Antique bird cages : a fabulous addition to your home decor

Are you looking for antique bird cages ? And yet you don't have much clue about them. Well, let me tell you that decorative bird cages, especially antique bird cages, have become the order of the day in terms of home decor, if you are particularly interested in giving your interiors a vintage French or Victorian feel or look.

To begin with, birds were originally caged for their exotic beauties nearly four centuries ago in Ancient Egypt. The first bird cages were made of crude materials like twigs, leaves, rope mesh, reeds and bamboo. Gradually, as birds became more and more favourites of human beings as pets, the designs , colours and crafts of bird cages became more sophisticated. Early American colonies had heavily ornamented bird cages in their houses. Royal palaces in India housed gold-plated, stone-studded cages, while French and Victorian parlours also proudly displayed bird cages with elaborate and expensive designs.

Fancy decorative bird cages, or antique bird cages ,however, are no longer used to house real birds. For one thing, living birds require more space to move about and exercise. A cramped space in a small bird cage will cripple birds easily and make life unhappy and unhealthy for them. For another, antique bird cages are often brittle and can break down easily, spoiling the whole fancy stuff. Besides, antique bird cages generally contain toxic ingredients and chemicals, which can be extremely harmful for living birds. Truly, antique bird cages can become veritable deathtraps for birds, for these lovely birds have a tendency to nibble, bite or chew at the rods coated with toxic paints used to colour the cages. Hence, decorative bird cages, or antique bird cages, should never be used to house live birds. Instead, you can use them as an artistic addition to your home decor.

But where can you find them ? The best places to look for antique bird cages are the online auction sites. There are many such sites these days offering a great variety of chic items, fairly expensive ones, which you can buy as a valued part of your home decor. Apart from this, you can rummage through the local vintage shops, antique stores, home decor stores, departmental stores, gift houses, upmarket furniture stores,and interior designer houses, all places where antique stuff are sold. However, if you think you are on a tight budget, you can also look for a replica of the original product in these places. And this you can have them at a fraction of a price of the original antique bird cage. So, who knows, it might be quite a good burgain for you. Besides, you can place some ads in the newspapers or on community sites, expressing your ideas and interests. Or you may stroll around to have a look at the garage or estate sales,or what the local flea market have to offer. If you are lucky, even such places can offer a great burgain, and you can be a proud owner of an antique bird cage.

Where to place them at home ? A common question often asked by people. Antique bird cages can accentuate the beauty of your home if you want to give it an elegant vintage victorian look. But even if you have a modern home , an antique bird cage placed at a strategic point, can become a great conversation piece. Surely, you shouldnot place the antique pet bird cage in one corner of the room where it gathers dust and languishes in darkness. Instead, you should place the fancy bird cage at a spot which attracts the immediate attention of the guests and visitors. In other words, an antique bird cage should enjoy a central position at home , which make it the cynosure of all eyes, a neighbour's envy and owner's pride, so to speak.

There are other uses of antique bird cages, though. You can turn these small or large bird cages into decorative antique lamps, with coloured lights fitted into them, hanging from the ceilings or positioned at walls. You can also use antique bird cages as exotic plant holders, where vines or flowers are attached to add a touch of green to them.Besides, anitique bird cages can be a centre of attraction in social events like weddings, family get-togethers,picnics and birthdays, where antique bird cages, decorated with flowers and false diamonds can really uplift the spirit of the festivity , grabbing the attention of all, if they are placed in the middle of the reception tables.

So whatever designs you may buy, French, Vintage victorian, Tuscan, Arabian, or Oriental, antique bird cages can turn out to be the focal point of an animated conversation among your visitors. Surely, you wouldn't like to miss such an opportunity.Bird cages are almost omnipresent in every modern household these days, and their popularity are definitely on the rise. Wouldn't you love to become a proud possessor of an antique bird cage, or at least, of a replica of it ? Go for it. You would love to have such a fabulous decorative item at home. Antique bird cages can add a touch of glory to your home decor.