You've just found a beautiful antique cabinet at a neighborhood garage sale. You got it at a bargain and are considering selling it on consignment. There's only one problem: it's in need of some minor repairs. Don't be discouraged by this discovery. You only need to follow a few simple rules for deciding which pieces of furniture are worthy of repair and how to go about repairing them.

How to Evaluate a Piece of Furniture
Before you even purchase a piece of antique furniture, you need to consider if the furniture is worth repairing. Take a few moments and ask yourself the following questions:

Do you like the piece?

Do you think you can make a considerable profit on it through resale?

How much do you think the furniture will be worth after it is restored?

Do you have the time to make significant repairs, should any be required?

Will the piece be in resalable condition after the repairs are made?

Take the time to visit a few consignment shops that specialize in antique furniture. Ask the consignment shop owner about what pieces of antique furniture are currently in demand. Examine the prices of furniture that resembled the pieces you are considering restoring.

Common Repairs in Antique Furniture
Once you invest in a few pieces of antique furniture, it will be likely that you will have to make some repairs. For instance, antique mirrors will frequently need their glass replaced. But if the glass is old--which is indicated by the presence of bubbles or waviness--then replacing it might prove difficult. Also, look at the silvering on the backside of the mirror; if it has deteriorated, then consider replacing it. With a chest of drawers, check the see that the drawers are in working order. Examine drawer runners to make sure they are not split or excessively worn. Check for lose legs in chairs, and splits in tables and cabinet sides. And don't forget to check for warped wood: Sometimes minor warping in acceptable on very old pieces of antique furniture, but warping on newer pieces is something that should be repaired.

Bad Repairs, Missing Parts and Loose Veneer: More Minor Repairs in Antique Furniture
Repairs can sometimes cause more harm than good. Check your piece of antique furniture for inexpertly executed repairs. Bad repairs can result in a structurally unsound piece of furniture, causing tables and chairs to collapse without notice. Also, examine antique furniture for missing parts, especially in more ornate pieces. Look for missing stretchers or rungs on chairs, and check all carvings closely in case a piece has been broken off. Finally, loose veneer is a common flaw in antique furniture, and one that is hard to spot. Veneer can often appeared firmly affixed to furniture when, in reality, it is quite loose. Lightly tap the veneer on your antique furniture to see if it is sounds hollow. If it does, then the veneer is lose and needs to be repaired.

Tips for Cleaning Up Antique Furniture
If your piece of antique furniture is in need of only minor cleaning, try the following tips for cleaning your antique furniture:

•  Check for mildew on wooden furniture. Clean any mildew off with one cup water mixed with one tablespoon bleach and one tablespoon dish washing detergent.
•  Look for tarnished brass handles on trunks and dressers. Remove tarnish with a paste comprised on equal parts salt, flour and vinegar. Rub on brass with a soft cloth, and then rinse completely. Shine with a soft cloth.
• Remove any unpleasant odors from chest of drawers or armoirs with cat litter or baking soda.
•  Wash ceramics with soap and water only. But be careful: wipe gently with a soft cloth if the pieces are damaged.
•  Remove adhesive or tape with lemon juice.
•  Buff antique ivory with a woolen cloth.
•  Lubricate and clean antique clocks every five years.
•  Clean glass with an iridescent finish with cool water and a bit of mild soap.
• Polish carved furniture with paste wax applied to a stenciling brush, and buff using a show brush. You will be able to reach nooks and crannies that way.

Once they've decided on the pieces they want for their inventory, the consignment shop will either give you the money for your furniture upfront, or offer to take it on consignment, giving you a percentage of the sale. Pricing will be determined by the style, condition, and original sale price. If your furniture does not sell within a set period of time, usually 90 days, the consignment shop will offer to donate your furniture to a local charity. You will be offered a receipt for tax purposes. You can also pick up your furniture from the consignment shop, bringing it home again for future resale.

Creating a Safe Work Space for Furniture Repair
In order to more effectively repair and restore your furniture, it is important that you have a safe work space. Follow these four suggestions for creating a safe work space for furniture repair:

1. Be aware of fire hazards. Avoid smoking in your workspace, and check that all equipment capable of producing sparks are turned off before leaving the work space. Also, make sure you have a fire extinguisher in your work space.
2. Throw away old rags, which may be contaminated with dangerous chemicals.
3. Store chemicals away from heat and flame. Make sure all containers containing chemicals are properly labeled.
4. Be environmentally responsible. Dispose of all chemicals properly by taking them to the appropriate hazardous waste disposal units.

Consigning Antique Furniture: A Rewarding Hobby
Taking the time to properly restore your antique furniture for consignment can result in significant rewards. You'll enjoy the process involved in antique furniture restoration and reap a tidy profit when you bring your restored piece to your local consignment shop.

