How to Tell if Your Sofa Is an Antique

The first thing to consider when wondering if your furniture is antique is how old you consider antique to be. The legislative official guideline is 100 years, but many people consider more recent items to be antique. If you visit an antique store, you may even find dishes and furniture from the 1970s. Make sure to find out how old the furniture is. Consider also that your sofa may have been reupholstered, due to cushions wearing out over time. Even if its cushions look new, the sofa could still be considered an antique if its frame is intact.

Instructions

- 1
  Look for mismatched material or signs of damage on the back frame. If the back frame has been replaced, modified or changed, the sofa cannot be considered an antique..
- 2
  Ensure that the legs are all the same. Over time, it is common that a leg has been replaced or modified. Make sure all the legs and feet match the time period of the sofa. It is also possible someone replaced all the legs to make them match at some point in time.
- 3
  Check the stretchers on your sofa, if there are any. Stretchers are the pieces that connect the legs of the furniture. If there aren't any stretchers, check to see if any have been removed. (You would see marks along the same level on the legs.) If there are stretchers, make sure they are original. Many more modern stretchers are made with machinery that wasn't around 100 years ago. An example is the a dowel rod stretcher.
- 4
  Check the arms to make sure they're original. Look to see that they match the overall design of the frame, that they're made with the same wood and that they have not been damaged or modified. If all of these parts of your frame check out, your sofa is an antique and can be sold as an antique.

How to Remove Scratches From a Maroon Leather Couch

How to Wash a Sofa

Couches