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Pine Furniture - Find Something Unique
By Anne Clarke

You could go out to a retail store like Target or Wal-Mart and purchase a set of pine table and chairs for less than $150. For many consumers that would be just fine. However, to admirers and collectors of handcrafted such a purchase would be a sin. To admirers of pine a table and chair represents more than just a utilitarian piece of kitchen furniture. Nothing could convince these connoisseurs of woodcraft to put inexpensive wood from a major retail giant should be in their home. The studied eye views pieces of as works of art.

These connoisseurs will travel to view fine and pay large sums of money to have original pieces of in their homes. They travel the countryside looking for treasures in antique stores and yard sales. They also shop online and visit Amish country to purchase and view Amish and Shaker collections.

Not only do these collectors travel to acquire fine items, but they also visit major exhibits of pine furniture. For example, the Concorde Museum in Massachusetts held a show between February and May of 2008 devoted to the American style of Russell Kettel's work. Kettel was both a collector and an author of books about furniture. In his own work he created an aesthetic that helped define appreciation for American craft. As an author Kettel also worked with other museum professionals to interpret American art and his book on made of pine also defined for appreciators the joy of looking at classic from New England. Kettel influenced the likes of collectors like Roger bacon and Lillian Kogan as well as decorative arts museums all across the country.

Visitors to the Kettel exhibit come to understand his unique styling which includes painted

pine and other woods such as maple. (Kettel also worked with pewter and iron to decorate his and illustrate simplicity and bare-bones frugality.) The scrapings of Kettel's hand tools and the markings on wood only grows more distinguished with the passing of time.

Such exhibitions are both social and informative. There are receptions for exhibition openings as well as tea times with food. Locals to the area can enjoy admission free Sundays and bring friends, dates, family and even out-of-town guests. Exhibitions like this are relatively common throughout New England and you can find more information about these pieces at universities and on the Internet.

If this kind of thing whets your appetite, you can also shop at boutiques for antique reproductions. These boutiques serve corporate clients such as James Madison's Montpelier, the Smithsonian Institution, the Miller Center for presidential studies at UVA and other prestigious institutions. They lend and sell such items as reproductions of James Madison's dining chair, reproductions of Irish beds & shares and even send people to teach and inform about conservation. Among the portfolio of items sold include pieces like chairs, tables, chests and cabinets, desks, beds and clocks.

After making a purchase of fine pine from a boutique -- and these pieces are not inexpensive -- you need to carefully maintain it. Avoid aerosol polishes and use a damp cloth to pick up dust. Also consider purchasing a dehumidifier to keep the humidity in your home as constant as possible since would changes as moisture content in the air increases. For more tips contact a seller or research of antique on the Internet or in a library.

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