Can I repaint an old pine wardrobe?

You can paint over the existing finish if the surface is sound. Light sanding provides a key for the new coat to grip. Applying chalk paint directly over old wax often causes flaking. Clean the carcase thoroughly with a mild degreaser before starting any brushwork.

My bedroom has a tight staircase leading up to it, so will a large nineteenth-century painted wardrobe come apart for the move?

Most sizable antique painted wardrobes dismantle into flat sections. Craftsmen designed them as knock-down furniture precisely because rural staircases were tight and difficult to navigate. The cornice lifts off the top, and the base section separates. The main body usually splits into two vertical halves held together by wooden pegs or large iron screws. Check inside the door frames for these fixings. If it has a solid backboard nailed straight across both halves, it might be a single fixed unit.

Do old wardrobes have hanging rails?

Earlier examples rarely include them. They left the workshop with wooden pegs fitted to the backboards for hanging cloaks. Later owners often retrofitted brass or wooden rails across the top to hold modern coat hangers.

I have noticed that the doors on my painted wardrobe tend to stick in the damp winter months but close fine during the summer, is this normal?

Timber swells when it absorbs moisture from the air. Pine is particularly porous, so seasonal movement is normal for these pieces. The doors expand across their width in damp conditions and rub against the central frame. Central heating dries the wood out again, causing it to shrink back to its summer size. Avoid planing the doors down during winter. They will end up too small once the dry weather returns and leave a permanent gap down the middle.

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Antique Painted Wardrobes

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Antique painted wardrobes are large freestanding cupboards built to store clothing and household linens behind panelled doors, bearing layers of decorative or plain pigment applied to softer carcase woods that were otherwise considered too plain to leave exposed.