A New Year with New Shopping Opportunities

Whenever I celebrate a new year I rarely make resolutions I can't keep. This year is no exception. For just a moment let's forget about diets and exercise, dropping old habits just to start new ones, etc.

Instead, take a look around your home and focus on something that is near and dear to you. Have you just acquired this item or is it something that was passed down from generation to generation and it is now yours to enjoy and treasure for a time?

Now imagine this item sitting in someones home 100 years from now. Kind of hard to do isn't it? For all the things that survived burn piles and land fills to decorate homes and preserve history, there are a thousand times more items that did not. I have serious doubts that most of the new products of today will come through unscathed to reach a 100 years old.

What does this say about our current society? We've heard the term "throw away", "newest and greatest" in the same sentence describing our current generations. But it isn't like that for some of us.

I look around my home and see furniture that was handcrafted and designed to last. A beautiful English buffet with curved glass curio on the bottom. A solid oak side board with a mirrored back and hand carved designs. A claw foot chair that hugs you when you sit in it. Hand painted porcelain tankards with matching cups used to serve wine at dinner. A Victorian sofa with a curved back inviting visitors to sit and talk a while.

All of these items are 100+ years old yet are still very functional, very beautiful and deeply cherished. I'm not saying we don't have contemporary furnishings and decorative pieces; we do. What amazes me as how well the antique go with the current. An how well the antique hold up; where the comtemporary fizzles out over a very short period of time.

If you are thinking about sprucing up your surroundings in the new year with paint, paper and maybe some new furniture, please don't discount the old. Take a look around antique stores, local auctions and flea markets. There are hidden treasures everywhere that just may add a focal point to your living space. And just might become that cherished piece to be handed down from generation to generation.

Happy New Year!


Until we meet again,
My Best,
Vicki