Spotting fake vintage furniture: a simple guide for confident buys

Hunting vintage is brilliant: sustainable, characterful, often better made than new. The snag is a market full of made-yesterday pieces dressed as mid-century, farmhouse or Art Deco. You do not need a loupe to sort real from replica. You need a calm eye, your hands and a few checks that never fail.

Start with the story

Authentic pieces usually come with believable provenance. Ask where it lived and how it was used. Look for clues such as a repair ticket under a seat, a delivery label on the back or the outline where a maker’s plaque once sat. A vague house-clearance origin is not proof of a fake, but it is your cue to look harder.

Let your hands lead

Age is tactile. Old timber feels silky where hands have polished it over decades on drawer pulls, arm fronts and rails. Faux distressing often shows sanded edges with oddly perfect flat areas. Flip the piece. Undersides and backs should show darker, oxidised wood rather than bright, fluffy MDF or chipboard.

Open every drawer

Joinery tells the truth. Hand-cut dovetails are a little irregular, and drawer bottoms slide in proper grooves. Laser-perfect dovetails, stapled carcasses or wafer-thin veneer with repeating grain patterns point to later manufacture. Hardwood runners should show honest wear. Full-extension metal sliders are modern.

Check the fasteners and the glue

Pre-1950s furniture tends to use slot-head screws. The mid-century period brings Phillips and Pozi. Staple guns, Allen bolts and large spreads of hot glue are late arrivals. A sideboard claimed as 1930s but held together with staples is wishful thinking.

Weigh it, then take a sniff

Solid timber has heft. Hollow-core construction feels wrong for its size. Finishes smell different. Wax, oil and shellac have a mellow scent. Fresh spray lacquer smells sharp and chemical. Old upholstery often carries horsehair and hessian, a dusty sweetness very different from the plasticky odour of modern polyurethane foam.

Read the finish, not the polish

Shellac and wax build a soft, uneven sheen and show subtle sun-fade or fine crazing. Polyurethane looks glassy and sits on top of the grain. Check hidden areas such as drawer backs and undersides for the true, unrefinished surface.

Lift the cushion

Older seats use coil springs tied with jute webbing, hair and cotton felt, fixed with tacks. Modern replicas rely on zig-zag springs, foam blocks and forests of staples. A chair sold as 1950s with shiny synthetic webbing is newer than claimed.

Handle the hardware

Real brass develops patina, it does not chip like sprayed brass. Threads on old bolts feel a touch rough and backplates may look hand-punched. For famous designs such as Eames, Jacobsen or Breuer, watch for wrong proportions, chunky cushions, cheap veneer and rough castings. Cross-check measurements against a museum or maker archive.

Look for labels, stamps and ghosts

Maker plaques, paper factory labels and retailer badges help, but many fall off. Look for ghosts: a clean rectangle where a badge once sat, two old nail holes, a faded silhouette. Brand-new foil stickers on raw plywood are a red flag.

Sense-check the price

Icons rarely sell for a fraction of market value. A price that looks too good usually signals a replica. A high sticker is not proof either. Let materials, construction and wear patterns decide.

A pocket checklist you can remember

Undersides and backs should show oxidised timber and era-correct screws, not bright MDF with staples. Drawers should show slightly irregular dovetails, grooved bottoms and hardwood runners with wear. Hardware should be aged brass or steel with the right screw heads for the period, not sprayed gold. The finish should read as a soft, lived sheen with sun-fade where you would expect it, not sanded-on wear. Weight and scent should say timber and wax or oil, not hollow core and chemical lacquer.

Bottom line: authenticity is about coherence. When story, construction and surface history agree, you can buy with confidence. When they do not, enjoy the piece for what it is and pay accordingly.

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