Wrought Iron Furniture

Both my wife and I are great fans of antiques, so it surprises most people when they find out how much trouble we have agreeing on furniture. You see, although we both like old fashioned designs, we have very different choices of materials. My wife loves anything made out of antique wood – particularly if it is rustic and rough hewn. She has an antique farm table that she bought for the kitchen – something that, in my opinion, was severely overpriced. She loved antique wooden chairs, mantel pieces, and floors.

Don't get me wrong – I like wood as well, but in my opinion you can't do better than wrought iron furniture. In my old house, we had wrought iron dining room chairs that were the height of elegance. They had designs that were simple and minimal, and yet they still incorporated some beautiful decorative elements. What I like so much about wrought iron furniture is that it reduces everything to the minimum. It is great to see such a design, consisting of clean lines that are easily embellished with small twists, curls, or other decorative touches. In order to decorate wood, you have to go to great lengths, carving, staining, and bending. With iron, however, even a simple quarter turn in a rectangular piece can improve a design tremendously.

As a result of our differing tastes, our house is an endless reflection of an ongoing struggle for decorative power. My wrought iron furniture dominates the study. There is a wrought iron lamp, an antique metal lamp table, and wrought iron shelving holding the books. Although the desk is made of wood, it has metal legs and shelves. In the kitchen, however, there is almost no wrought iron furniture. The chairs, the table, the cabinets, and everything else is made out of wood.

It is amazing how well the decorations mesh. As a matter of fact, most of my friends don't even notice the ongoing war between wrought iron furniture and antique wood furniture until I point it out. I suppose that most people aren't as fussy as we are. To me, the whole house looks like utter chaos, but to my friends it almost appears as if there is a unity of design. I suppose that's all for the best. We can continue to fight it out, one piece of furniture at a time, and no one will ever be the wiser!