I have always had a love for antiques. I love the history that they contain and that there’s a story behind them. I actively began buying antiques when I was a teenager but even as a young child I had a fascination with them. By no means am I buying expensive antiques. In fact I prefer items that show that they were used and loved. Today I thought I would share with you some of my favorites and the stories behind them!
The Wardrobe
The Wardrobe
This is the first antique I bought when I was 16 years old. I bought it from a resale shop for $50. It was plain wood at the time and in semi-rough shape. I brought it home and restained and varnished it. It is a big, cumbersome piece and traveled with me to all my apartments and houses. My Dad hated this thing. He would spit and swear under his breath every time he had to help me move. My first house had a steep stairway leading upstairs and a narrow landing. In order to get it up to my bedroom this had to be hoisted up over the landing at such an angle. It got dropped once. My Dad said he would never move this thing again! It now resides in my daughter’s room and my Mom painted it for me.
The Iron Bed
The Iron Bed
I love old iron beds but could never afford one. They can be quite pricey. I spotted this one on the back of a guys pickup truck one day when I was in my early 20′s and out with my Mom. He had a lot of junk in the back of his pickup and I came to the conclusion he was collecting things to bring to a scrap yard. I instantly hopped out of my car and asked him what he was going to do with the bed. He looked at me in a confused manner and managed to let me know he didn’t speak English. I somehow was able to explain to him that I wanted that bed. I took out my wallet and offered him money for it but he just waved it off and unloaded the bed and put it in my car for me. The only problem was I still needed the bed rails for it too. Trying to explain bed rails to someone that doesn’t speak English is nearly impossible so I just started digging through his truck until I found them. This clearly goes down as one of my ultimate finds because it was free and was quite the adventure trying to get it! This was my bed for many years and now serves as my daughter’s bed.
The Hoosier Cupboard
The Hoosier Cupboard
I found this piece through a newspaper ad when I was 20 years old. It was advertised for $250. I took my brother along to come look at it with me. I instantly fell in love with it and offered $200. The lady selling it accepted my offer as she said her husband was making her get rid of it because it was too big. I estimate this piece to be about 100 years old. It has the original etched glass in it which is very hard to come by. This has always been my baking cupboard. It stores all my cake pans, measuring cups, spices, baking ingredients etc. It is absolutely one of my favorite things I own!
The Stove
The Stove
I found this Stewart stove at an estate sale with my Mom when I was in my early 20′s. It was in a basement hooked up and the owner said she still used it to do her canning on. I asked her if she wanted to sell it. She said yes but she would have to get $25 for it. In a blink of an eye I handed over the money. The thing about this stove though is that it weighs a ton! As I said it was in the basement so my Mom and I had to carry this thing up the stairs and then down the street to where I was parked. It was really insane when I think about it now. I have always had this sitting in my dining rooms as just a decoration basically. It serves no purpose. A few years ago I set it out to a rummage sale I was having and put $150 on it. A guy came and said he wanted it but he had to run to the bank quick and get the money. As soon as he left I got a sick feeling in my stomach and made a “sold sign” and put it on the stove. When the guy returned I told him someone else bought it and had given me the money and were just going to get their truck. Even though this stove is not an essential piece I just can’t part with it!
The Frames
The Frames
Throughout the years my Mom and I have found several different frames at rummage or estate sales. They are usually in pretty bad shape but cost no more than $5. Some of them even contain the old bowed out glass which I don’t think is made anymore. My mom fixed all of these up and through the years I have added them one by one to my living room wall. We have our wedding picture, all of the kids baby pictures and our family picture. These are by far my most cherished pieces!
I hope you enjoyed my Show and Tell today!
The cupboard is really special! I love it!
Thank you!
Love that Hoosier cabinet!
Thanks Joan!
Great Post, Melissa. I like them all, and your display of them look really nice. They don’t make them as fine quality like they used to. The antiques have great craftsmanship. Thanks for sharing. Be Blessed, Mtetar
Thank you Mtetar! They truly are built great! It’s amazing the detail and effort that went into making the older pieces! Have a great weekend! Melissa
You’re Welcome, and the same to you. Be Blessed, Mtetar
That cupbord is so beautiful!! I’ve always wanted a piece like that. But with me moving all over the place, I have to settle for durable small things that don’t weigh much. I do love that piece though.
Thank you! That cupboard has made it through several moves! It’s quite a pain trying to get it all wrapped up so the glass doesn’t break. I clearly wasn’t thinking about the whole moving aspect when I purchased most of my things!
Beautiful pieces! You have incredible taste!
Thank you!!! You know how we are always talking about mixing bowls…those are all of my Grandma’s bowls on top of my Hoosier cupboard!!!
How cool is that? I love stuff like that.
I love all your pieces, they are all beautiful! don’t get rid of them, they look very good and special!
Thank you so much! They have been around too long now and have made it through so many moves that I don’t think I could ever get rid of them now!
so fun! and you got some great deals! It’s amazing how much some of that stuff costs these days!
Thank you! I always love a good bargain and the stuff from back then is so well made that it should last forever!
Very cool – what great pieces! I love unique furniture! Many of the modern pieces in stores today are so HUGE – built for a home that I don’t own.
