Decorating With History

This is one of my rules- for my home.

Although, it is more of an obsession than a rule.

I absolutely must fill my house with pieces that have a history. And it is especially sweet when that history is personal.

So here are some personal, historical pieces that I use in my home.

This ironstone pitcher came from my hubby's grandparents' house. It has a crack that runs all the way down it in the back. I don't care. This piece started my love for ironstone and am so happy it was my first.

This brown jug came from my dad's barn that sits on our family fruit farm. I am not sure what it held, but I love the shape and the color. (And the wood box that it's in is on its way to becoming a history piece because it came from our backyard shed.)

This bench also came from my dad's barn on the farm. It had a beautiful gray patina to it. I dry brushed some white paint on it, regrettably.

This is a cherry lug from my dad's barn. It has seen better days. I love it because it reminds of being sticky and hot picking cherries out in the orchard when I was a kid.

This was my mom's hope chest. I don't know much about its history- how old it is, where it came from, or how long my mom had it. I don't think I'm using it to its fullest potential, but right now this is the only spot I can find for it.

This, I think, was my mom's old dresser. I remember using this as young girl. It had different hardware on it then. The handles used to hang down from a base. I can still hear the sound they made when you would open and close the drawers. It is in rough shape. But I love it.

This is an afghan my Grandma made for me when I graduated from high school. Some holes have turned up here and there, but I fix them before they get too big. This has kept me warm on many cold winter days.

 

This is another item from Scott's grandparents' home. It was down in their basement and painted blue with blue wooden knobs. This was one of the first pieces of furniture that I made over. Boy, did I have a lot to learn about painting furniture. One thing I do like- Adding plaster stencil decorations. The distressing job, not so much.

I have a lot more pieces with history that I haven't worked into my home yet. Eventually I will. I will find a place for each item. I love what I see when I look around my home.

Do you decorate with history?