How old are you? Where are you from?

Almost every home in the United States has at least one piece of furniture that has seen many years of use. Some may have just appeared after a good day at a rummage sale, or perhaps a relative had purchased it from an antique shop many years ago.

Even if you do not have an interest in antiques, you may have a desire to know about the pieces you have inherited or acquired. How old are they? Where were they made, and by whom?

Don't you wish it could be as easy as asking a piece of furniture, "How old are you?" and "Where are you from?"

A good researcher always goes beyond to try and find out the unknown. Are there any stories connected with the people that used or owned them? Your location within the country can sometimes be a reliable guide to your research about a particular piece.

But then there are other pieces furniture that travel with families as they travel from one destination to another. With regards to fine furniture, some may come from Europe, the Orient, South America and even the good ol' U.S.A.

While styles of furniture used to be a determining factor in trying to decipher the age of a particular item, it is not very reliable nowadays. Styles of furniture change throughout the years, and many furniture styles of the past are being faithfully reproduced.

As with family anecdotes or ancestral research, the best way to pass down information on furniture that is in your possession is to write down notes and any facts about the item at hand, including family photographs where the item is in the picture, and/or any purchase receipts and attach them to drawers or the back of an item with adhesive tape. Although it seems tedious, future generations will thank you for this.

Then there is the whole notion of whether a piece of furniture is an "antique" or simply "vintage." There is a popular notion of 100 years as the age when furniture becomes "antique," the term connoisseurs refers to furniture that meets high standards of design and construction and that was made at the time the style was in fashion, otherwise it is considered a "reproduction.

In recent times, the antique versus vintage arguments have blurred with collectors and furniture dealers coveting more recent furnishings for stores and clients.

As we embrace more contemporary lifestyles and our markets are more and more global, the important thing to remember is to buy an item first and foremost because you like it. Secondly, to buy furniture that the style is authentic to its time and, last but not least, to buy items of quality that are built to last and endure the test of time. Abstain at all cost from buying furniture made from pressed board or composite materials; while they are priced well, these will not last decades or centuries.

Times and ideas change, and furniture now considered just "old" may become more valued as the years go by. Today's pieces may be accepted eventually as vintage or antiques.

• Joseph Pubillones is the owner of Joseph Pubillones Interiors, an award-winning interior design firm based in Palm Beach, Florida.

© 2016, Creators Syndicate