How do I identify a dining room table?
Hear this out loudPauseLook for a metal or paper tag, a sticker or a stamp listing a brand name. This might be found on the underside of the table or one of the chairs. Check the braces at the corners of tables or chair seats, visible from beneath.
What is the purpose of a gateleg table?
Hear this out loudPauseThe usual purpose of a drop-leaf table is to save space when the table is not in use. Typical examples of drop-leaf tables are: dining tables, night stands, side tables, coffee tables, and desks.
How can you tell the age of a table?
Hear this out loudPauseLook carefully at the bottom, sides, and back of the drawer; if the wood shows nicks or cuts, it was probably cut with a plane, a spokeshave, or a drawknife. Straight saw marks also indicate an old piece. If the wood shows circular or arc-shaped marks, it was cut by a circular saw, not in use until about 1860.
What is a Gateleg table used for?
Hear this out loudPauseSturdy American gateleg tables were popular space-savers used in small homes since they could be placed against a wall when leaves were dropped but became dining tables when pulled away and extensions were lifted.
How do you sit at a Gateleg table?
Hear this out loudPauseGateleg tables are comfortable for those seated at the leaves, but less so for those at the ends. If you need to sit at the ends, make sure that the top is wide enough to allow your legs to fit comfortably between the legs of the table.
How do you tell if a table is a Duncan Phyfe?
Hear this out loudPauseLook for classic Duncan Phyfe characteristics such as carved reeds, turned “urn” posts and pedestals, draped swags, acanthus leaves, lion-paw feet, rosettes, lyres, wheat ears and trumpets on tables. Lyre-backed chairs are another benchmark of the Phyfe style. Observe wood type and wear patterns.
What is a refectory dining table?
Hear this out loudPauseA refectory table is a highly elongated table used originally for dining in monasteries during Medieval times. Typically, the table legs are supported by circumferential stretchers positioned very low to the floor.
