The Antique Revival

One of the best ways to add charm to your home is to add a touch of class with antique home decors. The yester years furniture, chandelier, accessories, hold in them the memories of the past elegance, style and stature which the present geometric designs, rod iron furniture with all their richness lack. “I really love neo-classical styled furniture; they make my home look elegant and sophisticated. I usually prefer antique wooden furniture with beautiful wooden carvings,” said Pranita Rana, Proprietor of Exquisite Collection, a boutique.

“Antique furniture gives off that impression of that timeless elegance and instantly transforms your house into a cozy home,” echoes Jebis Thapa an interior designer. “Although the use of antique décor saw a decline in Kathmandu, it is now making a comeback with more and more people opting for the said option,” she further added. Because of this trend there are few décor stores in Kathmandu that specialize in antique furniture and these showrooms mostly offer antique chandeliers, dressing cabinets, wall brackets, sofa sets, antique tables, classic mirrors and porcelain statues.

If you are trying to transform your modern haven into a more classic one, here are few ideas that might be useful.
The Backdrop

To begin with, your wall color plays an important role in all this. Thus the use of pale colors like mauve, cream, sage green, light blue etc. work best for an antique set up. They complement the antiques as they are mostly in darker shades of wooden and black, and match your modern home design and accessories as well.

Antique Mirrors
The use of mirrors, which is popular among interior decorators gives a wide variety of options to manipulate the antiques in a modern home. Mirrors work best for the interiors when placed in the living and dining room. It makes the rooms look spacious and the use of antique mirrors adds a class to your room. Antique mirrors make a statement and are available in varied different shapes, sizes and in decorative frames. Tip: If your wall color is white, then it’s best if the frame color is golden or black.

Antique Chandeliers
Antique chandeliers are a great addition to any home and an imperative part of any historic restoration. They are usually pretty easy to wire for electricity, giving the homeowner an authentic look with all of the convenience of modern technology. There are many styles of antique chandeliers and which you choose should be dependent on your personal preference. Tip: It is important to stay with the style of your home if you are doing a restoration which involves putting up a chandelier.

Pottery with Prehistoric Designs
The corner of the room is often left unnoticed which makes any decor look incomplete. The corners, if decorated with exquisite antique porcelain collectibles or pottery with perfect lighting can make a house into a home.

Sofa Covers with an Ancient Look
A simple change in the sofa covers can add a classic look to your living room. This can be tried with curtains as well. You can use modern colors and strip, geometric or printed patterns for sofa covers and match them with traditional style cushion covers, with shimmers hangings on the side, zari work and in rich colors of bright pink, maroon etc.

Antique Tables
Antique tables were widely used in the yester years and still hold on to their charm when it comes to decorating the house. These antique tables could be for phone stand or simply be for keeping picture frames.


How to Take Care of Your Antique Decors
Suman Shakya, Managing Director of Durbar Decors, situated at Teku, shared some important tips on how we can take care of the precious antique items at our home.

• When it comes to using antiques in your home, less is usually more. One of the biggest mistakes that homeowners make when decorating their home is trying to fill an entire room with a lot of antique items.
• The wooden antique pieces must be polished every year, but these wooden pieces should not come in contact with water.
• In addition to fading colors in prints and fabrics, harsh light can dry out many materials and can speed up chemical reactions that occur naturally over time. So such antique collectibles must be kept away from direct sunlight.
• Humidity is also a major factor when it comes to taking care of antiques. When there’s not enough humidity, items like paintings, wood and paper can shrink, crack and become very brittle. When humidity reaches excessive levels, rust can develop on metal items, mold can grow and insects are encouraged to breed.
•  Avoid extreme temperature fluctuations while storing collectibles in closes spaces like attics or garages, especially when considering organic materials.
•  If you have one room in your home that tends to be a little cooler than the rest of the house year round, that’s going to be your best spot for displaying and storing collections.
•  Never put your porcelain antique plates on a dishwasher.
•  Isopropyl alcohol often comes in handy for cleaning many ceramics and porcelain pieces with a glazed finish. Be careful though, alcohol can take the finish off of wood and remove painting on glass.

So light up your modern home with antiques to give it a sophisticated look but don’t forget to take proper care of them. Because if you take good care of your antique collectibles, you can expect them to last longer and you can then pass it on from generation to generation.

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FYI
For Antique Décor
Handmade Handicraft, Thahity, 4264660
Diamond Handicraft, Lukhusi, Lalitpur, 5533145  
Arnico Stone Carving, Kathmandu Metropolitan City, 5549482
Gorkha Khukuri House, Khauma Tol, 4229862
Jawalakhel Handicrafts, Ekantakuna Road, 5539444
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