Hand-Me-Downs

Mother's Bedroom Dresser

Hi Guys,

I happen to love hand-me-downs. My mother's and grandmother's furniture carry a lot of sentimental value to me.  I can remember my grandmother sitting and talking on the telephone which sat on the sewing table that is now an end table in my guest room. I can remember my mother buying her beautiful marble topped bedroom set in the 60's which is also in our guest room. Every one of my hand-me-downs has special meaning to me.

China Cabinet

Grandma's Telephone Table

You may also love to visit yard sales, estate sales, flea markets, or antique stores to find items for your home. In our neighborhood, when we no longer need or want an item, we just put it out on the curb. Someone else in the neighborhood can usually use it, and takes it home. When we bought new outdoor furniture for our deck, we put our old chairs and chaise lounge on the curb. Well, one neighbor ended up with the chairs to use around her pool and another neighbor has the chaise lounge on her patio. I guess we have kind of an exchange going.

Living Room Lamp

When my husband and I moved out to Massachusetts from Iowa, my husband's grandmother had just passed away. We ended up driving out east with a trailer filled with Grandma's entire living room and kitchen furniture. We kept the kitchen table and chairs until they literally fell apart because my husband could remember sitting at that table as a child eating dinner or snacks.

Master Bedroom Lamp

My mother passed away in 1994 and left me some very beautiful pieces. In addition to the pieces in the guest room, I have her lamps in the master bedroom and in the living room. I also put her china cabinet, filled with my grandma's cut glass, in the living room. I have small end tables all over the house--end tables that I can remember from my childhood home in Iowa. My son has the bedroom set that I grew up with and his grandma's dining table and chairs.

Antique Sewing Machine Used in Basement Bedroom

If you have a hand-me-down piece of furniture that you love but no longer looks good, you can have it refinished, reupholstered, or painted. A friend of mine needed a chest for her grandchild, so she took an old chest and painted it and added cute stencils. You can add new lamp shades to old lamps to make them look new or add modern knobs to chests or tables with drawers to make them look more modern and tie in to your decor.

End Table Used in the Front Entry

My tip for today is to cherish your hand-me-downs--they may need a little tweaking, but they will still have the same sentimental meaning.

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