Tradition

Blue & Cream Tattersall Cotton Rug

After another poor night's sleep, I woke up this morning and thought of the little antique settee I owned when I lived in an antique carriage house in Hartford. It was a simple design covered in a robin's egg blue nubby fabric with silver threads running through it. In front of the settee was an oval shaped leather topped coffee table. At the time, I appreciated neither of these things. I wanted some contemporary cheap couch destined to last 3 years. Now I would love to own both the settee and the coffee table, especially because of its oval shape. I remember bringing my daughter home from the hospital and laying her down beside me on that little sofa. I remember how I felt looking down on her on the beautiful sunny spring day with her perfect complexion and her rose petal lips.

Here is what happened to the couch. I had a tag sale. It was a bunch of junk, now forgotten, that I had dragged out into the yard. It was a fairly successful tag sale, or it seemed that way to someone as poor as I was at the time. I was almost giddy as things were carried away. Nearing the end, a woman asked if I had anything in the house I wanted to sell. Silly me, I brought her inside. I sold her the settee, I sold her the oval table, I sold her a gorgeous, antique mahogany bedroom set with beautifully carved bedposts, (the one I watched Julia make chicken cannelloni from) a large dresser and mirror, nightstands. For all of this, she may have given me $200. I thought I was rich.

I have been through many houses worth of furniture. I miss it all. I am different in my packrat habits than my sister was. Her house was arranged a certain way and it stayed that way; when her favorite couch's upholstery wore out, she had it reupholstered; it was perfect in its design so there was no reason to change it. I on the other hand went through phases and I always needed change. There was the art nouveau period, the Empire period (highly uncomfortable, don't recommend it), the Victorian period (notice how I don't stray to far from an era), and then early American, which I continue to yearn for but can't quite afford. I also have deep appreciation for an antique Swedish aesthetic referred to earlier. All of these styles have been given away to family and friends.

One of the joys of living in a house with walls is that you can always change the furniture around and create a whole new look. It's an easy way to clean as well. But I so admired my sister's steadfastness. It was as important as the traditions she kept alive in the family. I think my desire for change was a reflection on my personal life where I departed from the traditional Irish/Italian Catholic upright family member to being one of the first divorced and single mothers. Ultimately I think my sister and I shared admiration for each other's choices, as different as they were. I also think that now that I am older, I'm more interested in tradition, steadfastness, and the belief that you can create just the right home for yourself. That's what I'm picturing. The rug at the top is made by Dash & Albert. I will have an 8 x 10 to go under my dining room table which can seat 10. It will be surrounded by 10 different antique chairs. It will stay like that for a long, long time.