What do you do with bulky furniture you no longer have room for? Big lumbering pieces - hefty wardrobes, massive dark sideboards, towering tallboys and large tables which totally dominate a room - which have been in the family for generations may have outstayed their welcome.
Should you send them off to the antique shop or auction room? And if neither of these outlets wants them, can you remodel and refurbish them? The good news is that big is beautiful again, and larger furniture is back in fashion, partly due to people trading up to Victorian houses of handsome proportions. And if you can't use it, there may be scope for imaginative remodelling.
Denis Drum of Drum's Auction Rooms, Malahide, says large dining tables made of mahogany, rosewood and walnut are particularly in vogue - as are Georgian sideboards and two and four-door Victorian sideboards in good condition. Less popular are sideboards over six foot which are considered just too big.
If you can't use it and a big piece of furniture is not marketable as it is, there may be scope for remodelling. Sideboards can become bedside lockers, by using the two ends, odd wood can be reused in bookshelves, desks or coffee tables. More imaginative suggestions include turning a commode into a drinks cabinet, sawing a hole in the middle of an old sideboard, putting a basin in it, and installing it as a bathroom feature. Cabinet maker John Smyth says the gains of remodelling tend to be sentimental rather than financial. "Labour costs are the main thing today, rather than the cost of wood, but if you want to keep a piece in the family and convert it to modern use, then remodelling could be the answer.
"There are all kinds of possibilities. For example, many big old wardrobes had a chest of drawers inside, so you could isolate the set of drawers and dump the rest.
"You will find sideboards chopped up to become dressing tables, or desks. An old pedestal type sideboard can lose the middle piece and have the two side pieces transformed into an interesting piece of hall furniture or two large lockers. "I am currently converting a piano into a drinks cabinet for a client. The piano belonged to her mother, they want to keep it in some form in the family, and she needs a drinks cabinet, so this is the perfect solution.
Painting or repainting could also give a new look. Many older pieces are overpowering because of their colour as much as their size. Decorative artist Nat Clements of Clements and Moore in Dublin says an old wardrobe, for example, can be transformed by painting it in an old bone ivory colour then mildly distressing it.
Moving downstairs, Nat Clements says dining rooms are become more dramatic. Architectural colours used in floors and walls give more scope for dining furniture. Book cases and sideboards may be painted, lacquered, "ebonised", treated with a small amount of gold leaf, thereby adding character without going over the top.
"It's no crime to paint old wood" he suggests, "though we would draw the line at fine old mahogany and oak". Brian Murphy of Edenderry Architectural Salvage says that there is also a market for old pieces which are not priceless antiques. "People doing up old houses may want big, solid traditional furniture for a period effect, but not necessarily high glossy antiques", he says.
Such pieces can get a place in an auction rooms mixed sale or could be advertised privately and sold from home, particularly if the setting shows them off to good advantage.
Most salvage yards don't include furniture in a house clearing. The Salvage Shop, Waterford, is an exception, and owner Jim Corcoran operates as an agency, matching buyers and sellers "There is a market for bulky furniture in homes with the necessary space and style for them. There is a market for fabric-up-holstered couches circa 1930s now being sold for refurbishment. They have a continental look, deep, high backs, big arms, couches to sink into, and are very popular, particularly if front sprung. The reupholstering includes reteasing of the horse hair", he says.
The Salvage Shop also buys one-off pieces as prototypes from which to model a reproduction. They are not put off by items in poor condition as they can sell these on in the trade, or restore and resell themselves.
Sellers shouldn't decide a piece too big for them won't do well somewhere else, says Denis Drum. "People shouldn't assume a big piece is worthless. Per square foot a big piece is very much cheaper than a small piece, there's great value in bulk - if you want it. Call in an expert before you order the skip," he advises. "Describe what you have, and if it seems worthwhile, they will come round. Beyond 1930 the value of big pieces drops considerably, but a reputable auction rooms will agree a fair reserve and do their best for you".
Finally, you could donate rather than sell. The Society of St Vincent de Paul is grateful for all furniture.
