We have a tinted cut glass bowl with an acorn bronze knob that my grandfathers mother gave to my grandmothers mother as a gift by my grandparents engagement. We love it and only take it out for special occasions.

That is such a cool bookcase!!

When I started taking piano lessons in middle school, my great aunt gave me her Wurlitzer upright piano. I'm not sure exactly how old it is, but it's got to be somewhere around 60 or 70 years old.

Also, our dining room table used to belong to my husbands great great aunt, and we have a wrought iron bakers rack in the kitchen that was my mom's from her very first apartment. It was actually a bit of a struggle to get my mom to let me take it (for some reason she was really attached it), but it was just sitting in my parents' basement gathering dust, which is a shame because it's such a cool piece! She finally decided that it deserved to be used displayed and appreciated instead of being hidden and neglected. ;-)

I have a couple tables and a bookcase with glass doors that have been passed down. A lot of my furniture and accessories have been passed down or bought from thrift shops.

While I have the most fabulous 19th century china and some fantastic 19th century English silverware, my family doesn't have any antique furniture. Nothing goes back before 1945. I asked my grand-mother why, and she simply answer "because of the war". I'm French and from very near the German border, so that makes sense to me, since most of my family moved to the west and south as the country was invaded, and those who stayed had they apartment bombarded and totally destroyed.

I stil don't get how the china and silverware survived, being so fragile and all, but I'm glad they did. I wished some pieces of furniture had survived too, but I'm glad I have something at least.

For me it's mirrors. I have several that were in my childhood home. None of them are my style, but there's something about knowing that my dad (gone almost 50 years now) looked in the hallway mirror every Sunday morning and adjusted his fedora before going to Mass. A little creepy maybe, but I wouldn't give it up for anything.

No furniture but a few smaller items.

- corner shelf with very hollywood regency scrolling design. Made by my Danish great grandfather more than 60 years ago.
- a tiny wooden jewelry box made in Japan that my Japanese grandmother gave me when I was 4, in 1972.
- "Little Women", my mother's when she was a little girl in the 40s
- a set of wooden coin banks, a Japanese boy and girl, I had given to my grandma in 1984 as a gift, it was returned to me upon her passing

Nothing, really... when my parents got divorced, a lot of the furniture eventually was disposed of, but I wasn't attached to any of it. My mom's house is pretty minimal, my dad's stuff is in taiwan or china. My mom has a couple of valuable antiques that I am not attached to, though if they came my way I guess I'd feel obligated to keep them. Otherwise, my dad has made a few things. I would probably make it a point to keep this one narrow bookcase he made. It's just deep enough for mass-market paperbacks.

I have my great-grandmother's sewing chest. Sometimes I use it as a nightstand. I love the old smell of it.

You're right that the revolving bookcase is worth over $1,000. I looked everywhere for one that was less $$, but ended up spending about that amount. Lucky you!

@username26: Craigslist it and wait for a buyer who emails all OMG do you still have that cabinet EEEEE??!!!! Gets rid of a lot of giver's guilt, knowing that an item is being passed on to someone who will adore it in their own way.

here's a question: i have inherited several pieces of furniture that i don't especially like... one, an old camphor blanket box from great-granny, an other (real antique) 'ladies chair' from great-aunt- can i paint them? i'm imagining the wood white, and reupholstering the ladies chair (currently granny-pink) ???

@freelancefaerie: short answer = absolutely. If it'll keep the pieces loved, used, and in the fambly, go for it...unless great-granny and great-aunt are still around (doesn't sound like it) and would be horrified if you took a brush or stapler to "their" stuff. Yeah, some things are gorgeous or incredible or incredibly valuable and should probably be left alone and/or sold, but for most handed-down stuff, put your mark on it so it can continue to be loved and used.

My parents' families didn't keep a lot of old stuff for whatever reason...most of the heirlooms I have fall into the accessories category. However, I did get a ceramic top sliding leaf table from my uncle and aunt that had been my grandparents' before that. I can picture my grandmother and great grandmother using it to make Polish food in the kitchen of their three-decker in Dorchester, MA, and that makes me absolutely love it.

My family is in the process of emptying out my grandparents' house. The first things I laid claim to was their silver/china and the dining room furniture- the table, buffet, and a beautiful gold scrollwork mirror. The mirror hanged in the dining room and reflected so many happy family celebrations- when I buy a house I'm going to recreate the room.

Fortunately, I have three daughters so I can pawn some of the heirlooms off on them and not feel guilty.