It's not really "antique"...just good used furniture.
If I had a place for it, I would consider paying up to $180...but would like it a lot better for around $100.
Linda C

I never said the table was antique, but it is pretty old...a collectible!

My husband and I have been looking for a table with similar heights and diameters. Besides finding "old" tables in "antique" stores, we have only been able to find cheap particle board tables at furniture stores. When I say "cheap", I mean in quality, not price. The same size tables that we are looking for, are between $300 - $650 in furniture stores! Those "pressed wood" tables, chip really easily and are heavy as all get out!

We decided that we would rather get an "old" sturdy, solid wood table, even though it may cost around the above prices and not be in the most perfect shape. We found the above and are considering it, because it is a similar style to one we have and it also matches the living room coffee table that was my parents.

Any other opinions?

I do not collect antiques, nor do I know much but we have bought some pieces. The way I look at it is "do I really like it?", "Can we afford it?" -- If yes is the answer then what they are asking is worth it me. Remember I just buy for myself, not to be able to sell it later. I have also had reproductions made with the same financial questions. "Is it worth it to me?"

Thank you, I feel the same way.

We looked at the fine reproductions, and they were at the top of the price range.

Have you looked for somilar 1940's tables on ebay and other places to see what they are selling for?
I think you will find my estimate was pretty accurate.
That style table has been made for a few hundred years....and of course the early antique hand made tables are in the thousands of dollars. A '40's repro is around $200, more or less.
Linda C

Yes, they are selling for between $199 and $350, plus shipping. The picture above is from ebay and exactly like the one we want. It sold for $204.00, plus $95 shipping.

And you are thinking of paying $300 for that table?
Whatever you want to do....but I think it's too much.
Remember the title of this thread was "how much would you pay?"
Antiques dealers routinely price their wares high to allow for bargaining.
Remember most of the things you see on eBay also involve a middle man, and the shipping often guarantees a profit.
Your best place to find quality used furniture will be household sales or auctions.
Linda C

Well, considering what we have seen (or have not seen)in furniture stores and antique stores, I think $300 is a fair price. As eandhl said, "do I really like it?" and "Is it worth it to me?" pretty much sums it up.

We like the table we have found and are willing to pay a little over $200 for it. We budgeted $350. Besides, we are looking for the table to fit a spot in our new house. I don't want to wait for household sales to come up or spend time, money and gas to go all over for sales and auctions. I'd end up having more money in the "searching" process! LOL We have already been all over town!

Thanks so much for your opinion, because if you were willing to pay $180, we are not too far off the mark.

Dang, I could swear that was a table I had when I lived in Jupiter Farms! We bought 2, one like that and another one which was scolloped. My X ended up with them plus an old bed that my Mom had given me. I ended up in a trailer and couldn't fit them in.
I believe we paid around $300 for the both from a place in West Palm Beach.
Looks like his new wife doesn't like them! HA!

I like the table's style. If what you're looking for is a piece of furniture to fill an immediate need as opposed to being a collector who's looking for that "special" piece...I agree with those who have said that if the price is reasonable to you then go for it. True enough, it may take several months to locate a similar table via estate sales or auctions....or, several years. Like I said, if you need/want a table immediately then a hundred dollars more or less doesn't seem like such a big deal, IMO. Even if you are paying a little more than a similar table could be purchased for locally, if you take care of it...it's value will probably catch up to itself over the next decade.

Mostly, enjoy your table and learn from the experience of looking.

Tricia

Here it is...in it's new home!

See the pretty detail

And how it goes with the rest of the furniture
{{gwi:1396222}}

It looks right at home! Nice choice...

Tricia

PS Love the upholstery on the chairs.

Thank you!

I love the whole decor absolutely beautiful, table and all.

For whatever it's worth in hindsight, I agree with your method newhomebuilder. That's the way I approach "antiques" also... though I'm sure the pieces I've purchased are not "true" antiques either since they are not hundreds of years old and have no provenance that I know of. I still call them "antiques" because in my mind "good quality used furniture" is 30 years old and less... but I don't do this for a living either ;).

The pieces I have are meant for living and using, not for collecting a necessarily unique and very old piece that will go for megabucks on the auction block. My most expensive piece is a $2300 (including shipping from the midwest to the east coast) china cabinet/curio and I found that to be in line with what I'd pay for something new and nowhere near comparable quality, so I'm happy with it.

