apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I have a bookcase my friend built for me in 2003 that I love. No matter how big or small my home I will always keep it.

My art deco console, my 19th century italian marquetery table (family), the paintings...

A Victorian brass bed, bought at auction in England soon after I got married, and mostly because of the Bob Dylan song. That was a long time ago. Nowadays, I like things simpler and more streamlined, but I still cherish every curlicue and knob on my big brass bed.

I have a small chest of drawers that was passed down to my mom when she was expecting me. Other children in the family had used it because it had 50s-style elephants and giraffes on it. I'm the youngest in that generation, so it stayed with us and was used by my daughter. I had it refinished & repaired in 96, but specifically told the refinisher, "you must preserve the animals." My daughter has announced that, if she decides to have kids, it will resume its baby service.

We have that same chair... ours was a deco club chair that we bought and hauled around for a few years before we were able to reupholster (the only different with the chair in the picture is that it has wooden deco feet). It's our comfort chair too.

Mine was an old mid-century loveseat upholstered with pearl-covered velvet. It was threadbare in a few places, but so comfortable, and still somehow attractive.

It was left behind by the the previous tenants of the huge Boystown apartment I had just rented with a few friends.

When my BF and I moved a year later, I took it with me.

I still think about that piece from time to time as I look for something similar.

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I'd say I'm lucky. All my sentimental pieces are small, portable, and can be lost in the curio cabinet if need be.

However the one that embarrasses me -- and therefore makes for a better story -- is an old bottle stopper my parents had. It was in the shape of the Sandeman poster boy -- tall man, long black cape, round flat brimmed hat and holding a wine glass. I kept pulling it out of the drawer where it was kept so that I could have two Zorros for my Zorro play set, which had but one who was horseback and thereby limited for play -- uh -- use.

Years later my mother was cleaning out some stuff and found the stopper, battered and older. As a joke she called me up and asked if I wanted it. I said yes.

It's been framed and hangs happily in my kitchen. Or do I mean kitschen?

I had gone to a flea market and fell in love w/ a beautiful Danish lounge chair but I couldn't afford it. A few days later an old couple in our building was throwing out one exactly like it -- I couldn't believe my luck! It was our first piece of REAL grown up furniture that came w/ us to our new home when we got married. I'll never part w/it....such good memories.