Thursday, January 10, 2008

My Favorite Sofa




Rhoda, of Southern Hospitality, recently posted about her favorite piece of furniture, a lovely french style chair of many fabrics. She then tossed out the question, "What is your favorite piece of furniture?" Without a doubt, my favorite is the striped Chippendale-style sofa in our library. It is probably 50 to 75 years old, as my parents got it second-hand in the late '50's. My mother worked for a time as a hairdresser, and the story goes that she got the sofa from a wealthy client who was redecorating. It's worn the same cranberry striped fabric for all the years we've had it, and I wouldn't dream of changing it. Reds and cranberries are the colors that thread their way through all the rooms in our Little Red House.





The sofa has a down-filled cushion, which seemed very expensive and exotic to me when I was growing up -- all my friends lived in ranch houses with mid-century modern furniture. Whenever I had a sleepover, we pulled that cushion off and put it under our sleeping bags. And my daughter does the same thing with her friends.







The wood frame is beautifully carved -- they just don't make things like this today.








Look at the scroll arm, with it's delicate line of drooping bluebells. I'm a flower fanatic, so I find this little touch so endearing. And of course, the sofa holds fond memories for me. My mother and I used to move this sofa all over the room in our fits of furniture rearranging. I opened my Christmas presents here, including a very desired and unexepected gift. And when my children were born, and we brought them home from the hospital, it was here we sat to let their grandparents hold them for the first time. I love this sofa. I just think it's beautiful.






It's my favorite piece of furniture.




















36 comments:

  1. It is a wonderful thing to have such a family heirloom and I can hear in your post how much you treasure it! Something like this now would never stand the test of time. Workmanship of days gone by was important and a craft. Enjoy each and every moment sitting on this sofa!

    ~~ Heidi ~~

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  2. What a beautiful piece of furniture, and so many wonderful memories connected with it make it a treasure:>) I hope your cold is better and you have had some warmth & sunshine like we have had in Michigan this past week!

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  3. Your sofa is gorgeous! It looks in such great shape. And the carving is wonderful. What a nice trail of memories it brings for your family :-)

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  4. Yes, it is a beautiful piece and with such fond memories. It's true you can't get workmanship like that today. Thanks for sharing. I just love items with wonderful history to them. Enjoy the day. Janie

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  5. I can see why that would be your favorite! It is lovely :)

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  6. Mary, I have been wondering when you would post this lovely piece of furniture. I remember it so well from RMS and always just loved it. It just seems to be a part of your little red house and now, with the story, I see that it IS a part of your home. I just love it!
    hugs, bj

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  7. What a beautiful piece and what I love is that you still love it and are not fickle in your decorating choices. You have so many things, including the house itself, that you love and have kept the same despite the vagaries of interior design.

    Janet

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  8. I think it is now my favorite piece of furniture too. And a great story to go with it.

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  9. I love how your family has kept such rich parts of your history! While I have lived in some of our city's most beautiful neighborhoods, even dream houses, the one thing I wish is that we had a "family house" to visit (or even better, still live in!) with family treasures in it. While many may feel they want to discard the past, it is something I've always yearned to recapture! Such wonderful memories you have that you can repeat with your own family in the same setting. Magical!

    Thanks for sharing, it is a beautiful sofa!

    Melissa

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  10. What a beautiful piece Mary! They just don't make furniture like they used to. Those carvings are amazing.

    Hugs,
    Dena

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  11. What a gorgeous treasure! Every detail is just wonderful. I'm so glad you haven't replaced it with something 'new'. Thanks for sharing it with us. ~Adrienne~

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  12. I truly do believe you are so blessed to have so many treasured family pieces. You love it because of it's beauty and comfort but also for what it represents. Just one of the many things I love and admire about you.

    Beauty reigns at the little red house.

