Lest you think my primary job has been scooting furniture around my house, things have been moving a bit more than usual. I moved furniture around when I did the family room reset. Then I rearranged again to accommodate our Christmas tree and again when we gave our sofa away and the new one didn’t come and again when we took the tree down. Now I’m moving things around to sell some pieces and make space for Jeff to work in my old office. My mom’s even getting in on the action and is moving things around in her house, so she offered a displaced bench to me.
As you have probably caught on, I’m not very sentimental about furniture, but there are a few pieces that are very special to me. My Oma’s rocking chair that she had when she was a child. We have a picture of her in it as a toddler and my Opa stripped off the white paint and fixed it up, making it possible for their children, grand children and great grand children to sit in. The farmhouse chairs around our kitchen table that came from my husband’s great grandparents. The antique French buffet my parents bought as newly weds and now sits in my dining room. Joining them now are this bench my mom gave me.
It’s not a typical Miss Mustard Seed piece of furniture with straight legs and a pine finish. But the memories outweigh design and material worth. My dad bought this bench when we lived in Germany as a surprise. I don’t remember if it was for her birthday or mother’s day. I do remember my brother, dad and I putting it together in the attic of our apartment building. We lived in a German-style apartment building that had three stairwells with six apartments off each. The stairwells were connected by basement hallways with storage units for each apartment and an attic hallway that use to house maids. They were now used for storage as well. It was an amazing set up for hide-and-seek games, that’s for sure!
In a 900 square foot apartment, there was nowhere to hide a surprise bench, so we would sneak up to the attic to assemble it and then presented it to my mom. The bench has been a staple piece of furniture in our home ever since…through all of our moves. It’s now perfect under the window in the family room, providing some storage (it opens) and seating at the table.
I will, of course, be painting it and making a new cushion to make it work in my home. (My mom’s all for that, by the way.)
Oh, you can see in the foreground that one of my “frosty ferns” is still alive. Actually, I’ve managed to keep two healthy. One bit the dust a couple of days ago, but it hung around longer than I expected.
I think I need to do everyone a favor and just stick with preserved boxwood.
Is anyone else ready to get back into a normal routine after the holidays? I’m so there!
Aren’t family heirlooms the best?!! How wonderful to have this bench with all the memories! I can’t wait to see how you transform it. I have been looking for a bench like this, preferably a Swedish one, but they are hard to find and very expensive (in Georgia). To me these benches scream ‘Europe!’ I always enjoy the link to Germany and Europe in your blog!
I have to make a similar bench look modern! Help!!
Michelle,
What about if you painted your bench in a high gloss bright color? I don’t know your style, but you could also do a high gloss black with a contemporary print fabric for the seat. That will help modernize it.
That bench is the perfect height at the table, and is going to look even better after you paint it.
Yes, I am so ready for routine which, btw, includes moving lots of furniture (at the antique mall). All my Christmas is put away, the house is quieted down to the more normal, neutral palette, and I just caught up on the entire season of Good Wife on dvr this weekend! Now, I still have a huge stack of magazines from Dec, Jan and already Feb, but it feels good!
Can’t wait to see your sofa in place once it arrives – should be soon now, right?
Rita C. at Panoply
ps – My niece just visited Gettysburg this past weekend and darn it, I didn’t know she was going, or I would’ve contacted you for items you would consider selling. I’m in love with that channel back – still. 😉
Listening to you talk about the apartments in Germany on the military bases brings back memories! We lived in Goeppingen and Heidelberg and in both places we always got the third floor apartment! My mom used to grump about that! Lol! But, the extra room at the top us kids used to play in on rainy days and do whatever we wanted! The girls would all take our barbies up there and “build barbie houses”. Or if we wanted to get to a friends apartment in one of the other stairwells when the weather was bad we could use the basement walkway. Thanks for the great memories!
There were gymnastics mats in the extra room above our apartment and we would do tumbling and jump rope up there. We were on the third floor as well, so my mom would pay neighborhood kids a dollar or two to help carry groceries upstairs. 🙂
Ha ha! Smart woman! I always felt bad for the beer man who would leave our Speci (spelling) and my dad’s beer in those crates by our front door of the apartments!
I love the bench and the story behind it. My husband is retired from the Navy but we never had the fortune of being stationed over seas. I can only imagine all the fun our boys would have had living in that apartment. I can’t wit to see what color you paint the bench. How do you decide on the color you paint your pieces?
