I remember 25 years ago being told by a college professor that "furniture is the number one worst investment we all will make." Yet we must have furniture or our house just doesn't seem like a home. Over the years I saw the defect in his rationale and realized a fact that he had obviously not considered. His statement is true if you consider owning typical new furniture. By typical I mean furniture that you will purchase for under a thousand dollars per piece or furniture that may not have impressive enough craftsmanship or quality to survive and become a family heirloom 60 years from now.

What the doctor was saying is that buying new furniture is much like buying a new car. The day you take it home the depreciation is also yours. The chance of ever getting all of your money back is next to impossible. But few of us are thinking of reselling our furniture when we are out shopping. We are simply looking for something that will enhance our home and that fits into the mental picture of our decor.

However we are generally looking at the quality of the items and how well this piece will hold up to the wear and tear of everyday life. It is just common sense to realize that most new furniture is mass-produced today much of the time using particleboard and pressed wood particles to cut costs. This man made material can separate and distort if exposed to moisture. Yet when it is new it looks good in the showroom and for a period of time in your home. But if one stops to realize the fact that this furniture is just not the quality to ever become an heirloom he then is seeing the poor investment or guaranteed obsolescence the professor was speaking of. The craftsmanship, quality and time consuming detail work is generally not affordable in new furniture today because of high labor prices.

This is just not the case with antique furniture because it was made when times were slower and labor prices were almost nothing compared to today. Many times a master craftsman would only make a few pieces per year because it was all done with hand tools one piece at a time. Another indicator of value is that antique furniture has already stood the test of time and provides proof that the quality is inherent. When one applies the professor's logic to antique furniture you can see the fault.

Here is what is paramount to understanding why antiques are an important investment in one's portfolio, which has no parallel. When we purchase furniture it becomes a functioning asset that we plan to use for years to come. Many assets depreciate with time and use but not the case with antiques.

To see this look at what an asset will be worth after 10 or 20 years? If you bought new furniture twenty years ago you probably could only recover a penance of what you might spend to replace it today. However if you had decorated with antiques twenty years ago, you very likely could triple or quadruple your initial investment. Needless to say this assumes that you have taken care of the pieces through the years. My point is that the values of antiques are consistently appreciating whereas new furniture will generally always depreciate.

My example is not the exception but the rule. If you doubt what I am saying, go to a sale where antiques are advertised. People from everywhere come to buy these treasures. Auctioneers know they just have to mention that antiques are to be sold and cars are lined up and down the street before the auction.

As I am at many of these sales I see this and know there is a certain security in antiques. By furnishing your home with antiques it enhances the esthetics if the environment and creates an investment out of what is normally just furniture. The baby boomers have seen the wisdom of this logic and all marketing experts realize that this segment of people is huge and powerful. Most have good incomes and they are inheriting the wealth of their forefathers. The fact that the baby boomers are a driving force in the antique market, prices will continue upward for decades to come.

Some people think of antiques as being delicate and not for use but this is just not so. Antiques have stood the test of time and although some items are in need of repair after years of use, with a bit of attention they are generally a better piece of furniture than one could find for the same money at any new furniture store. Restoring a piece from yesteryear becomes an investment and a treasure for family members to appreciate for generations to come.

There is one word of warning to the newcomer. Many antique dealers sell imported European furniture that is far from being actual antiques. Furniture that has been mass-produced in Europe over the past 50 years is available by the boatloads and will not appreciate in value like genuine antiques. Much of this imported furniture is inexpensive European furniture that no one wants so it is given to salvage concerns that ship it to America in containers. They are unusual and different because we haven't seen them before. BUT BEWARE, THEY ARE NOT ANTIQUES. Basically just do not confuse unique with antique.

This is not to say that unusual is not good in decorating or that anything that comes from overseas is not antique. There are more real antiques in the old countries than are here. But because there is a tremendous amount of furniture being imported and there are very good reproductions being made, it is a good idea to pick up a good book that will tell you what to look for to help determine age of a piece of furniture. Also any reputable dealer should tell his best judgment if you ask but this is sometimes just a guess. The point in this warning is, don't think you are following the formula of antique furniture as an investment if you are buying used European furniture unless you are buying it for next to nothing. There is plenty of it coming in on the next boat and the value probably won't appreciate like a real antique.

In conclusion, antiques are in higher demand than ever and there is no sign that this will diminish. The supply will deplete while demand continues to increase and this will consistently drive the market prices upward. People everywhere are snatching up the treasures, which become the new family's heirlooms and will not be sold for decades if at all.

This was one of the key motivations for me getting into the antique furniture business. When I can sell an antique piece of furniture for less than one can buy a new piece of the same quality, then they are instantly ahead of the game. I have helped them to understand what the professor unknowingly taught me and have done my part to preserve the past and heirloom their future.