Packing fine art and antiques may look like an easy thing to do, but it is not. However, items like these have a very high monetary or sentimental value and that’s why we have to take good care of them. For starters, you have two options. You can either hire a professional moving company to pack fine art and antiques or you can do the same thing yourself.

If you pick the first one, a professional moving company will take care of and pack your fine art and antiques properly. They will also transport them safely to your new destination. In case your choice is to pack everything yourself, you will have to prepare.

So, let’s see what is the best way to pack fine art and antiques!

Hire A Professional Moving Company

Every professional moving company has a lot of experience in this field. They are offering plenty of services, including packing fine art and antiques. Their devoted and trained workers will examine everything that you have to pack. They will also decide what kind of packing materials would be best suited for packing fine art and antiques. After proper packing is done, they will load everything carefully into the moving truck.

They will also secure all items so they won’t shift and move while they are in transport.

There are also other services that are provided by a professional moving company:

• Good communication and answers to all of your moving-related questions
• Calculating the costs and choosing the right size of a moving truck
• Preparing packing supplies, packing and unpacking of your belongings
• Security and safe transport
• Insurance
• Storage places

In case you are hiring a professional moving company for a long distance move, here are some tips on how to adjust after moving to another country!

What packing supplies will you need, in order to pack fine art and antiques?

The most critical thing, in order to protect and keep your fine art and antiques safe, are packing supplies. Properly packed and wrapped items have much lower chance to break or suffer any damage during the transport.

Do not forget to get moving tapes and straps. After you pack fine art and antiques and load them into the moving truck, secure them with straps so they won’t shift or move during the moving process.

Let’s mention some of the packing supplies you will definitely use:

• Heavy-duty boxes (for artwork, picture frames, and mirrors)
• Telescope boxes (two-part set of a box that, once assembled, makes a long one. Good for packing flat laying objects)
• Glassine (a smooth paper which is air, water, and grease resistant)
• Bubble wrap
• Moving tapes and straps
• Scissors
• Moving blankets
• Crates (wooden boxes)
• A hand truck or a Dolly (vertical or horizontal cart with wheels, helps you move bulky and heavy items, such as a piano)

Packing Artwork, Paintings, and Mirrors

 Artwork, paintings, picture frames, and mirrors are all items that fall under this category. Do not move any of these items if they are not properly packed and prepared. If you still have boxes that these items arrived in when you bought them, it’s highly recommended to use those.

First of all, you will use Heavy-duty boxes for your artwork, mirrors, and framed prints. Be sure that boxes are big enough so your items won’t suffer any damage.

Also, you can use telescope boxes for items that you need to pack in flat-laying position. People usually wrap some items into a plastic wrap, but when it comes to artwork and mirrors, it’s safer if you wrap these kinds of items into Glassine. Glassine is a smooth paper and it is air, water, and grease resistant. You should use this kind of paper for fine art, mirrors, and anything else made of glass!

After wrapping your items into Glassine, it’s time for bubble wrap. You should use bubble wrap in several layers, over the specific item to better protect it and prevent damage.

While moving art, mirrors or frames, their corners are exposed and can easily get scratched or damaged. That’s why you should use styrofoam or cardboard corner protectors. And if, after all, you are still not sure that your items are protected enough, wrap them into moving blankets as well.

If you have a lot of artwork and paintings in your office and you need to relocate, there are some tips on business relocation!

Packing Antiques

Packing antiques requires a lot of care.

Antiques are usually items that are worth a lot of money and some of them have sentimental value and can be irreplaceable. First of all, you should take pictures of the items in their original condition.

You should also ask about some additional insurance for these kinds of items, in case they suffer damage or break.

It is highly recommended to hire a professional moving company to pack fine art and antiques. In case you’ve packed antiques yourself, be sure to let them know what boxes contain antiques so they can take extra care of them.

Now, let’s get to packing. You will have to gather all your packing supplies first. That includes tons of bubble wrap, packing tape, strap, moving blankets, crates etc. Gather everything you can think of that can protect your antiques. When you start, you should use a lot of bubble wrap. After you’ve protected the item with bubble wrap, use the packing tape to secure it. You can also wrap them with moving blankets, after, to secure them better.

And then, after wrapping your antiques into several layers of protection, you should place them gently into crates. It would be really good if those crates can be wooden ones. Wooden crates are more secure, and not that fragile. They will protect your items inside, even in the case of some other box falling onto them.

Also, moving antiques is not the only thing we are concerned about, here are some useful tips and tricks if you are moving to Europe with kids!

Big Pieces of Furniture

In case you are moving big pieces of antique furniture, it’s highly recommended to disassemble them first. If that is not possible, do not carry them or move by yourself. Ask family or friends to help you. Be careful while carrying valuable things like these, because if they suffer any damage their value will diminish.

We are honestly hoping that this article was helpful and that you are now able to pack fine art and antiques without any problems! Best of luck!