I don't buy furniture as an "investment" with the plan to make my money and then some back at a later date, I buy it to use it... I try to set a reasonable budget based on what things go for on ebay (which I consider a bottom price, not an average price for someone who doesn't have the time to do the REAL legwork of hitting estate sales and yard sales etc) and what a similar thing would cost me new (which I consider a top price) and if it's somewhere in there and the right piece for me, I go for it. But I'm a consumer, not a dealer and I know people in "the biz" have MUCH higher standards than I do all the way around ;). The nice thing about 50+ year old "used" furniture is that it's already done its major depreciating so if you DO need to sell it, you can likely get your money (or most of it back). A $300 particalboard table will likely get you $30 in a couple of years (if that) if you change your mind.

I'm not looking for every piece in my house to be a "deal." Although that would be nice, sometimes the perfect piece just calls to me and it may not even be all that unique, rare or a true antique... but I love the little table you bought and the carved swirl detail on it would have been enough for me to want THAT table rather than look for another similar one that is a hundred dollars cheaper. My friends who own an antique shop won't buy anything (even for themselves since they get bored of stuff and rotate it out from their home to the shop regularly) that they can't sell in their shop for double what they paid, but they do a heck of a lot more legwork than I do and are never looking for the "perfect" piece for a spot in their home... their home is pretty much a rotating display of beautiful things.

Anyway I see a similar table on ebay with flame mahogany (I prefer straight grain) for $485 so you can't be THAT far out of the range. And it looks great where it is.

Thank you for the kind words. My DH and I were talking last night about how we love the table and that it goes so well with our other furniture. Now, if we could just find the perfect rug! LOL

The table looks similar to several I grew up with...what I really like about the table is that it looks like it's been in that spot forever. The right choice for the right space. Congratulations!

Furniture for me is a combination of craftsmanship, timelessness, quality, value, maybe collectability...I have some true antiques, but other pieces, such as my parents wall units from the 60's are solid pecan -- certainly something that would cost $$$$ today. And they are such a plain but nice style that they blend with just about anything. I wouldn't give them up for anything. Hey, in another 40 years, they'll be antiques!

Thank you!

Here is what the space looked like with the old table. We had just moved in, so nothing was on the walls.

http://img154.imageshack.us/img154/1425/pic2943bv2.png

Looks gorgeous. I hope you've got some felt sliders on the feet of that lamp though !

newhomebuilder -- I do what you did. If I see an antique and it fills my need I buy it if it is good quality and less expensive than a new piece of furniture. In fact, when we need a casegood (not upholstery), we look at antiques first, then go buy new if we can't find the right thing. Our house is a mix of antiques and new items.

You did well! As always, your new home is awesome. I love seeing the photos.

"Looks gorgeous. I hope you've got some felt sliders on the feet of that lamp though !"
Yes, I have felt bottoms on the lamp. What I have found I need to protect the furniture from are my housekeepers! I started noticing little scratches on that were not on pieces before and finally figured that my housekeepers teenage daughter (who is the duster) must be wearing a ring. I am going to check it out when they come next week.

BTW - We live just up the street from the oldest town in TN - Jonesborough. I had a visitng relative, so we went antique hunting yesterday and didn't see any tables like the one I have. What I did see were tons and tons of art work with great prices! Wish I had thought to look in the antique stores for art before purchasing elsewhere.

Newhomebuilder, I just love your "new" table between those two beautiful chairs. It is the perfect color and style for your room.

I need to find felt pads for under my lamps also. Thank you for the suggestion. I was looking for pics of your floor to share with someone on the floor forum that loves your floors in the bedroom thread. I found this thread and I am so in love with this room of yours and most of your rooms. I just love your style of decorating.

I think this thread brings up good points about the things to consider in making us "satisfied" with our purchases. If one is the type of person whom it will kill to find the same thing a couple of months later for $100 less, then you want to wait. If it won't and you are trying to make your living room "livable" right now and move on, then you buy it. Still it is very helpful to get forum feedback on such price ranges and on quality issues to help one determine where the breakpoint is for a purchase.

I like knowing when I've paid a certain percentage for my impatience--I can deal with that-- but also don't like feeling completely "had" by an inflated price. Each person will have a different $ amount that qualifies for being over inflated. Also it is helpful when other knowledgable folks, or use e-bay for same, give some idea of how often something might turn up, so you can decide whether a better deal is likely to come along soon, or not.

I am late to this party. The Brandt factory was in a town not far from here. As the photo shows, they made nice furniture.