In recent years, medieval furniture has become a hot topic. For a time, starting with a few pieces of medieval furniture seems to have become the status symbol of high-level players of Nordic lovers.

Medieval furniture is endowed by time, and those out-of-print orphans are a rare historical witness. But every time you want to immerse yourself in it, you are confused by the high and low prices. What are the charms and pits of medieval furniture? Today, we chatted with Jin Jun of Scream Think Tank. As a senior soft-fitting designer, his dream was to open a Chinese antique furniture store.

Jin Jun, who worked in a well-known design and home retail store in Modu for many years, used to deal with countless classic furniture from masters every day. After dealing with these classic furniture for a long time, I gradually became addicted to the unique charm of medieval furniture.

Zoe (Observer for Screaming Think Tank): How to define the medieval furniture that has been sought after by countless people in recent years?

Jin Jun: The translation of the word Medieval originated from Taiwan Province, which is the translation of "Mid-Century Modern (MCM for short)". Medieval design mainly covers furniture, architecture, interior and graphic design in the middle of the 21th century (from about 1931 to 1971).

However, this word appeared in the design field in 1981s, mainly due to the book Modernism in the Mid-Century: Furniture in the 1951s published by Cara Greenberg in 1983. He summarized the design style and classic design of this period, and brought many simple design furniture with unique shapes back to people's field of vision. Including Danish design masters Arne Jacobsen, Hans J. Wegner, Finn? Junl, Charles &; Mr. and Mrs. Ray Eames are all representative designers of this period.

Typical MCM style swatches

The original MCM style came to the United States with a strong Nordic style, especially their furniture was simple and not grandiose, which was sought after by Americans. However, it is worth noting that in addition to the smooth and simple line beauty, the bold color of MCM style is different from the restrained and simple Nordic style, and the Chinese ancient style mostly carries out high saturation color matching. Therefore, before you classify yourself as a medieval lover, you'd better make it clear whether you like Nordic furniture in that period or medieval design.

Since about 2111, many designers have realized the unique charm of medieval furniture and started to choose classic medieval furniture in their works, which greatly promoted the revival of medieval furniture. After the rise of medieval furniture in the United States, it further influenced Japanese and Taiwan Province. In recent years, the Nordic style has begun to blow in China, so medieval furniture has also begun to be sought after in China.

Zoe: Where do these medieval furniture usually come from?

Jin Jun: There are two kinds of medieval furniture circulation abroad, one is from flea market or second-hand furniture market. The medieval furniture here has been used for a certain number of years, and its appearance is average and its price is relatively cheap. It is a concept of second-hand furniture re-employment.

There are also some classic medieval furniture, which are well maintained, either brand-new or out of print, and these will be sold through art galleries, antique furniture stores, auctions and other institutions.

Zoe: As a medieval furniture lover, what lessons do you have to do?

Jin Jun: Read more physical objects, read more books and communicate more. People who like medieval furniture mostly like the texture refined by time, so if they have the opportunity, they should go to furniture stores and medieval furniture stores to see the real things.

in addition, basic knowledge reserve is also essential. For example, classic furniture design is introduced in 1111 Chairs (1111 Chairs), or you can buy a copy of Western Furniture Integration directly to learn about furniture design and design masters in the next Middle Ages.

1111 Chairs

Personally, I think the book is quite detailed, and it will also write all the famous brands and design stories at that time. Through a relatively systematic understanding, you may get an introduction to medieval furniture faster. You don't have to follow the crowd when buying medieval furniture. It's most important to find your own heart.

Zoe: How should we choose and buy medieval furniture in terms of specific operation?

Jin Jun: After you have made enough knowledge reserves, you can actually choose by appearance, shape, material and structure.

in addition, we are used to judging the quality of furniture by whether it is solid wood or not. But in fact, in that era, the veneer was not cost-saving, but a new technology, which required high process cost and fineness, and could solve the problems of wood cracking well, and also show the texture effect more stably and better.

Zoe: how to choose the entry-level medieval furniture?