    Love and hugs,
    Sue

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  13. Oh, I don't blame you Mary, it is lovely! (Although I have yet to something that is NOT gorgeous in your home!) :) Perhaps that could be a post.. ;) Enjoy the sunshine, I think I'm coming down with your cold.. perhaps what you had was a computer virus! Hehehe!! Hope you are feeling better!
    Smiles,
    Abbie

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  14. It's a beautiful piece of furniture, Mary and all the more beautiful because of the wonderful memories is brings with it. ~ Lynda xo

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  15. Hi...I'm new to your blog & must say....I just LOVE it!!! & I love your 'style' of decorating!!!...I also live in a 'family house'...a two-story Colonial built by my Grandparents in the '30's...I'm fortunate to have some of their keepsakes, too...& I cherish them as much as you do...you have REALLY inspired me to stay true to my 'roots' in decorating...thank you so much!!..looking forward to reading your blog each day...Lacy

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  16. Mary, I've nominated you for The Daily Dose Award. Stop off at my site and read the Jan. 10 entry and make a copy of the award.
    www.xanga.com/pennyannpoundwise

    Terri

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  17. Lacy, thanks so much for your sweet comment! I'd love to see your "family house," and I'm honored to be your inspiration. :)
    xoxo,
    Mary

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  18. Mary, Your sofa is beautiful and I enjoyed your memories ~ thanks for sharing! They just don't make things like they used to.

    Michelle

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  19. What a blessing to have such an heirloom in your family...beautiful...absolutely beautiful!

    smiles, kari and kijsa

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  20. Easy to see why its your favorite piece of furniture! It is BEAUTIFUL.

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  21. Hi Mary,
    What a nice story about your sofa. I first of all love the sofa, but think it is wonderful how much it means to you. I, too, live in the home I grew up in and my father built. I hold so many memories close to my heart. Thanks for sharing. Hugs, Rosemary

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  22. A family treasure -- whose arms have literally cradled the future and the past loves and lives of your family! How lovely that it holds such a near-and-dear place in the Little Red House!

    Jan at Rosemary Cottage

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  23. Oh Mary,

    What a beautiful heirloom! I can't believe how beautiful it still looks! What a treasure, and a beautiful story to go with it!

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  24. Hi Mary,
    Yes a beautiful pieced indeed, and you can't put a value on the memories it holds as well. I love the detail too, and I'm a fan of this style furniture too. What a perfect piece, and I can tell it's very loved.
    Rose

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  25. That is pretty amazing furniture, hand carved ? Wow, I would love to see that come back to the stores !

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  26. You are so fortunate to have all those memories surround you every single day. That in itself is a gift. I LOVED the story about your special Christmas years ago....

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  27. That sofa is beautiful on its own with the wonderful carved features and beautiful fabric, but add to it the years of memories you have it is priceless!
    Penny

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  28. Simply beautiful and the history behind it makes it all the more so. Just think, that woman gave it to your mother and the sofa keeps on giving.

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  29. that is beautiful,but I have never seen one thing in your home that wasn't.

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  30. Hi Mary
    which for a beautiful old "manual work" you show here.
    This sofa invites to take its midday sleep on it ;-)

    Take care Barbara

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  31. I love your sofa! Even more, I love your walls! We just bought our house four years ago...and it has the knotty pine walls too. They are one of the reasons I was so drawn to the house. Can you show more pictures of how you've decorated in those rooms?? I need some inspiration!
    Great blog!

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  32. Cheri, thanks so much! I will try to post more pics. If you look in my archives, you will see some other pics of the library in earlier posts.
    Mary

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  33. Mary, what a treasure chest of warmth in your home you have inherited.!!! I love the couch and it is so neat that so much beautiful work went into it!! I agree, the touches of red add a warm feeling to the house. The turkish rug I received recently is actually orange and my son-in-law was making fun of the orange and red and green colors in it--but it goes well with some of the furniture in one of my living rooms and added such a nice punch of warmth to it--I was amazed. It is picture on this post of mine: http://nannykim-nannykim.blogspot.com/2008/01/fire-and-ice.html I only show it in front of the fireplace, not with the furniture , but you will get the idea;;; :-)

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  34. Mary! What a homey room. Never succumb to the urge to paint those walls. I did it and I am sorry. Did it lighten the room? Yes. Did it make it look cleaner? Probably, but that wonderful patina is gone forever. Your home is so welcoming.
    --Kevin

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  35. Mary! What a homey room. Never succumb to the urge to paint those walls. I did it and I am sorry. Did it lighten the room? Yes. Did it make it look cleaner? Probably, but that wonderful patina is gone forever. Your home is so welcoming.
    --Kevin

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Thank you so much for taking the time to read and comment. I love to hear what you have to say!