I can’t wait to get back to my normal routine. As much as I love having the boys home I’m ready for them to get back to school. I have so many projects floating around in my head that I want to get started on. The first one is painting my kitchen and giving the pantry an overhaul.
Oh and if you are selling any of your ironstone I would be really interested in buying some. I’m kind of local so shipping wouldn’t be a problem.
The bench is wonderful. But the memory is truly special! What a blessing. Marian, can you tell me about the rug that is featured in that room? I love it!
It’s the Barbados rug by Safaveih and I got it from Joss and Main.
I love furniture that comes with a story. The bench is the perfect size for your kitchen table too. Looking forward to seeing how you are going to transform it.
So cute!! Can’t wait to see it transformed!
Perfect bench! I’ve been looking for one as well! A great place to showcase more pillows! Love the memories- furniture with a story has as much personality as people!
We also lived in one of those apartments in Mannheim Germany! Ours was on the second floor but we did live in the attic while waiting for our apartment. Lots of great memories…thanks for the reminder. As kids we did have loads of fun living there. Love the bench and can’t wait to see what you do with it.
Mom’s bench is super sweet!
I want that little farmhouse dining table. It is exactly the size I have been looking for.
Julia, Not sure where you live but I have a very similar farmhouse table for sale. I live in SW Michigan. My table is wood, has cross bars at the base, and a refinished stained/polyurathaned top and painted base. This has one drawer, with original and very interesting metal pulls. This is currently painted in blue. I have photographs.
If interested, please contact me:
Small House / Big Sky Donna / White Oak Studio Designs / SW Michigan
Hand-Painted Vintage Furniture Transformations
Blog: http://smallhouseunderabigsky.wordpress.com
Facebook: donnaallgaierlamberti@facebook.com (for portfolio of chalk painted work)
I love the bench and cannot wait to see how you transform it to fit your style. We used to play hide and go seek as a family on Sunday nights. It was tradition and I love the memories of it 🙂
I am with you on getting back into the swing of things!
It’s beautiful..
Lovely bench and lovely story. Great size for the table and will love seeing what you do to it.
Blessings,
Audrey Z. @ Timeless Treasures
That’s a pretty bench, and has quite a story behind it. Yes, I agree the current color clashes with everything in your room, but as both you and your mom agreed it should be painted, that’s now a non-issue. I think it works well with the table and chairs.
As for getting back into the swing of things, I feel completely exhausted for some reason, but I will have to put that aside as my regular work hours are starting to pick up again, and I have to put a lot more work into my online shops. I have moved selling platforms, and now have to “reinvent” myself, come up with some new products, and start promoting like crazy. There is never a dull moment. 🙂
Your comments made me remember days at Rhein-Main AFBase, Germany in the 70’s. We lived in the old German Officer’s Quarters; cement like bunkers, stairwells, washer/dryer basements. 3 kids, a cat and a dog on the 5th floor. I would go to the German dump every 3rd week (incognito) and started my first antique business at the O club every weekend. On one trip I found a piano I had the trash men put on the top of my car so kids could have piano lessons. I just said “Grosse haus, feela kinder!”
I lived in one of those German-style apartment buildings, on the 3rd floor, and had access to the attic, too. We had our Girl Scout meetings up there and stairwell parties, too. It was in Robinson Barracks in Stuttgart. Fond memories! Being a child in Germany was magical. Field trips to castles, the gummi truck, sprudel & brötchen delivered to our door, gypsies selling wood carvings door-to-door, volksmarches(have all my medals still), and the Christmas markets and fests, loved every minute of it! Nice to hear about your memories, too.
I remember Robinson Barracks! I lived on Patch in Stuttgart. 🙂 Small world. I muss all of things you mentioned above, too, and still have some of my volksmarch medals as well.
Where did your dining room furniture go? Have you sold that already? Love the bench and can’t wait to see what you do with it next and love the living room redo.
No, this is our eating area in the family room off the kitchen. The dining room is just as you last saw it. 🙂
Oh Marion,
This brings back such memories! We two lived in military housing in Germany (about a decade or so before you) and I have such fond memories! Since we always lived in one of the two bedroom “apartments” we were typically int he middle stairwell on the first or second floor. Our buildings had the fourth floor/attic converted into temporary housing or large family housing and playrooms. All of the walls were removed out of the end unit on the outside stairwells and could be used to play in during bad weather or could be signed out if you were going to have a big gathering. If you went up the middle stairwell the apartment on each side stretched from the middle stairwell to the end stairwell. My cousins and good friends of ours lived in those apartments due to the size of their families (6 children each…)
What a lovely bench and the memories associated with it!!
