Our stainless steel flatware. Instead of registering for silver I picked a heavy simple Oneida stainless pattern. I have 12 place settings plus serving utensils. It looks beautiful after daily use for almost 40 years. It will probably last forever.
- Antique silverware gifted to us for our wedding
- Several of our Christmas ornaments
- Two Persian rugs that our son now has
- Our original Kitchen Aid and enamel and cast iron cookware
- The first piece of furniture I every bought for my first apartment-a mahogany four-poster rice bed that my mom is now using
- My favorite black gown and hooded black velvet cape that I have worn off and on since 1981
I regret giving away my Ghost chair; it was the real deal from Kartell and not a PRC knock off. The buyers of our former home wanted our Louis XVI style chairs and other furniture. I think they’re timeless, but they wouldn’t have fit in our current home. I saw a photo of our old living room last year and the only changes are the addition of a few knick-knacks. It’s nice that another family is enjoying them.
While maybe not made for longevity, some beautiful hand sewn and knitted baby clothes made by my grandmother have now been worn by three generations. The knitted items were made >75 years ago for my older siblings and could still be worn today. The light baby slips and dresses made for me are quite delicate and I hope they last long enough for our granddaughters to also use if they ever have children.
I’ve had the same slow cooker that I got as a wedding gift 24 years ago. I use it at least once a week and it’s still going strong. (Knock on wood). I also have my grandmothers pie plates and springform pan - I don’t use them very often, but they still have lots of life in them.
My mom and grandmother got me a set through Betty Crocker coupons (you cut them off packages). Still going strong and I still love it.
We have a table that we put our keys on that was the 1st piece of furniture H’s folks bought. Several people have coveted it. Our teak dining table is simple & nice and the kids may want it. Not sure about any other home items. We also bought a 2nd had folding rocking chair and paid a bundle to gave it restored—looks very nice now and may be wanted by the kids.
Maybe our water rower that is in our living room and D’s lovely standing desk with a large beautiful piece of wood on the top.
I used to do woodworking as a hobby so there’s a couple pieces we’ll have “forever”. Weirdly one is a matched pair of toilet paper cabinets in the master bath - when we had our house listed our realtor told us many visitors asked where we got them
I’ve also been collecting handmade kitchen knives. Some are extremely difficult to acquire and will hold or increase in value over the years. At some point when we’re ready for a retirement home I’ll ask D if she wants any and sell the rest to other collectors. I like to think those knives will be around for hundreds of years passed down from collector to collector.
Hand-forged kitchen knives
TP cabinet in solid tiger maple and curly cherry.
And its reverse-image twin
Gyutos, Santokus, Bunkas oh my!
I have my parents’ bedroom set, which originally belonged to my paternal grandparents. Solid mahogany, tall and wide chests of drawers, extremely heavy mirror hung over the wide dresser, double bedframe with hradboard, footboard and slats, and two bedside tables. In our previous apartment, my room was so narrow that only the bedside table fit; the rest was in my daughter’s room. I assumed that she and son-in-law wouldn’t want it, but my son-in-law told me they want all the pieces. The veneer is peeling badly on several pieces and my daughter had put glow-in-the-dark stars on the tall dresser, but they are welcome to it once I’m gone.
This is the piece I mentioned in my first post. Over 100 years old and solid as a rock. The leather couch in front of it is also a great piece of furniture - about 10 years in and no signs of wear.
Our drinks cabinet that my grandfather made out of a wooden shell eight that I rowed crew in during college and salvaged a few years later when it was crashed and cut up for scrap.
Two things we all claim we want (currently in my house as it was my mother’s house). A jar opener that you twist. We’ve been looking for them for years. Found some with plastic handles that didn’t last long. The Vermont Country Store has the wooden handle ones and I always say I’m going to order but never do (as I have the original one). Two, the ‘tuna fish chopper.’ My grandmother made the tuna fish in a shallow wooden bowl and used the chopper, which might have been a pastry blender? Who knows. The bowl split in half years ago (you just can’t get a bowl that is used every day for 60 years to last!) but the chopper lives on.
We have other things we all still like such as the carving set my parents got for a wedding present, my mother’s silver, some cooking stuff.
There is a painting on our wall (I think my parents had it for 60 years, maybe it was my grandparents’? At least 3 of my siblings and my daughter have said they want it, yet NO ONE will take it . Take the stuff already. I don’t want it.
My mother has an Oneida set from coupons, so many pieces including grapefruit spoons. Oneida community Patrick Henry pattern. Unfortunately many of the regular spoons have wandered off over the years.

Two, the ‘tuna fish chopper.’ My grandmother made the tuna fish in a shallow wooden bowl and used the chopper, which might have been a pastry blender?
Do you mean the Depression-era version of this?
Hm…
I have All Clad D5 pans that I think will last a long time. I have a bright blue Le Creuset lasagna type pan that I got in 1987, and it’s still in perfect shape.
I have my ex-husband’s grandparent’s dining room set - it’s mahogany and very plain looking, which I really like. It has a side-board and a glass front piece I think you’d call a china cabinet, but it’s only maybe 5 feet tall.
My aunt and uncle got a bedroom set back it the late 70s/early 1980s that I’ve always loved. It is light oak, and modern looking. I think it came from a store called Scan (but it’s not teak). They have a new, fully furnished home, and are finally emptying and selling their older home. The dressers from that bedroom set will be coming to my house, and will be used in a guest bedroom. My son will be getting three bookcases I think may be teak, which may have also come from Scan. I liked them, but he can actually use them and they will look good in his place.
We have a jar opener with a wooden handle. I think H brought it when we got married.
My dad built tables, an airplane rocker and wooden trains. Those will stick around. Still have the crockpot we got from H’s grandma and great-aunt for our wedding.
I have some memorabilia from when we lived in West Germany in the early 70s. The tablecloth with the emblems of all the West and East German districts is a moment in time.
Maybe my Nantucket lightship basket?
We got rid of almost all our furnishings after my parents passed away and I took possession of their items. They had MUCH nicer things! They lived in several foreign countries and we now have lots of rugs, custom made furniture, original art, and other items. The sofa they had when I got married over 40 years ago is now in my living room.
When I was first starting out, my parents gave me some of their old soup mugs. I only have one left now, but years ago my son was watching Rocky 2 and noticed that the soup mugs were used in the movie. I don’t know if that means they are timeless (very 70s) but if the surviving soup mug outlasts us, he definitely wants it!
Yep! Grapefruit spoons, long tea spoons, ice cream spoons, serving pieces. You name it I’ve got it!