Remember you have also used and enjoyed youre antiques
Remember, You’ve Also Used and Enjoyed Your Antiques
We quite often hear it: “I paid £2,000 for it and I can only get £1,200 for it now!”
Well, yes. But how long have you had it?
This is something that people sometimes struggle with when it comes to antiques. They seem quite happy to accept that a new car bought for £30,000 is going to be worth considerably less a few years later. They have driven it, enjoyed it, taken it on holidays, taken the children to school and generally got plenty of use out of it.
Yet somehow, when it comes to an antique sofa, bed or dining table, there can be an expectation that it should still be worth exactly what was paid for it — or preferably rather more.
But remember: you have also used and enjoyed your antiques.
An antique chest of drawers, for example, isn't necessarily going to deteriorate significantly over five or ten years simply because you own it. Assuming it is looked after, it may be almost as good in 100 years as it is today. Drawers and runners can wear, of course, and occasionally things need attention, but good furniture was built to last.
Upholstered furniture is rather different. An antique sofa or a set of dining chairs is being used every day. Fabric wears, cushions lose their shape and upholstery eventually needs attention. So it isn't unreasonable for these pieces to depreciate over the short or medium term.
But that isn't necessarily a bad thing.
You have sat on the sofa. You have entertained your friends. You've had Christmas dinner around the table. You've sat in those chairs and, hopefully, enjoyed them.
That use has a value too.
And there is another important difference between an antique and a modern piece of furniture: time can be on the side of the antique.
A good antique sofa may depreciate while you own it, particularly if it needs reupholstering. But over a much longer period, scarcity, fashion and simply the passage of time can change its value. What looks like a loss today may not look like one twenty or fifty years from now.
So perhaps we should stop thinking about every antique purchase as an investment that must produce an immediate profit.
Buy something because you like it. Use it. Enjoy it. Look after it.
And if, when you eventually sell it, you get back a little less than you paid, remember that you've had the pleasure of owning it in the meantime.
You wouldn't expect your car to give you back every penny after years of driving it. Why should your antique sofa?
And unlike the car, your antique may just surprise you one day by becoming worth rather more than you paid for it.
After all, antiques are meant to be lived with — not kept in a bank vault.
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