Thank you! You’re right about that big furniture! We bought a brand new bedroom set for my husband and I a few years ago! It didn’t look that big in the store but once they delivered it, I was in shock! It almost didn’t all fit in our bedroom!
I’m so glad you didn’t part with the stove! It represents a piece of history and clearly has stolen your heart. Stoves also represent warmth and have an element of comfort. After the conversation we just had about romance, you and I could use anything as reminders to HEAT things up!
haha!! Oh boy! I never would have thought about it like that!! That is hilarious!!
Funny story abiut the bed. The stove looks cool.
It’s neat to think who may have owned these pieces & where they may have been. Each has a story.
Yeah, I think that is what has always drawn me to them…thinking about the people who used them before me and wondering how certain nicks or chips got in them…I guess kind of creating my own story in my head!
I have an idea – write a blog post from the perspective of one of your items. A thought – might be itneresting.
Wow! That would be a very cool idea! Thanks!
Sure. Feel free to give me all the credit. Lol.
Wow- such beautiful things
Very special!
Thank you very much!
Absolutely love it! You and your mom have great taste. I love that these pieces connect you to your parents in one or another.
Thank you! Whenever my mom and I get together and talk about our stories of collecting “junk” we always end up cracking up because we have done so many goofy things to get some stuff! I guess that endears me to these pieces even more!
I love your furniture. You have great taste! I
Thank you Sarah!!
I love this post! I sat with envy, fawning over each of those items. Great taste and great stories!
Oh, Thank you so much! I really appreciate it!
They are all treasures~ love that you love them…. wish we all lived closer , nothing like a good junkin buddy !!!
No kidding…the fun we could have! It must be in our blood!
The colors in your home are delightful. Beautiful antiques!!
Thank you so much!
Hi Melissa. I just think it so funny that two people on the opposite sides of the world could be into similar beautiful but quirky things. I also collect antique wooden picture frames. I love the beautiful carved wood. I’ve picked up most of mine when we’ve been on holidays and I have piles of them stored in the garage and the roof although the best ones are on display. I love the stories behind how you found them, how you got them home. I recently bought an antique wardrobe from a local op shop and had it delivered hoping I could somehow sneak it passed my husband. Ha! Of course, I hadn’t measured it and it didn’t fit where I’d planned so we ended up rearranging 3 rooms to fit it in and lost most of the weekend. I was very popular. I think I can feel another post coming on…if only I can get through these postcards I’m working on from our holiday. Hope you are doing well. Best wishes,
Rowena
Thank you so much Rowena!! Oh, you do sound so much like me…I know exactly what you mean with the sneaking part! I get the “eye rolls” a lot from my husband whenever I get something else! In actuality he is just as bad as me though…he loves antiques but he sticks to smaller things that clutter up our house! It’s a fun hobby….or an addiction I guess!! haha!!
Lovely furniture! I think antiques really add character to the home.
Thank you so much! I think so too! Thanks for looking!
Love it!!! My mom had an antique store when I was a child… lovely post.
Oh wow! That would be so much fun to own an antique store! I have a feeling though I would never have anything to sell though…I would probably end up keeping it all for myself!!! haha!!
Our house overflowed with gems.
gorgeous, love them! xx
Thank you!!!
Oh, I covet your stove. I’m glad you did not sell it!
All of these items are really nice! I like the story of how you managed to get the iron bed! This was an excellent show and tell!
I love the stove! I’m glad you decided to keep it.
By the way, the Miller family is finally back to blogging. I’ve missed reading and writing.
Love the stove! Is that saying something about us mums?
Good Post Mel – excellently good acquisitions! x
Thank goodness you decided not to part with that stove. She’s a beauty! As is that cupboard. Could that stove ever be used just for heating purposes? You know, to sit by on a cold winter’s day while reading a good book? I think by now you know I love heat and books…and food and my kitties!
Cool finds! I LOVE the wardrobe. Antiques rock. I have an old flour cabinet that I use as a TV stand. It’s my baby. My old WWI army trunk is a fav too–even though I committed antique sacrilege and painted it black and white.
I love the iron bed. I have the same one but only have the headboard and footboard and can’t find rails anywhere!!
Thank you! The rails are always the hardest part to find on the old beds! I’ve come across plenty of headboards but they never have the rails!!!
You know, I started to read this after you posted it but I think I got distracted and never finished. I’m glad you reminded me of it. I LOVE all of your pieces. That hoosier cabinet looks to be in really great shape. I love the iron bed too, especially for a little girl’s room. And also, your mom sounds awesome.
Did you hear the story about the guy who bought an antique album full of really old photos at a yard sale in Maine, which contained a really primitive baseball team card from the 1860′s. It just sold for $92K. Here’s the story: http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/8921014/rare-1865-baseball-card-fetches-92k-auction. So keep hitting those yard sales! And even if you never get rich, at least you’ll have a whole lot of enjoyment and some really cool stuff.
No, I didn’t hear that story!! That is crazy! My mom did once buy a cheap table at an estate sale that had $100 taped to it underneath. There was no one to return it to because the owners were deceased and it was an outside company running the sale. So yes, I’ll keep going and getting things I like but now I will keep my eyes open for 19th century baseball cards too….and the old Gourmet magazines for you!