. I love furniture and crafts that were made by hand, have a history and a story to tell.

I love the old furniture, but we have a mixture of both. We use it daily. My dining room set is old, but not antique, and some of the scratches are from when the grandkids were babies so they are sentimental to me. I suppose we'll refinish the table top one of these days but for now I cover it with a hand crocheted table cloth and save the memories. My house was built in 1907 and has the original oak door and window trim, pocket doors and even an oak built in buffet which I love. My home is for comfort, not style and suits us fine.

We have no furniture in
our house just for show. We use
everything. Since our taste rather runs
to the styles of the mid 18th and mid 19th Centuries we
have a lot of that in our house getting
mercilessly used day by day - and they can take it - at least it seems so - and I would not say that we are particularly careful but we are also not extraordinarily wild.

When we
need furniture we rarely go shopping in the usual stores because we are far more
likely to find what we like languishing dust-covered in the back of some flea
market or in an antique shop. Fine pieces are also found in the house clearance
listings of people liquidating unwanted furniture of late aged relatives. These
are particularly pleasing because they are usually worn and/or encrusted and
leave an opening for TLC, skill application and personalization. It sounds
perverse but, there is nothing I love more than to gently remove layers of old
wax and age spots to reveal the beautiful glowing wood mellowed by age and
patina then to work myself into a sweat buffing them back to an amazing gleam; Or
to coax tired ‘thirsty’ wood back to health with old fashioned mixtures that
fill the home with the scent of yesteryear. Antiques love to be touched and handled.

Interestingly, many people
though themselves not appreciative of the style or daunted by the restorative
work involved, are overjoyed that these old pieces are destined to be loved and
to actively take part in the real home life of a family again, and we have even
been asked for a picture memento of the finished item once refurbished.

The drawback of such furniture is
that we can seldom just buy and use - there is always a time lapse between
purchase and final benefit because they do have to be looked after a bit first,
and if professionals are involved, patience is definitely the order of the day.

absolutely, I use them They're mixed with my , not so much antiques. I think it adds character and interest to the space. Often , homes look as though furniture has been moved from a showroom set-up, and just transferred to your home. Sadly, many folks feel like "old" furniture will make their friends think they can't afford new.

I don't own any antiques. If I can't use it then I don't want it

Family pieces mixed with new furniture add so much history and feeling the room was put together over time.

I had friends tell me once, "Your house is like going to my grandmothers." I replied, "Really, does it look that old in here to you,"

"No," he replied, "it looks that loved."

Yea for antiques -- yep we sit on them, we have antique quilts that get used every night. I have an antique pot my grandfather used to make me Cream of Wheat. I couldn't imagine having items that I loved that I didn't use in some manner (other than photographs). What really brings them to life is their use, not their ability to collect dust.

Lots of them in our house too. My favorite is filled with my Majolica collection.

We aren't a fan of antiques

Just curious, DaVill Blinds. Why are you reading/commenting on a post about "your" antiques, if you don't like antiques???

Lots of antiques, and some just old furniture. Our house is over 100 years old, and I love researching the history of how people lived when the house was built. My "antique" house sort of transports me to another time, and I don't want the furnishings to break the spell! That being said, we use just about everything daily, with some more fragile items on display where they are protected.

I have a bureau that belonged to my great-grandmother that I use every day, a 1930's GE radio that doesn't work but looks great on the end table, a 1920's candlestick telephone that also doesn't work but looks great on the other end table, a 1953 Champion pedal car that is restored but still sees use by little kids every now and again, and my favorite is this 1910 postcard from Yonne, France that I had custom framed, matted and glassed so you can view both sides (click on the picture for the full view).

The kids who visit love to play in our living room filled with antiques, that is not used often enough. I think they enjoy it more than anyone else, so of course it is not off limits.

The antiques we import from Europe were made to be used! Much of the French antique furniture we sell dates to the 1880s and if a piece has lasted more than a century already, it can stand to be loved a little longer. Part of the pleasure in adding antiques to your home is the beautiful texture / touch and the practicality and high quality craftsmanship of these very sturdy pieces. In general, our prices are very reasonable and often lower than new pieces of furniture so I don't think there's any reason to be afraid of enjoying antiques every day!

when i was a child i learned that anything i owned could be lost or destroyed without warning and would never be replaced. Therefore, i don't normally buy a lot and though I may wish to keep what I have i also don't suffer much if it is lost. A few years ago, many of my most precious items, an expensive telescope we had gotten as a Christmas present for ourselves, a fairly new but unusual Christmas tree stand, Some antique china from my grandmother in law that I adored, both her and the china, some fairly new day ware serving dishes my mom bought me, my collection of records from my childhood, were all stolen during a move. My husband insisted we report it, but as usual, we only got some money back for it. so, the lesson is relearned. come se, come sa. I guess that this was not meant to be. On the other hand 4 very beautiful and special vases, the harnesses and collars of some of our most precious fuzzy family members, christmas ornaments specially collected during my life time and my mother before, I still have. This is meant to be. Nothing I own is ever unused, I must appreciate it while i have it, I can not do that if it is never used.

We love antiques and have several in our home. We use them all the time. It makes our home very lived and comfortable and yet unique.

I grew up in a house absolutely filled with antique furniture that either I wasn't supposed to touch at all, or I was supposed to treat only with the most exquisite and delicate care. As a clumsy child, I found this both nerve-wracking and--in some cases--also pretty silly. Why have a gorgeous dining room table, if you never eat anywhere but in the tiny, cramped, and far less comfortable kitchen? What good is filling a living room with beautiful furniture if you never spend any time in that room? Beauty is meant to be appreciated and admired, not merely warehoused for 363 days of the year.

Now that I am an adult, I don't bring "showpiece furniture" into my house. I do have a couple of valuable antique pieces, and I love them dearly, but I also use them. (I nearly always eat at my dining room table. That's what it's for!)

yep, i feel you vena! My mom bought mainly new, so we could not even sit on the sofa, one day had company, all dressed up, my sister and i sat on the floor, thought mom was gonna die! haha

Reminds me of the "trailer queen" cars that are never driven, and only started to drive them on and off the trailer. I know someone who decided that wasn't any fun, and drove his instead. As he pointed out, what good is it to own it if you can't enjoy it?

did he encase it in that lovely plastic like my fmil did the couches and chairs?

Depends what it is

why the trailer queen car of course! Remember, when moms wanted to be generous to the family they would cover everything with that awful plastic that would stick to the back of your legs and if you grimace, they gave you this look, like "what, i let you sit on it didn't i? How is it going to last a million years, if you kids go messing with it without it's protection on?" Of course, if she thought about it a few baby couches running around might have ended the whole problem. tehehe

I like to use my antiques. There is for me a special feeling when I sit at my dining room table and think of others who have sat there previously also talking and laughing with their family and guests.

We use them.

Most of the antiques in my home were acquired to be used.

Mine too, except for a few fragile little decorative items.

I inherited the wooden trunk that my great great grandfather brought to the US

Germany in 1848. His name and date are carved on the front next to the metal lock. When I got it, it had been painted with old dark teal paint. I wanted it for my living room and stripped it and sealed and use it as an end table storing Christmas decorations. It is a conversation piece. My mother was furious with me that I destroyed the patina, but it is mine and I use it and would never have used a teal piece of furniture with my other color scheme. I'm a senior now and might have tried to work around the color, but I still like what I did. It's not that orange in true color, dark maple color.