Sara & sourcing
One dealer, one phone number, one piece at a time.
Life: Full Colour is Sara McKee’s business, based at 9 Segontium Terrace in Caernarfon. She sources antique and period furniture from Wales: Welsh dressers, Tridarn and Deuddarn cupboards, Coffer-bach, long-case clocks, Georgian oak and Victorian pine.
When you ask about a piece, your enquiry goes to Sara. That is why this site is built around enquiries rather than a basket.
No.02
Coffer
- Timber
- Oak
Price on application. Ask Sara whether it is still here.
Plate 02. Period Oak Coffer.
§ 1How pieces are sourced
Found in Wales. Described by what is known.
The pieces are sourced from Wales. Each one is a single object with its own history, and that history is sometimes well recorded and sometimes not known at all.
So the descriptions on this site stick to what can be seen: the form, the timber, the construction. Age, maker and where a piece has been are questions for Sara about that particular piece, along with the reasons behind her answer. “How do you know?” is a good question to ask any dealer, and a fair one to ask here.
The Welsh names on this site are used because they are the right names for the forms. A Tridarn has three stages, a Deuddarn has two, and a Coffer-bach is a small coffer. The Form Index explains each one.
§ 2Before you buy
What you can ask, and what only a viewing settles
Nothing about a piece should come as a surprise later. These are the questions worth putting to Sara about any piece you are serious about.
You can ask before viewing
- More photographs, including backs and undersides
- Overall measurements, and of each part where a piece separates
- Condition: repairs, replacements, movement, wear
- What is known about age and where the piece came from, and what is not
- Whether viewing in Caernarfon is possible for that piece
- Whether and how delivery could be arranged, and its cost
Only a viewing really settles
- Colour and surface: screens flatten old oak and patina
- How a piece sits in your room, against your ceiling and doorways
- Smell, weight and the feel of drawers and doors in use
Dates and makers are only stated where a piece supports them. If something is a best judgement rather than a certainty, ask Sara to say so.
§ 3After you enquire
How a purchase actually happens
Where Creative Caernarfon fits in. Purchases complete there. This site is for finding pieces and asking about them. It takes no payment.
Antiques on Creative Caernarfon (opens in a new tab)- 01
Find the piece
Browse the collection here by form, or tell Sara what you are looking for if it is not shown.
Stock is one-off. A piece photographed here may since have sold.
- 02
Ask Sara
Use the enquiry slip or call. Ask about photographs, measurements, condition and what is known of its age and history.
Ask about the parts you can't see: backs, drawer runners, the underside.
- 03
Talk through viewing and delivery
Life: Full Colour is based in Caernarfon. Whether a piece can be viewed, and how it could reach you, are questions for Sara about that piece.
Nothing is assumed. Ask before you plan a journey.
- 04
Buy through Creative Caernarfon
The purchase itself completes on Creative Caernarfon.
This site takes enquiries only. No payment is taken here.
Questions
About Sara and Life: Full Colour
Sara McKee. Enquiries made through this site, or by calling 01286 400155, go to her.
Life: Full Colour is based at 9 Segontium Terrace, Caernarfon, LL55 2PN, North Wales, and only there.
Purchases complete through Creative Caernarfon. You can find and ask about pieces here, then buy there.
Ask for photographs of the back and underside, measurements of each part, what work has been done, what is known of the piece's age and history, and whether viewing and delivery are possible for it.
Your message is sent to Sara. If your question is time-sensitive, call 01286 400155.
Tridarn, Deuddarn and Coffer-bach are the names of distinct Welsh forms. They are used on this site to describe those forms, and a piece should only be described that way when it is one.
Welsh dressers, Tridarn and Deuddarn cupboards, Coffer-bach, long-case clocks, Georgian oak and Victorian pine, all sourced from Wales. The collection page catalogues these and other country forms by form, period and timber.
Only where a piece supports them. The descriptions stick to what can be seen: the form, the timber and the construction. Where a date is a best judgement rather than a certainty, ask Sara to say so, and to give the reasons behind her answer.
Each piece is a single object, and an enquiry goes straight to Sara, who can answer for that piece. The site is built around that conversation rather than a basket. No payment is taken here; the purchase itself completes on Creative Caernarfon.
Colour and surface, because screens flatten old oak and patina; how a piece sits against your ceiling and doorways; and the smell, weight and feel of drawers and doors in use. Photographs and measurements, which you can ask Sara for, narrow the questions but do not replace those.