To Antique Or Not To Antique, That Is The Question!

Such a deep topic for a beautiful and relaxing Friday afternoon, but it does seem to be the question of the day. The hubby and I were talking about the chairs I found yesterday at the Antique shop. Let me just start by saying that Russ is pretty easy going, and rarely comments about anything I spend money on. (I say rarely, because we've all had those moments when we've brought something home and the hubby says "You spent good money on THAT?????") Anyway, I've been looking for a couple of chairs for our living room for almost two months now. We've been to furniture stores, antique shops, etc. I've found lots of things I like, but not the perfect item yet. (It doesn't help that I'm easily distracted by all the other goodies that they have at these places!) Last night, the hubby asked me these questions: Do you really want an old chair that hundreds of strange butts have been sitting on? Why would you spend that much money on a used chair when you can get a brand new one for the same price--or less? He does have a point. Technically, something has to be at least 100 years old to be a true antique, but there is a lot of gray area here, depending on who you talk to. How do you decide whether something is antique, or just old? It does seem like a strange practice to get old furniture from someones house and then put it in your own. Technically, that would mean that antiquing is nothing more than a snobby form of garage sale shopping. Just the word makes the item so much nicer. Think about it. I got this chair at a garage sale. Eeeeeeewww! I got this chair at an antique shop. Oooooohhhh! I guess the hubby does make some sense after all. Now I'm back to searching for chairs in furniture stores. Check out this FABULOUS coffee table I found while looking. Wouldn't that look great in the living room? (Didn't I mention that I'm easily distracted?) Besides, it's not my fault. The hubby sent me here to shop. Oh, in case you are interested, when Russ came home last night and saw the pig trough sitting in the corner of the dining room, he took one look and said, "Do I even want to know what that is?" "Uh, no," I replied. "You don't."