It's a lovely collection of furniture - I hope you'll be painting the room a nice color soon (Pink?) so that it doesn't look so out of place.

I have a complete Heywood Wakefield bedroom set of my Great-Grandmothers. When she could no longer climb stairs they set her up in a downstairs room that as kids we would run through - and she would laugh and laugh. I also have my Grandfathers 4 poster bed that my son now sleeps on. They never got to meet, so it's important to me to have that connection

My father is a retired furniture store owner & custom upholsterer and is of the era that nothing gets thrown away. His home is crammed with sofas, chairs and other pieces from his past business. Some good, some bad (dated) but all definately well made. Each piece has its own story and as long as you don't hit your shins too often making your way around it all, the walk down memory lane is great!

My boyfriends grandmother left him two silly, frilly over the top cherubic lamps that we adore. Other than that I tend to keep it small with the precious things. (easier to look after & move) I have a framed business card from my families bakery from 1920.

Incidentally - that bedroom set above is from an area/time period consistent with a company called Star Furniture company - which later changed it's style from traditional to modern, and changed its name to Herman Miller. You should check for labels :)

I love the furniture. I love antiques. My prized posessions are also from my grandparents. They used to buy all of their furniture at antique auctions. They had so many wonderful pieces. Not too many are left, but I do have a couple of their lamps. I will soon inherit some very old cupboards.
Here are the lamps:
http://makemineeclectic.wordpress.com/2008/12/16/end-of-house-tour-the-living-room/

http://makemineeclectic.wordpress.com/2008/12/10/moving-on-to-the-dining-room/

I have a five piece set that came across the Oregon Trail with my family in my bedroom. I painted it white and put some modern accessories on it. Looks great! I often see a gorgeous bedroom set that I contemplate buying, but I still stick with the old memorable bedset.

When my parents moved to China I took custody of their antique hutch. I adore it.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1316/1424566464_eb57e0b3d2_b.jpg

This bedroom needs wallpaper.

I have a Heywood Wakefield bed from my favorite great-aunt, who started giving things away to relatives in the last few years. She now has Alzheimer's so it makes me wonder if she realized it and wanted to give everyone things they liked and/or needed before the choice wasn't hers anymore.

I love antiques but I tend to collect one great piece and mix it up with other more modern pieces so the room has an updated look. This room doesn't seem to represent AT as far as I'm concerned.

I had an awesome antique sofa (heavy as hell!) that I totally loved. Kept it for many years but eventually it just got to worn out.

My great-grandparents' late-Victorian sewing bench (inherited from yet another relative).

"This room doesn't seem to represent AT as far as I'm concerned...." posted by saltylibrarian.

AT does have a modern slant to it, but who is to say that an apartment can't be furnished with cherished inherited pieces like this? I think it's important that AT represent a broad spectrum of design rather than risk being pigeonholed into the mid-century "fad" and perish when the youth of tomorrow move on to another decade to worship.

What a beautiful bedroom set. I'd say, whatever you do, don't paint it.

I got a beautiful 7ft long couch from my grandparents, which they had bought in 1947, had it reupholstered in the 70's, it looks amazing. Though the fabric is in poor condition, I'm looking forward to having it reupholstered next year. (pic of said couch, don't mind anything around it, all temporary and been fixed since)

Also got a set of beautiful lamps, the base is black with white "splashed spots" and a golden spiral all the way around with silk lampshades, and since they're moving out of their house this spring, I already have a few post-its here and there to notify my aunt that these I take.

I love old furniture (and my grandparents for keeping these for so long instead of trashing them)

ummm...this is my 94 yr old grandmother's bedroom. of course it doesn't "represent AT," but this post is about something entirely different. that said i think grandma's bedroom would look great with some new paint or wallpaper. thanks, too, for all your furniture memories/stories. these are great to read.

I was at a party tonight and the hostess told me they bought all new furniture for their house they moved into this year. I was flabbergasted! It looked fine, but I wonder what their previous stuff looked like, and what was wrong with it.
I have pieces that I couldn't get rid of no matter what. I think that this belonged to your grandmother makes it all the more beautiful.

the photo and post were both refreshing. thanks, heather.

Beautiful old set. My own favorite piece is probably a little humidor that's been in my husband's family forever. It's definitely screaming to be painted, but I cannot bring myself to do so. It doesn't really fit in w/my style, so when I get bored w/it, I move it around, then months later rediscover it and happily use it someplace else.

I was waiting for some highly enlightened design junkie to comment on how the furniture was out of style, or doesn't have an "updated look" or how the tastes of a 94 year old grandmother don't "represent AT". I'm glad there was only one such comment.

This is an excellent post. I appreciate the sentiments. It reminds me of my grandparents' furniture. It's kind of like This End Up crate furniture, but much heavier, I think from a different manufacturer. They have the sofa, the coffee table, and the side chair (my grandpa's chair; don't sit there, or you will be thrown out of the house). It used to have plaid cushions, but they are upholsterers and about 5 or 6 years ago, they recovered the chairs in a green faux leather. That set has been around FOREVER. I've even seen it in pictures when my mom was young. I love that set.

I'm glad my parents and grandparents are moderns and I got their knock off (or real) stuff. My grandmother wanted me to give her 'egg' chair to "poor people", hahaha, little did she know it would be in my living room forever.

I have an oak chair from my grandparent's first bedroom set that's pretty cool. I like having things with some history.

I have an antique "Pullman" fold out couch/sofa. It belonged to my husbands grandmother from the turn of the century. I forget the name of the style, there is not a curve to be found on it. It's all straight lines. Oak and leather. I luv it...will hold onto it for as long as possible..

I love this post! My husband and I have been setting up our first apartment (well... I've been setting it up and he's been nodding and smiling at the appropriate times) and the vast majority of our furniture is 70+ years old. Most of it is from my family, as his mom doesn't really like old furniture (everything in their house is new, more or less, unlike going to my mom's house where almost everything has an old story attached to it). Among the pieces I've inherited are an awesome lawyer's cabinet and a bedroom set from my paternal grandfather, a dining table and five chairs, a desk, an armchair, two small bookshelves, a huge round slab of marble (soon to be part of our coffee table!), a small side table (that was a wedding gift when my maternal grandparents married)...I can't thing of anything better than living with my family history. And mixing it up with the Petrie couch from CB, a MCM craigslist side table, and mostly modern, simple accessories with some bright colors ensures my apartment definitely doesn't resemble anything frilly or doily-filled.