I heard a discussion yesterday about this and thought it was good food for thought.
So many home items now are “disposable” - furniture that lasts only a few years, dining chairs that break easily, washable rugs that will have limited lifetime, clocks run by batteries that aren’t meant to last forever…
The example given was a mirror someone had inherited from their Grandmother. The mirror was built to last a human lifetime and more. Heavy. Ornate. Quality materials, glass. The owner said she had other mirrors in the house, but her $30 Target mirror is not going to be a mirror to pass on, last decades, etc.
The same might be said about a lot of furniture. I have a tall two piece hutch/china cabinet that weighs a million pounds. Came from a farmhouse of my uncle who died at 85 years 20 years ago - so it’s well over 100 years old. No chance of this piece of furniture becoming dysfunctional. It is solid, beautiful, and also practical.
What is a home item that you own that can/will remain timeless and potentially be passed onto other generations? I would say jewelry doesn’t count here.
Pictures also welcome. I’ll get a pic of my hutch when I get home.
Kitchen Aid mixer. And a large 1953 Revere Ware stock pot that both of our kids want!
There is absolutely nothing else in this house that is timeless. It’s just stuff.
DS wants none of it. DD wants my Lenox Christmas dishes, my mother’s sterling silver flatware, and my Larkin desk. She also wants a very old pedestal oak table but she will need to wait for that…because it’s where we eat.
I should add…I have exactly one thing from my family…a cute little teacup and saucer from occupied Japan.
From my in-laws…there is nothing in this house that we actually want from them, but MIL has given us some framed artwork…most of which is in a closet.
I inherited a few antique pieces from my parents - a mirrored hall tree with a marble top, a drop leaf table, mantle clocks (my mom was a collector of 18th and 19th century clocks), and some oil paintings. I also have my grandparent’s mahogany desk. They will “last”.
“Timeless” I think is in the eye of the beholder. My D has zero interest in anything but the paintings. I made up a list of the valuables in the house that I keep with our will/trust just so she doesn’t accidentally give something away that she could sell. The only potential hope is that if she stays with her current partner, he loves all that stuff and I could see him convincing D to keep some if not all. (Hope springs eternal!)
I forgot about all the cooking/baking dishes. My parents’ stuff makes up 80% of my D’s kitchen - she has some of their beautiful Le Creuset bakeware, serving dishes, and my dad’s old German butcher’s knives (along with lots of other every day stuff that I remember from my childhood).
I feel like house stuff is just stuff. We got rid of tons of old stuff when we downsized last year. Not only did my daughter have no interest in these things, neither did I. This included stuff we inherited form both sides of the family.
There are two exceptions to this. One is two pottery items. I have a ceramic pitcher that was my grandmothers. It sat atop her refrigerator from when I was a little kid. I have done some research on it and she bought it (for not a lot of money) in the 50s from a department store catalog. The second pottery item is a Robert Burns mug which my mother in law got as a wedding gift (in the 50s) from a relative in Scotland. Both of these items are displayed in a cabinet in my home.
The other exception is the antique jewelry I have inherited from both sides of the family. I have recently started wearing several of these pieces and learning more about them. There is a librarian in my town who is into antique jewelry and she has helped me to date some of the pieces and learn what they are made of etc.
Your timeless and lasting item might not even be old. We aren’t just talking Grandma’s old things. Maybe you bought a leather couch or chair in the last 10 years that will don someone’s study for decades. Or you bought a handcrafted teak wooden salad bowl set that will age and last for many a salad!
Our granite top dining table. It will take a nuke to destroy that thing. People marvel at how nice it is (we are already on the second set of chairs, but the table still looks great and when we no longer need it, it will likely be adopted by someone as a table not a piece to take to the dump).
A stone metate from grandmother (from Sonora no doubt), a cast iron tortilla press from my mom, a nd a really old but well seasoned 9” cast iron pan from my dad.
I’m sure the boys will haggle over some sports memorabilia like my framed and autographed Bobby Orr jersey, or the combined Larry Bird & Magic Johnson rookie trading card(with Dr. J as well).
My watches and my wife’s jewelry will be passed along.
We have several wooden tables that my FIL made for us in his workshop.
We’ve collected some Carlo Moretti Murano glass pieces, one of which we picked up in Venice back in 1999 that is really nice.
Our collections of Swarovski, Christopher Radko and Shreeve, Crump & Low Christmas ornaments will hopefully be enjoyed for generations.
My daughter is using some Corelle plates that we bought when we got married 40 years ago! When we downsized we did get rid of some of the set, but kept a few of the most useful shapes and sizes.
Large hand woven wall rug with Arabic looking writing at the bottom. It’s beautiful. We don’t know its country of origin. It was purchased by my grandma, currently is at my mom’s house and will be my daughter’s one day. Nobody uses wall rugs anymore so eventually it will be floor rug but for over the hundred years it has been in pristine condition.
When we bought this house, most of everything we owned was dead aunt (I lived alone for 5 years, H had 2 roommates, we were one income, one kid, another on the way ). I convinced him that we should purchase a $5000 entertainment center from restoration hardware, because it was very solid, looked great in our living room (we have heavy chestnut molding), and timeless. We currently have a TV on top of it because our last tiny one that actually fit inside it died. We are planning g on renovations and will try to freecycle it. Now where to put the stereo system and vcr/dvd player.
Interesting question as it sounds like furniture that was once considered timeless is now called “brown” and no one wants it. Hutches/coffee tables/sideboards/entertainment centers all end up in articles on how to get rid of furniture no one wants.
The reference to the mirror was amusing to me. At my MIL’s shiva, her geriatric specialist (who had become her friend), learned that the mirror on the dining room wall had belonged to MIL’s mother. It was huge, dark brown, mottled surface, and heavily embellished. She kept telling us, you have to take it - it was her mother’s! We lived 1000 miles away, our decor was totally different, and there was nowhere we could hang it anyway. This woman would not let it drop, but I stood firm.
If you eliminate jewelry and family heirlooms that children might or might not want, not much is left. We have special items and serving pieces for the holidays, but are they timeless? Only to us. My parents put their money into mutual funds and cruises rather than homegoods.
I do think our dining room table is timeless - it was my mother’s and I had it shipped to us after she passed away. The shipping cost more than the table.
I love “stuff” and am into “stuff” and adore my “stuff” but as descendants of refugees, my family knows that nothing in a home is timeless and will last. Nothing. I’ve met penniless Holocaust survivors who were living luxurious lifestyles before being packed off to Birkenau, and new Ukrainian refugees in my town who left behind their homes, professions and possessions when their cities were under bombardment.
So I hope my kids internalize the message that living an ethical life is the only thing that will last.
I’ll get a pic of my hutch when I get home.
We currently have a TV on top of it because our last tiny one that actually fit inside it died. We are planning g on renovations and will try to freecycle it. Now where to put the stereo system and vcr/dvd player.