Jin Jun: Actually, lamps and decorations, such as posters and posters, are all good entry choices. Starting with small pieces, learning while buying, may be more surprising.

it should be noted here that the purchase of medieval lamps involves the European and national standards of lamps, so you must ask whether it can be used in China, otherwise it will only be used as decoration. Especially if you buy from a second-hand trading website in China, the buyer will basically indicate "once sold, it will not be returned or exchanged", so be sure to ask for details before buying.

If we emphasize the introduction of furniture, many people love the medieval secretary cabinets, but I suggest buying chairs, such as dining chairs. Because the single chair is the most functional and does not occupy much space in terms of use, if it is an ordinary medieval brand dining chair, the price will be closer to the people.

in addition to the function of the seat, it can also be used as a bedside table, or placed in a porch for storage, or as a shoe stool, all of which are very pleasing designs of home soft-fitting machines.

Zoe: What's your experience with medieval furniture? Need to be careful and careful?

Jin Jun: Generally speaking, what you see is what you get. After all, it has a certain age, so it is better to pay attention to it. If you really care about the experience and the economy is affordable enough, buying new furniture is also a good choice.

like Carl Hansen & Son、Fritz hansen ，PP M? Bler and many other brands are constantly producing classic furniture of that year. It is also a very sentimental thing to buy furniture from the original brand, classic design, and then turn it into its own medieval furniture in contrast to its day and night.

Zoe: What's the most important attitude to correct when buying medieval furniture?

Jin Jun: It's very likely that you will have to repair it soon after you buy it! For example, if some medieval chairs made of rattan and paper rope, including sofas, want to be used daily and daily, it's best to know where there are old masters who repair furniture in the lower city. Many mending materials, such as rattan and paper rope, are available for sale, but it is more troublesome if the hardware is damaged or the cloth surface is oxidized, so if possible, you should look good in the physical store before starting.

In fact, many medieval furniture stores will fumigate or wax every piece of furniture at high temperature before selling it, and they will also tell you the detailed maintenance methods when buying it.

Zoe: Is it possible for us to purchase ancient furniture from Haitao ourselves?

Jin Jun: Yes, but the cost will be higher. The main reason is the transportation cost, including the customs clearance of medieval furniture, which is very troublesome. It takes a lot of time and effort to pass the fire control and quarantine and complete all the certificates of origin.

Chinese medieval furniture manufacturers usually find a foreign partner or cooperate with a fixed supplier, who will provide them with furniture lists on a regular basis, with detailed information such as product pictures, origin and designers. Of course, many buyers themselves go abroad to choose goods two or three times a year. General domestic medieval furniture stores may purchase goods once a quarter, or even once a year. So do it when you are sure, otherwise it is very likely that it will be difficult to see you again when you turn around.

Zoe: What is the general price of medieval furniture? Is there the possibility of picking up leaks at home?

Jin Jun: Medieval furniture has gradually become a mature industry, and there must be many uncertainties in it.

there will be counterfeit products; The prices of furniture taken from agents at different levels will differ by hundreds or even thousands; Different products, different production years and factories may cause different prices, so the price difference of medieval furniture is still quite large. But in any case, the classic designs of famous brands are only a few hundred dollars or a couple of thousand dollars. I suggest a detour, and the possibility of missing is far less than you think.

generally speaking, medieval furniture with well-known brands will have paper labels, metal labels or brand marks, which may contain a series of information such as production organization, place of origin, designer and manufacturing company, which is also an important reference for identifying furniture pedigree.

Zoe: How about a conscience recommendation from a medieval furniture store?

Jin Jun: Relatively speaking, there are many furniture stores in the Middle Ages in Beijing. For example, "Back to the 21th Century" and "concept 111" have a good reputation in the industry. Shanghai's "hand warehouse" and "VISH Experiment Shanghai" are also good choices.

"Back to the 21th Century" Medieval Furniture Store

Good design is always charming, no matter new or old, it is unforgettable. All the medieval furniture is sought after, and its essence lies in the design aesthetics that can stand the test of time. Therefore, into the pit should be cautious about medieval furniture. If you love it, please love it deeply!

This answer comes from living well with users, more decoration strategies and home experience. Welcome to visit the living well APP.