Stories
The quality and durability of rustic furniture are great benefits, to be sure. The sustainability of antiques and pieces made from reclaimed lumber excites a lot of people. And the aesthetic of waxed and painted or aged patinas is all some of us need to fully swoon. For me, though, the very best thing about this stuff is the stories. Some we know. Some we get to imagine.
That the relative match-ability of two nightstands depends on how much tequila was drank in the warehouse that day is a selling point to a limited demographic, I know. But it makes them so much more valuable to me. It's the way you might love the quirky little lamp carried home from a vacation, years ago, more than the very elegant one bought from a catalog. You may consider Treehouse Gallery a repository of quirky little (and large) whatevers from far away vacations.
Some things are homey and familiar. Like the Mexican tortilla press that everyone wants to touch and guess as to its function. Or the Hungarian butcher block with the divot in the center from use by generations of fathers and sons (I like to think). Others recall other times, other worlds. There is the Chinese apothecary, which is more or less useless today, but beautiful. I love the idea of having enough small, little somethings to store and catalog in its tiny drawers. We've also just parted with a seven foot long, two inch thick screen, for lack of a more informed term. Carved and painted in Indonesia, it was definitely a conversation starter and earned a place by the front door during its short stay with us. We hope to find more things like it on our next trip to Surubaya.
Nowadays, we are seeing more and more reincarnations of storied materials, and they are getting more interesting. Reclaimed and salvaged wood has been finding its way into furniture for decades. The sources, though, are expanding from existing structures(buildings, bridges, barns), to existing objects. Wine barrels into wine bars, for example. My favorite, for the truly off the wall, whimsical colors, are the pieces made from old fish boats and canoes. The more staid among them a Crayola mix of Hunter green, tomato red and mustard yellow. Others are resplendent in sky blue, fluorescent green and hot pink. That's right. Hot pink.
Breakfast at a table that tells stories of pink boats on sparkling blue water is a not-too-shabby way to start the day, I think.
Larissa Gilbert