Notes From The Nest

There are benches. And then there are settles.

If you are searching for an antique wooden bench for a hallway, farmhouse kitchen or dining room, you will inevitably encounter plenty of newly made furniture designed to look old. Distressed finishes, imitation wear, reclaimed-style timber and reproductions of traditional country furniture are everywhere.

But why settle for a reproduction when you can have the real thing?

At Lesser Spotted, we seek out original antique settles, folk art benches, painted box benches and primitive country furniture, pieces whose worn paint, patina and character have been acquired through decades, and sometimes generations, of actual use.

No two are quite the same. And that, for us, is precisely the point.

What is an antique settle?

A settle is a traditional long wooden bench, generally with a back and often arms. For centuries, settles were practical pieces of household furniture, particularly in farmhouses, cottages, inns and taverns.

Their tall backs weren't merely decorative. Early settles could help shelter their occupants from the draughts of old buildings, particularly when positioned near the fire.

Over time the form developed in all sorts of wonderful ways. Some were made with panelled backs, others with spindles or shaped arms. Box settles and storage benches incorporated a hinged seat with useful storage beneath.

Today, an original antique settle makes an extraordinarily practical piece of furniture while bringing something a reproduction can never quite manufacture: history.

Antique farmhouse settles: wear that can't be reproduced

We have a particular weakness for antique farmhouse and tavern settles.

These were furniture made to be used.

Generations sat on them. Hands rested on their arms. Boots knocked against their bases. Paint faded, timber mellowed and edges softened.

A furniture maker can distress a new bench. They can rub through fresh paint and deliberately mark timber. What they cannot speed up is a century or more of ordinary human life.

Folk art benches: furniture with personality

At the more decorative end of our collection are antique folk art benches and painted marriage benches.

These are joyful pieces of furniture.

Flowers, tulips, urns, strawberries, geometric borders and traditional painted motifs can transform an otherwise practical wooden bench into a piece of folk art.

Many were made as box benches, combining seating with a large storage compartment beneath the hinged seat. Others were associated with marriage and domestic traditions in Central and Eastern Europe.

The result is furniture that can be both useful and wonderfully decorative.

A painted folk bench can completely change a hallway or boot room. Put one against the wall of a simple country kitchen and suddenly it becomes the focus of the room. Around a farmhouse table, an antique bench provides relaxed seating without everything needing to match.

And in a more contemporary interior, a primitive or brightly painted antique bench can provide exactly the contrast the room needs.

An antique bench doesn't require an antique house

One misconception about antique country furniture is that you need to live in a period cottage or traditional farmhouse to own it.

You don't.

In fact, we often think the opposite.

An old pine box bench against beautifully plastered walls; a primitive elm settle in a pared-back kitchen; or a colourful folk art marriage bench surrounded by contemporary furniture can look spectacular.

The individuality of the old piece stops an interior feeling too designed.

These pieces work particularly well as:

• hallway and entrance benches

• boot room seating

• farmhouse kitchen benches

• dining table benches

• storage benches

• bedroom benches

• decorative folk art furniture

• statement seating in contemporary interiors

And where an antique settle incorporates a box seat, you gain a substantial amount of hidden storage too, very useful for shoes, boots, blankets, toys and all the other paraphernalia of everyday life.

Original paint, old timber and genuine patina

When we source an antique settle or folk bench, we're looking for the qualities that make old furniture impossible to duplicate convincingly.

Original paint is particularly important to us.

A surface that has naturally faded and worn over decades has depth. Different layers can emerge. Knocks and scratches become part of the appearance rather than something to disguise.

Old timber has its own character too. Pine, elm and other traditional woods develop colour and texture with age, while hand construction can leave charming irregularities that distinguish an individual piece from factory-made furniture.

These aren't faults to us.

They're often the reason we bought the piece.

Antique settle or reproduction bench?

There are perfectly good reasons for buying reproduction furniture. Sometimes a very particular size or finish is required, or you may simply want several identical pieces.

But if individuality matters to you, an original antique bench offers something different.

Rather than furniture manufactured to suggest age, you're buying furniture that has genuinely acquired it.

Instead of simulated patina, there is real patina.

Instead of mechanically reproduced decoration, a folk bench may carry hand-painted motifs.

Instead of thousands of identical examples, an antique settle can be a one-off piece that you are unlikely to see in somebody else's home.

And because antique furniture already exists, choosing an old piece also means giving beautifully made furniture another chapter rather than automatically buying newly manufactured furniture.

How to choose an antique settle or bench

Start with where you want to use it.

For a hallway or boot room, an antique box bench with storage can be particularly practical. For a kitchen or dining table, look carefully at seat height as well as overall width and depth.

If you're searching for something highly decorative, look at painted folk art benches, marriage benches and original painted settles. If your taste is quieter, an antique pine, elm or country farmhouse settle with a beautifully worn surface can add warmth without dominating the room.

Above all, choose the one that makes you stop.

Antique furniture is wonderfully personal. Measurements matter, condition matters and practicality matters, but so does that immediate feeling that you've found something you won't easily find again.

Find the one nobody else has

Part of the pleasure of dealing in antique and vintage furniture is that our collection never stands still.

A primitive English elm settle might be followed by a colourful Central European folk art bench; a restrained old painted box settle by something exuberantly decorated with flowers.

Once an original is sold, that particular piece is gone.

So, if you've been searching for an antique settle, antique farmhouse bench, folk art bench, painted marriage bench, primitive wooden bench or antique storage bench, have a look through our current collection.

Because when the real thing has survived all these years, why settle for a reproduction?