The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

FALL HOME IMPROVEMENT WedMxU September a The 90s renew emphasis on home and family It has been called the nesting in stinct redomestication and other less cozy terms than what it really is Its the renewed emphasis on home and family Jetset is out and couch potatoes are in We can see it in advertising disposable it is so characterless is to the nineties and is declining in what instant was to the eighties favor of antiques and more solid the buzzword for promoting foods permanent pieces Magazines on The popularity of easily assembled home decoration are more popular and dismantled furniture almost than ever Tips for buying antiques Weve all heard stories of anti que collectors unearthing million dollar items at flea markets and auctions But what about the average person who would like to own furniture and furnishings with character charm and authentic Despite the recent nationwide surge of interest in antique fur and decorative arts many people simply dont feel confident Bernard Kerr owner of New Yorks Hyde Park Antiques Americas foremost source for fine English furniture and decorative arts for the past twenty five years offers ten tips that can help the novice collector as well as the ex buyer of antique fur nishings with the fundamentals of authenticity with in creased confidence and peace of mind First decide what it is that you respond to be it English American or French Concentrate on that one style Read everything you can about it look at the best examples in museums and buy what you like One of the most important things to remember in buying and collecting anything is that you must like it If you collect things just because you think theyll in crease in value youll never enjoy the aesthetic pleasure inherent in collecting Handle objects Especially in the case of furniture feel surfaces turn things upsidedown and ex amine the underside Of course only an expert can tell for sure but if you turn a piece over and the workmanship is too you know that it may not be very old Likewise if youre told that a piece is in original condition and you see replacements you know the piece has had work done to it Look for wear A hundred year old chest of drawers for ex ample will show signs of wear both on the sides and underside of the drawers themselves as well as the runners In the chest that the drawers slide into Examine the hardware and the locks on pieces If theres a lock on a droptop desk then there s got to be a key hold Sometimes these are covered up with new hard ware New hardware is accep table but only if youre made aware of it 5 Ask about restoration Remember when you begin to look for antiques that most pieces cur available have had some form of restoration done for them The phrase original condition should thus be taken with a grain of salt What most people simply don t realize is that pieces in their original condition are often not suitable for use The mercury on the backs of old mirrors for exam pie chips off and few mirrors in original condition can serve their original function If you want to hang such a piece as a work of art thats fine but if you want a look ing glass youll have to find a restored piece Likewise as most homes were heated with wood or coal burning stoves which generated a lot of soot the gilding on the frames of an original mirror will doubtless be black Therefore almost all que gilt mirrors have been re- gilded Another example of the irony of original condition is painted fur niture Wood naturally expands and contracts and responds to changes in the humidity the paint on old furniture flakes after a tain amount of time If you see a two hundred year old piece of painted furniture that isn almost completely devoid of paint it has been restored Antiques are old thats what gives them their charm and character They are supposed to look old To expect that an antique chair will look pristine simply doesnt make any sense You want things to look as though they have been used and carefully cared for by generations of people If they are worn or cracked no matter as long as they can still be used Find out where the piece was made and who owned it Owning an antique is like bringing a pice of history into your home If the dealer is knowledgeable he should at least be able to tell you approximately when and where a piece was made Most important furniture and objects will have what is known as provenance a kind of pedigree that tells who originally commissioned or bought a piece who made it where it was made and when plus an indication of who the successive owners were Learn to identify secondary woods As you become more adept at identifying periods in furniture and the materials typically used during thos periods youll be able to use secondary woods as another guide to authenticity Secondary woods are those materials used to make the backs undersides and drawer linings any hidden part of a piece For ex ample extraordinary English mahogany furniture may have mahogany or cedar as a wood but oak is more common American furniture typically has poplar or pme as a secondary wood A knowledge of secondary woods also helps to determine how much restoration has been done to a piece Wood contracts and ex pands according to the humidity in the air Sometimes the bottoms of drawers in old pieces shrinks to the point that there are significant gaps These often are remedied by filling the gap with a strip of wood If its a different kind of wood or one thats a noticeably different color then you know that repairs have honestly been made Be careful from whom you buy Unless you re a professional buying at flea markets and the like is strictly at your own risk If youre looking for things for purely decorative purposes that s fine but if you re serious about establishing a meaningful and potentially valuable collection buy from someone who can date and guarantee a piece Dealers also should reveal how much restoration was done Find a dealer who is willing to buy back or trade back at a later date anything he sells Many peo ples tastes change as they grow more knowledgeable Reputable dealers should be willing to establish such a relationship After all there is a finite number of worthy pieces available and if a dealer wants to be able to supply his clients with good pieces at all price levels it is worth his while to maintain contact with his clients as their collections develop For the same reasons it is wise for the client to seek out a dealer whose taste and expertise he trusts and to develop a longstanding relationship with that dealer 10 And finally don be afraid to make mistakes Even the most expert dealers get fooled and its usually when decisions are made to hastily But even a goof can be all right if the piece pleases you it s just the price that stings HALTALARM SYSTEMS INC BURGLAR FIRE SECURITY SYSTEMS ULC APPROVED EQUIPMENT MONITORING SERVICES COMMERCIAL INDUSTRIAL RESIDENTIAL SECURITY SYSTEMS ANY HOME CAN HAVE BUILT IN VACUUMS NuTone INTERCOM SYSTEM WE SPECIALIZE IN ROUGHINS AND COMPLETIONS OUR CUSTOMERS ARE OUR BEST ADVERTISING 8732500 265 ST GEORGETOWN Like most trends the return home undoubtedly has its roots in economics College students can afford to leave home and pay for places of their own and remain Iiv ing with their parents Young newlyweds postpone buying their first home and do the same With more things should get merrier so old rooms are revamped storage space sought or created Those who do buy houses are careful to protect and improve upon their in vestment adding on everything from saunas to greenhouses Homeowners today are nervous about the economy and prudent with their spending Buying a se cond home or a summer home is put off till next year or the next and many are spending their vaca at home BEAT THE GST SAVE by Doing Your Home Improvements NOW Before the January I st Goods Services Tax Enhance the Beauty and Value of Your Home with Prescast Steps and Patios A cracked well lid is both unsafe to children and unsanitary as it allows surface water and debris to enter your well A precast water cistern assures a plentiful water supply even from a low producing well or allows yoifto collect soft rain water ft ACTON PRECAST CONCRETE LIMITED 8531529 Manufacturers Since Septic Holding Tanks Well Tiles Steps Porches Yard and Patio Products Does winterizing your you cold feet If you re unsure about how to prepare your pool for winter you need Because if your pool isnt protected in winter you may in for sonic nisty surprises next spring your pool to and well tell you how to properly close it for the so its easy to open and ready for swimming season We take the chill out of winter ggn Bring your pool to BioGuara FREE POOL CLOSING SEMINAR Tuesday Sept 730 pm CALL US FOR DETAILS ACADIAN POOLS GUELPH STREET 8779562