Save the Planet, Live Graciously!

One of the smartest decisions Carroll and I made as we furnished our first apartment was to forego the furniture store dinette sets in favor of a Depression Era wood kitchen set. It wasn’t fancy, and it had been refinished, but it was cute, and it came with the table, six chairs and a china closet. And best of all, it cost less than the dinette sets. And so our love affair with antiques was born.

Our home is furnished with a mixture of antique and new furniture. Although our bought-new sofas and chairs are comfy, there are no stories in them. But the small marble topped washstand just inside the back door is solid chestnut, harvested long before the American Chestnut was almost wiped out by a fungal disease. In fact, my washstand may have been built from wood harvested during panicked logging that followed news of the blight. It’s a small piece with a big story.

Of course I have a few family pieces, including a “what-not stand” that always graced my grandmother’s living room. It’s a small piece, probably only worth a couple hundred dollars. But every time I see it I can see my grandparents and their home.

But to get practical, we also have a number of antique bookcases throughout the house. They are the workhorses of antique furniture. You can load them up with heavy books and the shelves never sag. Why? First the wood was harvested and seasoned correctly—never rushed to market in a hurry. And the craftsmanship that went into the furniture is absolutely beautiful. Decade after decade, the bookcases continue to serve with none of the warping, sagging, and general falling apart that we see so often in new furniture.

Then there’s the quest—searching out the perfect piece you love, and fits perfectly in your home. As you furnish your home with antiques is becomes quite unique, reflecting you and your style in every piece. One of our favorite pieces appears to be a marble-topped, carved oak “occasional table,” arranged between two easy chairs. The truth is that it’s a commode! It was designed to be used as a bedside table, with an enamel-lined storage cabinet below to store the chamber pot. If you open ours, there’s a pretty flowered chamber pot holding our various home theater remote controls inside. I happened to find this piece on my way home from a business meeting. Traffic was ghastly, so I stopped for some retail therapy at an antique mall, and there it was. Every time I set a cup of coffee on its top, I’m reminded how lucky we are to have modern plumbing!

But the best reason for furnishing your home with antiques is that it’s GREEN, eco-responsible, environmentally sensitive, GREEN! Here’s why.

When you use antiques:

• You save another item from being manufactured, thereby reducing the carbon footprint of manufacturing.
• You save another item from being shipped, often from overseas, thereby reducing the carbon footprint of shipping.
• No new lumber was harvested for your antique.
• Buy from any of the local antique dealers and support your local businesses and economy while you save gas.
• Buy once, antiques last a lifetime.
• Using antiques keeps more discards from the landfills.

Of course much of this post refers to wooden furniture, but there are all kinds of great antiques out there. Whether you prefer 50s chrome, 60s plastic, or some other style, you’ll find great buys in one of Havre de Grace’s antique shops. And if you’re brand new to antiquing, ask questions. Most antique dealers are part historian. They can give you lots of information about the items that catch your eye.

Of course the downside to furnishing with antiques is that most people will never notice how GREEN you are. They’ll just be wowed by your gracious home.