Bucks &amp; Oxon


<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Untitled-design-2024-06-24T141209.982.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-164726" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Untitled-design-2024-06-24T141209.982.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Untitled-design-2024-06-24T141209.982-800x800.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Untitled-design-2024-06-24T141209.982-400x400.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Untitled-design-2024-06-24T141209.982-500x500.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-timeless-design">TIMELESS DESIGN</h2>



<p>Classic furniture has stood the test of time for a reason. It&#8217;s not defined by fads and short-term fashion. Classic design is timeless and completely intertwined with the lives of our ancestors. </p>



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<p>Take brass Corinthian column lamps inspired by ancient Greece, for instance. Made at a time before electricity, many of these lamps still have the little glass reservoirs where the oil was stored. And hallmarked silver Corinthian column candlesticks bring the wow factor to dining rooms, illuminating dinner parties by flickering candlelight as they have done for centuries. Classic silver candlesticks tick the trend for stylish tablescaping too – and bring a bit of Bridgerton to the party.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sustainability">SUSTAINABILITY</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Untitled-design-2024-06-24T141246.759.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-164728" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Untitled-design-2024-06-24T141246.759.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Untitled-design-2024-06-24T141246.759-800x800.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Untitled-design-2024-06-24T141246.759-400x400.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Untitled-design-2024-06-24T141246.759-500x500.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>Buying pieces that have been restored by experts and given a new lease of life is kinder to both your wallet and the planet. These pieces have already lasted the test of time. They have a style and elegance that will go on to become family heirlooms. They won’t end up looking worn and tired and destined for a builder’s skip in the way mass-produced furniture can. In fact, they only benefit from the patina of age. It&#8217;s a great feeling to conserve what already exists for future generations.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-provenance">PROVENANCE</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="670" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Untitled-design-2024-06-24T131623.882.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-164720" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Untitled-design-2024-06-24T131623.882.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Untitled-design-2024-06-24T131623.882-800x536.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Untitled-design-2024-06-24T131623.882-400x268.jpg 400w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="670" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Untitled-design-2024-06-24T131730.498.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-164721" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Untitled-design-2024-06-24T131730.498.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Untitled-design-2024-06-24T131730.498-800x536.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Untitled-design-2024-06-24T131730.498-400x268.jpg 400w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>Provenance is the history of ownership and validates the authenticity and quality of an item. I love the story behind a piece that brings it to life. Take this pair of abstract paintings from the 1960s that I sourced, which look like they could have stepped out of an&nbsp;Austin Powers&nbsp;film. The story behind them only adds to their intrigue. They were owned by Max Bernstein who was the brother of Sidney Lewis Bernstein (Lord Bernstein), the founder of Granada Television. The family were fabulously wealthy, and the brothers were great art collectors. Max was known to have many works of art in his collection, including a Picasso. We always do what we can to understand the provenance of the items in our collection because you never know what you might discover.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-furniture-is-anything-but-brown">FURNITURE IS ANYTHING BUT BROWN</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Untitled-design-2024-06-24T141331.582.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-164729" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Untitled-design-2024-06-24T141331.582.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Untitled-design-2024-06-24T141331.582-800x800.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Untitled-design-2024-06-24T141331.582-400x400.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Untitled-design-2024-06-24T141331.582-500x500.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>There’s far more to wood furniture than meets the eye, so it can’t all be described as ‘brown furniture’ &#8211; it comes from all over the world and is made from many different types of wood, for starters. The longer you look at a piece of furniture made of wood, the more colour and texture you see. You also appreciate the unmatched level of craftsmanship in a piece of furniture that in many cases has been created from start to finish by one highly skilled person at a bench.</p>



<p>The type of wood used tells a story in itself. For instance, walnut was fashionable, and therefore widely used for English furniture in Queen Anne&#8217;s reign. Importing tropical hardwoods from the Caribbean, like mahogany, only began later on in the Georgian period. We have a variety of beautiful woods in the pieces in our collection, including at the moment a stunning walnut bureau bookcase the design of which harks back to a romantic age when love letters were written by candlelight. It has holders for the candles and hidden compartments for hiding secret letters.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-pieces-that-tell-a-story">PIECES THAT TELL A STORY</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Untitled-design-2024-06-24T141144.525.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-164730" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Untitled-design-2024-06-24T141144.525.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Untitled-design-2024-06-24T141144.525-800x800.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Untitled-design-2024-06-24T141144.525-400x400.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Untitled-design-2024-06-24T141144.525-500x500.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>I often look at the pieces in my collection and think about the stories they could tell from their previous lives. For instance, Herend porcelain has a link to Princess Diana – as a child, she was given a cute Herend figurine in her Christmas stocking each year.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Untitled-design-2024-06-24T141345.562.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-164731" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Untitled-design-2024-06-24T141345.562.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Untitled-design-2024-06-24T141345.562-800x800.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Untitled-design-2024-06-24T141345.562-400x400.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/Untitled-design-2024-06-24T141345.562-500x500.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>I also love Herend because the hand-painted designs each tell a different story. The ‘Rothschild Bird’ design, used on porcelain lamps, not only represents love but also tells a Rothschild family myth. The story goes that one day, Baroness Rothschild noticed her pearl necklace was missing. She resigned herself to losing it forever – but then noticed a pair of birds sitting on a tree, who had brought the necklace back to her in their beaks. Stories like this are the reason I love sourcing special pieces. They inspire me to find the next intriguing addition to our collection – and learn the story it can tell.</p>



<p><strong>Feeling inspired? Check out the collection at Tootell’s Fine Furniture and Interiors, Lower Hundridge Farm, Great Hundridge Manor Estate, Chesham, HP5 1JY; tel. 01494 794552; <a href="http://www.tootells.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">www.tootells.com</a></strong></p>



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Buy a classic: Why antiques are the way forward

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