Family Treasures

Jacob and I were blessed to begin building our nest with rooms full of furniture. We have even had extra, extra furniture store in our garage and attic. Needless to say we have not wanted for much nor have we needed anything. Several of the pieces we have in our home have came from family and some we bought before we knew each other.

I always think about how much stuff we have and how so much of it has been obtained for fairly reasonable prices and many pieces for free. It makes me like our home even more - the fact that we haven't spent a ton of money on it and it looks as nice as it does. Mostly this is because of the furniture and heirlooms that have been passed down in my family. I thought I would share a few of the hand-me-down pieces we have in our dining room the way they looked before.

These pieces don't look quite the same anymore and I'll share how they look now in a later post.

Item #1: Old Milkcan with Lid

Do you see that milkcan in the background? We've had that as long as I can remember. I ran across this picture the other day. That's me on the old loveseat. I have no idea where the milkcan came from, only that it has been passed down on my mother's side of the family.

Item #2: Green Vinyl Covered Chairs

Here are the chairs (look in the background) that my mother's parents gave my parents as a wedding present. You can see the chairs better in the picture below as well as the table they gave with the chairs. Dad rebuilt the table top years ago and it is still unfinished.
The table sat in our dining room until 2 months ago. It is now in our attic.
Now, the chairs are out of the attic and in our dining room.

Item #3: Grand Ruby's Cabinet
I believe we got this cabinet after my grandfather (mother's father) passed away in 1991. It originally belonged to his mother, my great-grandmother, whom we called Grand Ruby. I have had it since about 2003 when dad moved to Georgia for a short stint.
I love my brother's face in this picture!

Well, the milkcan still looks the same, the chairs are in the middle of being recovered, and the cabinet has been in the makeover process since about 2005. No worries, it is just about finished now. I love that the dining room (and whole house) is filled with so many family pieces. We are surrounded with memories and have things here as reminders of the people who used them daily. I think it gives our house such a unique character.