ANTIQUES

Unlike many other antique stores in Kansas City, Westside Storey is as unique and eclectic as the neighborhood. We are not another “antique” mall leasing out space to dozens of private dealers. Our store is locally owned & operated by four separate partners, who also reside on The Westside. That means that each item we carry and the small group of local Vendors have been hand-selected by us for you to admire, appreciate, and enjoy in your own home.

Our antiques are collectable and desirable because of it their age, beauty, rarity, condition, utility, personal emotional connection, and/or other unique features. These objects represent a previous era or time period in human society. It is common practice to define “antique”, as applying to objects at least 100 years old.

The only real law concerning the definition of the word “antique” comes from the US customs office that considers antique as anything 100 years old.

Antiques are usually objects which show some degree of craftsmanship, or a certain attention to design such as a desk or an early automobile. They are passed down through generation after generation.

In the United States, the 1930 Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act defined an antique as “works of art (except rugs and carpets made after the year 1700), collections in illustration of the progress of the arts, works in bronze, marble, terra cotta, parian, pottery or porcelain, artistic antiquities and objects of ornamental character or educational value which shall have been produced prior to the year 1830.” 1830 was roughly the beginning of mass production in the US and 100 years older than 1930 Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act.

These definitions allow people to make a distinction between genuine antique pieces, vintage items, and collectible objects.

The collecting of antique furniture is a particularly popular area of antiques due to the practical characteristics of these antiques, as well as the value. Many collectors use the pieces in their homes, and also care for them with the hope that they will hold their value or possibly appreciate in value over time. This is in contrast to buying new furniture which will depreciate in value from the moment it is purchased. Antique furniture includes dining tables, chairs, bureaus, chests etc. The most common woods are mahogany, oak, pine, walnut and rosewood. Chinese antique furniture is often made with elm, a wood common to many regions in Asia. Each wood has its own distinctive grain and color. Many modern pieces of furniture often use laminate or wood veneer to cheaply achieve the same effect. There are a number of different styles of antique furniture depending on when and where it was made. Some examples of stylistic periods are; Arts & Crafts, Georgian, Regency, American Pastoral, and Victorian.

Legends grow on antiques the way moss grows on trees. As a family heirloom is passed from one generation to the next, its history takes on added flourishes. A spinning wheel made in 1820 becomes the spinning wheel brought over on the Mayflower. A bed of 1840 becomes a bed George Washington slept in.

Opening March 1st stop by and see our “Unique Antiques” We just love to talk antiques!