Perhaps you’ve inherited a Chippendale escritoire from a distant relative but can’t find a place for it among all your cherished art deco pieces. Or maybe you’ve collected Tiffany lamps in the past, but recently your tastes have shifted to Majolica pottery. If either one of these scenarios describes you, then you should consider consigning your antique furnishings. Consigning antique furnishings is a fun and rewarding way to indulge an interest in antiques. And you may just realize a tidy profit in the bargain.

Before you decide which pieces of antique furniture to consign, visit a few consignment shops to determine what kind of furniture they are interested in. Does the shop specialize in twentieth-century American vintage furnishings? Or does it feature only Victorian or Shaker household goods? Does the consignment shop carry large pieces, such as cabinets and tables, or only small goods like appliances and lamps? It is important that you do the necessary reconnaissance of visiting a shop before bringing in photographs of the furniture you want to consign, because you’ll save yourself a lot time if you know the particular preferences of the consignment shops you plan on approaching.

Tips for Restoring Antique Furniture for Consignment

Once you’ve found a consignment shop that you think is likely to take your antique furniture, go home and examine your furniture for any flaws. The following imperfections are the most common sort:

• Mildew on wooden furniture. Clean any mildew off with one cup water mixed with one tablespoon bleach and one tablespoon dish washing detergent.
• Tarnished brass handles on trunks and dressers. Remove tarnish with a paste composed of equal parts salt, flour and vinegar. Rub on brass with a soft cloth, and then rinse completely. Shine with a soft cloth.
• Unpleasant odors from chest of drawers or armoirs. Remove odors with cat litter or baking soda.
• Discoloration of ceramics. Remove discoloration with soap and water only. But be careful: wipe gently with a soft cloth if the pieces are damaged.
• Odd bits of adhesive or tape. Remove adhesive or tape with lemon juice.
• Discoloration of ivory. Buff discolored antique ivory with a woolen cloth.
• Stuck or frozen clock parts. Lubricate and clean antique clocks every five years.
• Dirty glass surfaces. Clean glass surfaces to an irradescent finish with cool water and a bit of mild soap.
• Dull furniture finish. Polish carved furniture with paste wax applied to a stenciling brush and buff using a show brush. You will be able to reach nooks and crannies with this method.

Once the consignment shop decides on the furnishings of yours they want for their inventory, they will either give you the money for your antique items upfront, or offer to take them on consignment, in which you agree to a percentage (usually 30 to 50 percent) of the sale. Style, condition, and original sale price all factor in the determination of the consignment sale price. If, however, your antique item fails to sell within a set period of time (typically 90 days), the consignment shop will offer to donate it to a local charity, in which case they will provide you with a receipt for tax purposes. You can, of course, simply elect to take your antique item home to sell on consignment again in the future.

Selling Antique Furniture Online: Five Rules for Effective Photographs

You can also sell your antique furniture online. Should you decided to consign your antique furniture online, make sure to post high-quality photographs to best represent your furniture. Follow these five rules to ensure you produce effective photographs for selling your antique furniture:

1. Take memorable, eye-catching photographs. That is, take pictures of only one antique piece at a time, and make sure the piece takes up the majority of the photograph, cropping out any excess space in the frame.
2. Lower yourself to the level of your furniture for best effect, squatting or kneeling if necessary. Make sure the furniture has been thoroughly polished and cleaned, and remove any items that may be resting on the top of dressers, tables and so on.
3. Avoid using an indoor flash on furniture with flat surfaces, like tables and chests of drawers, as the flash produces distracting reflections.
4. Zoom in on details, especially if the antique item in question is ornate. Take pictures of inlaid handles, carved feet, and jeweled detailing.
5. Take multiple pictures of any one piece in order to ensure that you have at least a couple high-quality pictures with which to work.

When writing descriptions of your antique furnishings for an online consignment shop, include as many details as possible. If a table or dresser has “style,” explain exactly what type of style it has. Does it possess unique qualities, such as guilded or brass detailing? Is the piece of furniture in question fashioned from a rare or expensive type of wood like black walnut or mahogany? Make sure to offer as many details of your antique item’s splendors as you think necessary to cinch the deal. Also, list any flaws the antique piece might have, such as loose joints, nicks or scratches. Being as exhaustive as possible in online descriptions will help ensure that your consignment item will attract the greatest number of potential buyers.

Selling your antique furniture on consignment can be a fun and rewarding hobby, especially if you take care to educate yourself about antique furnishings. Your local library, with its numerous books on antiques, is a fantastic resource in this regard; and your local bookshop has many print sources on antiques as well. Familiarity with the finer points of identifying and selling antique furnishings will help you to market successfully your antiques to consignment shops, whether they be brick-and-mortar or online. Consigning antique furniture is such a fascinating and profitable hobby that you may just find yourself hunting for colonial cabinets or Edwardian chiffoniers to consign.