I was so pleased when Sofia Dakos said on my recent post about writing that she likes my little blue desk. It’s one of several items of orphaned furniture left here when we bought our 1840’s house. It’s not an antique, but it is sturdy and has a graceful curve on one side. Maybe it was once part of a vanity?
On Nantucket, we have no Home Depot, Ikea, Ethan Allen, Pottery Barn, or any chain furniture stores. When I moved here in 1984–well, remember back then? No Home Decorator or Restoration Hardware catalogs. Nantucket is an island, so everything has to be brought over on the freight boat, and prices–and variety of choice–are adjusted accordingly.
I learned from islanders to be creative with furniture and with, well, everything. We have a friend whose mother had 3 drawers in her kitchen, marked “Long String,” “Short String,” and “String Too Short to Use.” Islanders were “repurposing” before the term even existed.
This might be the world’s smallest bookcase, but it was left in the house when we bought it, and we can never have enough bookcases!
This funny small caned chair will be refinished someday (maybe) but until then, I can lift it with one hand and move it to any room. It’s very sturdy and will hold anyone comfortably. I think it’s a real antique, and the caning is in perfect shape. (We had the comfy armchair next to it professionally “distressed” by various cats.)
I bought this used bookcase from a lovely friend. The back of the lower two shelves are missing and the paint job is, um, less than perfect but it works perfectly to hold my gardening gloves and vases by the back door.
I’ve had the small wicker shelf forever. Is it an antique? I don’t know, don’t care. I love mixing in odd and useful bits of furniture with my modern typing chair and desktop computer. And I think our old house approves. I find something endearing and evocative about old furniture and old houses. Their history makes me dream of who once used the table, or put books in the case. It’s like having a nice old dog around, sleeping in the sun.