Did you every spend any time in the basements? in the laundry room? For some reason I LOVED running through all the clean laundry hanging in the drying room.
Have a wonderful day!!
The basement was our favorite hiding place, but it was pretty dark, usually, and we had some problems with rats, so we didn’t spend too much time down there! I can’t imagine that my mom had to haul all of our laundry up and down four floors!
What a lovely piece, I adore this piece. I noticed the “X” shape on the back of the bench is similar to the “x’s” on your kitchen bar chairs, isn’t that interesting! Can’t wait to see what you do with this, I know it will be very unique. Your mom is such a peach!
Your apartment in Germany brought back memories of our apartment in Berlin. My dad was in the Special Forces and we lived there for 3 years in the late 60’s. Loved our time there. We had no t.v. And our family were so close and had so much fun playing games, home movies, going to the great parks, etc. happy New Year, Marian!
So fun to be able to make a space for a cherished family piece. I can see it painted in layers with something dark like curio under a chippy layer of ironstone!
Before I even read your post I thought *i bet she paints that!*. Also your frosty fern? It’s not one of the easier ferns to keep going. Next time try a Mother fern, they’re much hardier, and very pretty. 🙂
I too have been stripping Christmas away little by little today . I am holding off with the tree as there is nothing more than I enjoy but coming out and turning on the tree in the twilight of the morning and sipping my coffee before the hustle and bustle of the day begins. It is also such a pretty ambiance with the fireplace , snow falling and family in the den watching movies or football games. However, kids go back to school tomorrow & life must return to some sort of semblance of grace. I am replacing the holiday decor with silver and blue and gray stuff. Sort of a “frozen, ” ice Princess” theme. Lol. It works here in Coloradosymphonydo. With the snow we have had the last 48 hrs , until I put out some Valentines stuff and a Dresden Cupid or two. I am so glad you too like to switch around your furniture.i am not the only insane person ( My hubby thinks so! ) . I do it with knick knacks, pictures & accessories too. It’s like a cheap thrill of being my own merchandise manager & shopping in my own supplies of decor stuff I have set up on shelves in the basement. It’s the little things in life huh? ………..
Normal routine? Yes – not really sure what that is going to look like this year. But anxious to find out – if I can shake whatever is making me couch my chest out. And, painting the bench? As I was reading I kept thinking, it really needs to be painted and I was so happy that you felt free to do so. Otherwise, no matter how much you love it, it might start to feel like a burden if you couldn’t make it your own. Your posts on rearranging and purging has inspired me to do some of the same. My husband just purchased a new piano that has to find a home. We are at the busting point, if something new comes in, something old should probably go.
Hi MArion, Im curious as to the size of that lovely table with the bench? I have just acquied a small pine table which is in need of some fixing and reducing and yours looks really good dimensions for the four chairs!
Love the bench….they seem to be making a “come back.” I have seen lots of benches made from old beds……
By the way: Yesterday I stopped by Suzanna’s Antiques and much to my surprise, there was Miss Mustard Seed paint……I did not have time to pick some out, but I’m going back. I have just the piece to paint and am leaning toward the salmon colored one…not red and not orange.
Anyway, it made me feel you are really a part of Raleigh to see your paint. Hope you are coming to visit soon.
Those delicate ferns are the hardest to take care of! If you like ferns, have you thought about an asparagus fern? They are much more simple to deal with, and really pretty. You can see the one I have in this post. Stay warm this week, Marian!
Been reading your blog for a whille. Have never commented. I don’t agree with all the changes you have made over that time especially the last dining room table. It is your home after all and you will do what you want. Today, I offer a suggestion. I feel your mom bench should be stained the color of the chairs at the table already. It would give some continuity to the differing styles. All the best you in the New Year.
I was reading your blog and I saw the table that you have your fern on. I see that it is not painted , I have one also that is two tiered in good condition and I am about to paint it. I was just wondering why you have not painted yours. Is you where to paint it what color/colors would you do? I am looking for some inspiration on what colors to paint mine as I will be selling it in the future. I really appreciate all that you share with us and the new adventures that you have taken over the past year or so. I started reading your blog a good year or so when you posted mostly about painting furniture. I am so happy for you in how your business has grown in many directions. I have to say though that I do miss your posts on the painted furniture that you do. I know that you have others that do some of it for you and I understand how hard it is to try to keep up with the demand for all of the markets that you do.
God Bless
Debbie
The bench works really well with the table, sometimes people think it’s a bit weird to have a bench inside, but I really like the look!